Seemingly breaking its silence on the Democratic Alliance's (DA's) proposed "moonshot pact" to remove the African National Congress (ANC) from power, the ANC has reiterated that it is still the only viable option to emancipate citizens who still languish in poverty. 

"We still believe that we still hold a better promise for South Africa than any other political formation that can be found in this country," ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said. 

She said this as the ANC commemorated the life of former freedom fighter and struggle activist, Solomon Mahlangu. 

The event was held at Mahlangu's gravesite at the Mamelodi West Cemetery in Pretoria on Thursday morning. 

Bhengu-Motsiri said current ANC leaders could learn a lot from Mahlangu's selflessness.

"As we go to the elections next year, the ANC still has much that it needs to fix, such as corruption and crime within its ranks.

"Despite this, we believe that it is still only the ANC that is capable of resolving the challenges that the people of South Africa are still facing, particularly the poorest of the poor, and that is what this newly elected national executive committee believes in," she said.

She added that at the party's recent elective conference, its new leadership, the national executive committee, was given a clear mandate to fix and renew the organisation.

"The ANC has to address looting issues and deal with those who use state resources to enrich themselves. We have a lot of work that we need to do because if we fail to do so, we will again disconnect from the communities. We do ask that the ANC be allowed to engage all its challenges and fix them" said the party' s spokesperson.

Her utterances come as the DA is busy engaging with another opposition party in a bid to form a "moonshot pact"  to defeat the ANC and keep the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) out of power during the 2024 elections. 

Re-elected DA leader John Steenhuisen made this proposal during his speech on Sunday. 

The DA has, however, faced some pushback, with some parties cautioning it against its "big brother attitude" in how it is engaging with them regarding the matter. 

During the Mahlangu commemoration, Bhengu-Motsiri said another way the party could reconnect with South Africans was by rebuilding relations with traditional leaders who are constantly in close proximity to communities.

Giving an address on behalf of the Mahlangu family, Prince George Mahlangu concurred with the ANC spokesperson and said it was important for political and traditional leaders to work hand in hand to address the needs of communities. 

The commemoration started with a visit to the Kgoši Mampuru II correctional facility, where Mahlangu was hanged on 6 April 1979. 

The proceedings were supposed to be led by ANC deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane but she was a no-show, leading to strong words from the family.

Prince George Mahlangu said it was important for the ANC to tell the stories of its late struggle icons because if it did not, opposition parties would claim them as their own. 

The commemorations concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony at the cemetery.