The ANC will not allow laziness and corruption, its president Jacob Zuma said at a party rally in the North West on Sunday.

"We are not going to allow lazy people because if they are lazy, it means we are not going to deliver," he told thousands of cheering supporters at Olympia Park Stadium in Rustenburg.

In the new administration, things would be done differently, he said.

A planning strategy would be put in place to monitor the performance of government, at national, provincial and local levels.

"If I am not performing, I must be recalled, our task is to serve the people."

Zuma warned ANC candidates that they were elected to serve, not to enrich themselves. Corrupt officials would be harshly dealt with in the new administration.

"A person commits fraud, and he suspended with full pay. We need to change that. Why do we have to pay someone sitting at home?"

He told the crowd that the ANC was unique from other political parties, because it cared for the people

"Our manifesto, is a manifesto of the people, drawn and adopted by the people of this country."

Zuma concluded his address by singing Noba Kubi Siyaya (No matter what, we are going forward), and then Awulethu' Mshini Wami (Bring me my machine gun), keeping the crowd on its feet.

ANC supporters were bussed in from four districts of the province and almost filled the 40,000-seater stadium. A group of youths earlier pushed the barrier separating the stage from the pitch and chanted "Zuma, Zuma".

An excited Nkosithethile Madikida, 18, from Wonderkop, near Rustenburg said he wanted to "see and touch Zuma".

"I travelled a distance to see him, or touch him if possible. He is the man carrying the hope of these people."

He was disappointed at not being able to vote for Zuma in the April elections as he was still 17 at the time of the last voter registration drive.

Present at the rally were the North West ANC provincial executive committee.

On Sunday morning Zuma told a Rustenburg church that he was there "for the word of God" and "nothing else".

"I came here for the word, nothing else," he told members of the New Covenant Fellowship International Church.

Zuma's appearance and address at Rhema church in Johannesburg on March 15 sparked a furore, with accusations from some quarters that he was using the opportunity to campaign for the ANC.

Zuma said the ANC and the church had a long-standing relationship dating back to the formation of the African National Congress in 1912.

The church had a duty, as described in the Bible, to pray for those in government and give constructive criticism, he said.

"We need constructive criticism. Why don't you speak so that we can see when things go wrong?" Zuma asked, adding that congregants should keep political parties in touch with their needs.