By 
While Mangaung Metro and the Free State Provincial Government are celebrating Waaihoek Wesleyan Mission Church in Bloemfontein, the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Free State took a short at the celebrations saying the state of the church only reflects the current ANC.
Waaihoek Wesleyan Mission Church has been dubbed an international heritage site as it gave birth to the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) in 1912, which later became the African National Congress (ANC).
According to the DA Leader in the province and Member of the Provincial Legislature, Dr Roy Jankielsohn; the heritage site is an empty shell surrounded by hotspots of crime such as drug dealing and prostitution. He says Waaihoek mirrors the current ANC.
Jankielsohn says during an oversight to the site in July 2025, the Free State Legislature was informed by the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation that the buildings experienced serious maintenance issues such as water leaks, damaged wooden floors, overall poor maintenance and lack of security.
“The museum and church are empty shells with only some kitchen equipment in the kitchen of the museum. The members of the legislature were informed that the surrounding areas are hotspots of criminal activities such as drug dealing and police regularly visit the area to collect bribes. The roads leading to the church are dangerously potholed, sidewalks are littered with refuse and dirt and surrounding buildings are neglected and vandalised,” said the DA Leader.
Hardie Viviers, a DA Councillor in Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality (MMM) says the heritage site is now a morally void site that reflects the current state of the ANC.
“It is therefore apt that a Manguang Media release advertising the march indicates that this site is a “moral and historical anchor” since the current state of the Waaihoek Wesleyan Church and its surrounding area signifies everything that the ANC has become and what residents of Mangaung and other municipalities in the Free State have been subjected to.
The ANC is a moral empty shell and has infected our municipalities with crime, corruption and poor services such as serious water issues, lack of infrastructure maintenance, potholed roads and filthy communities,” said Viviers.
“On 8 January 2026, the residents of the Free State have very little to celebrate under decades of ANC-run local and provincial governments. After some progress after 1994, the last two decades in the Free State have seen a significant decline of services, unabated crime and corruption and infrastructure decay.
The DA is also concerned that municipal and provincial resources are abused during a march on 8 January that is a day celebrated by the ANC as a political party under the guise of a community event.
With a proven track record of sound governance and improved service delivery, the DA will continue to provide the residents of the Free State with a viable alternative in the 2026 local government elections,” concluded Dr Roy Jankielsohn.
