President Jacob Zuma has urged the African National Congress (ANC) to win back Cape Town “so that the poor can be taken seriously”.

At the party’s final rally in Johannesburg’s Emirates Stadium on Sunday, Zuma said “Cape Town is a tale of two cities”.

Zuma, who was received with song by the thousands of supporters that initially packed the stadium, said: “There is a Cape Town that caters for the needs of the rich and wealthy, which are prioritised, and another which leaves the poor unserviced and under-developed.

“The ANC will work to win back the city so that the poor can also be taken seriously.”

Zuma also quoted former president Nelson Mandela, who in 2000 said the ANC was the only party which could deliver services. “Nobody can deny the ANC that role,” he said.

Zuma also said Mandela “warned our people and our country about the DA, which runs Cape Town currently”. Zuma said Mandela warned people “not to be misled by a party, that only cares for whites, on the eve of the elections”.

He said the DA remained “a white party” and urged the ANC to win back Cape Town to “ensure that transformation reaches that part of our country as well.

"The poor in Cape Town must be treated with respect and dignity,” he said.

Left stadium during Zuma's speech

The ANC lost Cape Town to the DA in 2011 elections and has never managed to win it back. This year, its Western Cape chairperson, Marius Fransman, was suspended after sexual harassment allegations were levelled against him by Louisa Wynand when she accompanied him as his personal assistant to Rustenburg for the ANC’s 104th anniversary celebration.

Zuma praised the other metros, paying particular attention to those in Gauteng. The ANC risks not winning a majority in the Tshwane metro, according to polls, and the vote in Johannesburg could be close too.

Hundreds of people started leaving the stadium as Zuma’s speech progressed, especially those sitting in the shade as a chilly breeze swept through the venue.

A group of people also sang halfway through his speech.

Zuma also listed the services delivered by the ANC throughout the years.

He sang his trademark song, Mshini Wami, after finishing his speech.