S. Africa’s Ramaphosa Warns Against Destabilisation as ANC Marks 110 Years

South Africa’s ruling ANC marked its 110th anniversary Saturday in low-key fashion as the country reels from the devastating fire in parliament, last year’s deadly riots and emerging details of corruption.

In the stands of a stadium in Polokwane, in northern Limpopo province, a few hundred party members sporting the African National Congress signature yellow, green and black dotted the terraces.

It was a far cry from the noisy and large crowds of supporters traditionally bused in for the annual festivities {snip}

And the speech from President Cyril Ramaphosa, in which he referred to acts that had had “the effect of subverting our constitutional democracy”, further dampened the party atmosphere.

“These acts include blatant acts of state (corruption) and criminality… the concerted campaign of public violence and destruction that took place in July last year, as well as ongoing theft, destruction and obstruction of infrastructure,” Ramaphosa told party loyalists.

“This anniversary takes place just a few days after a devastating fire swept through our parliament in Cape Town.

“The entire country has been shocked, outraged and saddened by the destruction because the institution of parliament is a repository of our democracy — and symbol of democratic stability of our people,” Ramaphosa said.

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The state security agency was roundly criticised after police stood by watching when the jailing of Ramaphosa’s predecessor Jacob Zuma sparked an orgy of rioting and looting in July that claimed more than 300 lives.

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The party of Nelson Mandela, which led the liberation of South Africa from the shackles of white-minority apartheid rule, has been weakened by historically poor electoral showings, factionalism and corruption.

On Tuesday, Ramaphosa received a report of more than 800 pages containing nearly four years of testimonies collected by a judicial panel on corruption.

Its authors accuse the ANC of having turned a blind eye to graft in state-owned companies that play a significant role in the South African economy.

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