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R350,000 for round of golf with Ramaphosa — ‘We don’t have money, we raise money,’ says ANC’s Mbalula

R350,000 for round of golf with Ramaphosa — ‘We don’t have money, we raise money,’ says ANC’s Mbalula
The ANC’s new Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula briefed the media on the state of readiness for the continuation pf the party’s 55th National Conference and the 111th anniversary celebrations, at Luthuli House, Johannesburg, on Tuesday, 3 January, 2023. (Photo: Twitter)
Julia Evans
By Julia Evans
3 Jan 2023
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The ANC’s new Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula was in the hot seat in front of the media on Tuesday, where he justified his party’s costly fundraising activities ahead of the ANC’s 111th-anniversary celebration set to take place in the Free State this weekend. The party will also reconvene its 55th National Conference later this week in a hybrid format after it adjourned at Nasrec in Johannesburg in December 2022.

‘We don’t have money, we raise money — from people who’ve got money.” This was the frank statement from the new ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula about the party’s fundraising activities as part of celebrations for the 111 years since it was formed.

Mbalula was addressing the media from Luthuli House in Johannesburg on Tuesday, 3 January, about his party’s state of readiness for the continuation of the 55th National Conference and the 111th anniversary celebrations, all expected to take place in Mangaung, Free State.

mbalula The ANC’s new Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula briefed the media on the state of readiness for the continuation of the party’s 55th National Conference and the 111th anniversary celebrations, at Luthuli House, Johannesburg, on Tuesday, 3 January 2023. (Photo: Twitter)



Mbalula said that people were “questioning” the fundraising activities, referring to reactions on social media that the 111th anniversary Presidential Golf Day fundraiser would charge R350,000 to play on a four-ball with President Cyril Ramaphosa, amid an economic crisis and persistent rolling blackouts. To play with a minister or premier is no chump’s sum either, at R75,000.



​​The Presidential Golf Day and gala dinner is set to take place this weekend  in Bloemfontein, as part of the lead-up to the party’s anniversary celebration on Sunday, 8 January.

Mbalula said, “There’s no gun on your head. You voluntarily buy a table,” referring to costly seat and table prices for the gala dinner, with individual chairs starting at R5,000 and going up to R95,000, and tables going from R760,000 to R1.2-million.

“Even if it is R2-million [for the presidential gala dinner], that money goes to the ANC to fund its political activities.”

Mbulula added that the party, “sell tables to business people who want to network”, who are aware that the money goes to the ANC.

The ANC’s 111th anniversary celebration will take place at Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium, on Sunday, 8 January. The party expects its 15,000 seats to be full for the President’s address.

Mbalula acknowledged that from a financial point of view, the ANC did not look good.

Why the Nasrec conference didn’t finish on time


The 55th ANC National Conference, which was meant to conclude in December, will resume on Thursday, 5 January, in a hybrid format, with 4,000 delegates decentralised into nine hubs across eight provinces, with the national hub in Mangaung.

Remaining items on the agenda were decisions on policy resolutions and party constitutional amendments.



Mbalula said the adjournment of the conference had been “beyond our control because people had to go”, and if delegates stayed it would have incurred more costs.

Mbalula acknowledged that the organisation of the conference, “left much to be desired,” saying that the party was not proud that logistical issues meant it couldn’t finish the conference on time.

“A party that is in power like ours… how you organise must be something that is flawless,” said Mbalula, “So we are not proud of that. And we will work to turn that around.”

Registration woe


Mbalula noted that a lot of time was wasted on registration. If the party had dealt with registration on the first day, the conference would have finished  on time, he said.

“So we renew ourselves,” said Mbulula. The party was confident it would meet the financial obligations of the conference this time, with most of the provinces footing the bill for delegates and venues.

The ANC would take care of the rest, including “connectivity” — that is, the ever-present rolling blackouts — explaining that it had consulted with experts and had backup generators in place. Mbulula said they hadn’t asked Eskom for an exemption from blackouts.

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He said the newly elected members of the National Executive Committee would hold their first meeting after the conclusion of the 54th congress after 6 January, whereafter the National Working Committee and other sub-committees would be constituted.

Referring to rumours of a possible Cabinet reshuffle, Mbalula attracted chuckles from ANC colleagues when he said: “If we can’t just agree who must be elected in the Top Six, you can imagine arguing who must get to Cabinet… The organisation will collapse.”

Mbalula’s panel to address the media included ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe and the newly elected First Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane and  Second Deputy Secretary-General Maropene Ramokgopa. DM

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