This also marks the start of the ANC calendar and should outline plans the party has for both itself and its government.

In sharing her views on gender-based violence, ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte said only when women mobilised and united against the scourge, would it be brought to an end.

ANC's Nomvula Mokonyane said when it came to myth-busting some of the theories around COVID-19, it was best left to the experts.

The event marks its 109th birthday which is usually held across different provinces in the country but has been halted due to COVID-19.

The ANC's Gauteng provincial secretary said Africans should reject any vaccine that had not been developed on the continent and not tested over at least two to three years.

Cyril Ramaphosa has recently said that divisions were becoming more apparent in the ranks of the party.

The postponement was made to accommodate a webinar commemorating ANC stalwart Joe Slovo's passing.

The councillor – who was one of the leaders of the 2019 Alexandra protests – asked the party to grant him an opportunity to clear his name.

In the letter to the party, the councillor - while claiming innocence - requests a leave of absence from his role.

The Action SA leader said such a fund should be managed by private medical aids who could then be forced to ensure a transparent and efficient rollout to all South Africans in the interest of collective health and prosperity.

John Steenhuisen received the mandate to lead the Democratic Alliance (DA) but there are persistent questions about the direction of the party and its future.

The party’s leadership emerged out of the watershed 2017 Nasrec conference seeking to build a united organisation. But the past three years have underlined just how difficult it is to bring the different factions together.

Former President Jacob Zuma remained a key figure in headline news in 2020.

In his New Year’s message broadcast on Thursday, the president said important progress had been made in vital economic reforms and this would ensure affordable energy, cheaper and faster broadband and more competitive railways and ports of entry.

In his New Year's Eve message delivered on Thursday afternoon, Ramaphosa said that it had been a year of great sacrifice as many in the coutnry had experienced personal and economic costs due to COVID-19.

The DA is hoping to get the National Assembly to deal with the matter; a request Parliament's spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said was still under consideration.

Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, the minister said his department would deploy an additional 160 officials to six of the country’s busiest ports of entry to manage a high influx of people moving in and out of the country.

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi on Wednesday briefed the media and rubbished reports that four drivers had died while they waited in the queue to cross.