The ANC needs to respect South Africa‚ South African Communist Party (SACP) general secretary Blade Nzimande said on Saturday.

Nzimande‚ S'dumo Dlamini‚ president of Cosatu‚ and Sanco president Richard Mdakane all brought messages of support for the ANC ahead of the January 8 statement‚ which ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa is set to deliver in East London on Saturday.

Relations within the alliance was at an all-time low at the end of former ANC president Jacob Zuma's second term.‚ with both Cosatu and the SACP calling on Zuma to step down.

Nzimande said in his message that the sovereignty of SA needed to be protected.

"Our country needs the ANC‚ but the ANC needs to respect the country‚" Nzimande said‚ adding that SA should not be taken for granted‚ and that the movement needed to listen to what the people of SA had to say.

Dlamini ‚ who represents the workers of Cosatu‚ said he wanted to tell the opposition parties that they [the workers] were the voters. He said they would give the ANC the two-thirds majority of votes that they would need to change the laws of SA.

A two-thirds majority in Parliament is required to amend the Constitution. The ANC has resolved to amend the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.

Mdakane said the celebrations ushered in the beginning of renewal in the ANC‚ and set up a process of uniting the alliance.

Sanco recognised the achievements of the ANC to bring about better lives for South Africans. He said the current challenges in the country needed a more united and vibrant ANC and alliance.

Gwede Mantashe‚ ANC chairman‚ said they hoped that Saturday would mark a new beginning where the allies all spoke in one voice‚ as it created confusion in society when they did not.