In the midst of the ANC’s clear intention to violate the National Building Regulations and the Building Stand-ards Act by continuing the celebration of the Declaration on January 8 at the Dr. Petrus Molemela Mangaung Stadium, which is considered legal disobedience – a political analyst yesterday said the Free State public. these facilities reflect the party’s government, which shows its disregard for the crumbling infrastructure. Read also: Mbalula warns against using public funds for ANC’s January 8 celebrations Despite the concerns raised by acting Mangaung municipal city manager Tebogo Motlashuping in a letter dated December 21, 2022, the ANC has insisted on holding its 111th anniversary at the stadium…
Amid the clear intention of the ANC to violate the National Building Regulations and the Building Standards Act by continuing the January 8 Declaration celebration at the Dr Petrus Molemela Mangaung Stadium, it is legally considered non-compliance – political analysts said yesterday that the general situation of the Free State. these facilities reflect the party’s government, which shows its disregard for the crumbling infrastructure.
Also read: Mbalula warns against using public funds for ANC’s January 8 celebrations
Despite concerns raised by the Mangaung municipal executive, Tebogo Motlashuping in a letter dated December 21, 2022, the ANC insisted on holding the 111th anniversary of the party at the illegal stadium.
Motlashuping warns that:
- The north side of the stadium “sunk after construction with the submitted correction report still to be referred to the structural engineer for periodic assessment.
- All the toilet facilities had been destroyed and no water was coming out of the taps.
- No electrical or fire certificates.
- The elevator is not operational when the VIP Suite is not available.
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe, who reportedly denied there were any problems at the stadium, said everything would go smoothly on the day, yesterday saying the party would hold a briefing today on the venue.
Under the terms of the National Building Regulations and the Building Standards Act – depending on the national standards issued by the South African Bureau of Standards – noncompliance can result in fines or imprisonment.
Critically, due to the “financial position of the municipality, Motlashuping said that it will not be possible to fix it quickly so that the “grading certificate” cannot be issued.
With municipalities entrusted with enforcing building regulations, failure to comply with building control procedures can result in regulatory violations.
Political experts say the state of the stadium reflects a larger problem of deteriorating infrastructure under the ANC government. Policy analyst Dr Nkosikhulule Nyembezi said:
“Queuing outside government buildings or next to water trucks because of broken community water taps is a common sign of a dilapidated state, signaling the collapse of public services and infrastructure.
“The increase in the number of dysfunctional municipalities and bad management is long overdue, with corruption and abuse of the government’s tender system on the rise.
“Today the focus is on the stadium that was prepared to host the ANC’s January 8 celebrations, but if you look elsewhere, you will see government services in a state of disrepair.”
Independent political analyst Sandile Swana said Motlashuping’s letter to the ANC confirmed “there is no doubt that the ANC cannot run the country or blame the African Renaissance”.
“Public infrastructure in all categories has deteriorated over the years – it currently scores only a D when evaluated – meaning it is at risk of failure, according to the Society of Civil Engineers.
“The ANC has failed to invest in productive infrastructure and has also failed to maintain the economic and social infrastructure that exists to sustain our country and our civilization,” Swana said.
Political science professor Dirk Kotzé, from the University of South Africa (UNISA), said it was “very ironic that the ANC would travel to Mangaung to host the January 8 celebrations without the proper facilities to do so”.
“You can’t imagine that here the ANC was founded in 1912. The state of the stadium also shows the state of local government – especially the Free State, which is the product and result of Ace Magashule’s years as the premier.
“The local government budget was (allegedly) exploited by Magashule and others to gain access to contracts and big money. We are now reaping the results of that era.
The Petrus Molemela Stadium named after the founder of the legendary Bloemfontein Celtics football club presented the ANC and its newly elected leaders with “a direct challenge on what to do to make an impact on the situation”.
Said Kotzé: “It is not academic for the leadership of the ANC, because this is now a real problem and a real situation facing the party.
“The ANC can no longer give excuses to correct things by saying things will be fixed. This is a symptom of a bigger problem – the state of local government and public facilities – the main issue in the 2024 elections.
Meanwhile, newly elected ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has warned against using public funds for this weekend’s party events.
The stadium is located in Mangaung metro.
NOW READ: Mangaung metro scrambles to avoid dissolution after Parliament warns