South Africa’s ANC party launches reform plan to win back votes in local polls

Ahead of local government elections due later this year, South Africa’s African National Congress has unveiled an ambitious six-point reform drive to win back votes.

The party of Nelson Mandela suffered a bruising setback in the 2024 general elections.

It lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the country’s transition to democracy 30 years earlier, forcing it into a coalition government.

But at a ceremony marking its 114th birthday on Saturday, ANC supporters and politicians were upbeat about the party’s chances.

“There is no other room than the ANC. We are waiting for elections and we will rebuild ourselves and come back stronger in the next coming elections,” said supporter Naledi Moroka

Speaking at the gathering, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the party needs to address its dismal record on providing basic services.

The ANC’s performance at local elections is often worse than at national level as people vent their frustrations over challenges they face in their daily lives.

“We cannot blame our people if they question whether our democracy, our constitution, our economy and indeed the ANC and the Alliance really work for them,” he said, referring to the party’s long-standing coalition with trade unions.

“The renewal of the ANC and the Alliance is the most pressing organisational task of this generation,” Ramaphosa said.

“We need to act with urgency, determination and courage in making renewal more visible and irreversible. We fully understand that we either renew or perish.”

The reform blueprint zeroes in on unemployment, entrenched corruption, worsening inequality, and runaway crime, critical issues for citizens.

Joblessness surged past 30 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic and has stubbornly remained there, despite a string of government programmes aimed at spurring employment.

Africa’s most industrialised nation has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average of more than 60 people killed each day, according to police data.

Ramaphosa said “renewal must be both personal and organisational”, adding that each ANC member “must show in our daily conduct and interaction with society that we represent the best values of our movement”.

The ANC won 40 per cent of votes in 2024 national elections, a catastrophic slump from the 57.5 per cent it won in 2019.

It also suffered record losses in the 2021 municipal elections, the first time in the democratic era that its support dipped below half of ballots cast nationally.

The party will face municipal elections later this year, seen as a key test of its standing.