By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) celebrated 113 years of its existence this weekend, a momentous milestone for the party and its long-standing commitment to the liberation and development of South Africa.
The celebrations took place on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
The January 8 Statement is a cornerstone of the ANC’s calendar, dating back to 1972 when it was first introduced to celebrate the founding of the party on January 8, 1912 in Bloemfontein.
The themes of unity, renewal, and service resonate strongly, particularly as the ANC continues its efforts to tackle the legacy of apartheid, including economic inequality, unemployment, and crime.
At the birthday bash on Saturday, Sanco and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) made it clear that they are falling into line: they would vote for the ANC in 2026.
Richard Mkhungo, the president of the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) said, Sanco would start mobilising “for the victory of the ANC, come local government elections. We are all going to vote for the African National Congress, no doubt about that.”
He added: “We are very happy with the programme of the ANC.”
Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi, meanwhile, gave a ringing endorsement of the ANC, stating: “We want to say to the NEC of the ANC: Treat well the people of South Africa … Get closer to the people who have nothing so that next year, in 2026, you can be able to win local government elections.”
Deputy national chair Thulas Nxesi called for a moment of “cool heads” as the two parties prepared for talks around the SACP’s decision to contest elections on its own.
Nxesi said the country’s democratic breakthrough in April 1994 “cannot be told without recognising the ANC’s outstanding leadership. The SACP acknowledges the ANC’s leadership in achieving massive social progress in the field of education, housing, water and sanitation, electrification, health, social security, and gender equity which has happened since 1994.”
Nxesi affirmed the SACP’s affiliation to the ANC, saying: “We, the SACP, remain in the alliance and committed to strengthening the alliance.”
But he made it clear that this allegiance does not extend to the other parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU), about which the SACP has been outspoken in criticism.
President Cyril Ramaphosa stressed the importance of alliance members – the South African Communist Party (SACP), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the South African National Civics Organisation (Sanco) – to the ANC. He pleaded for “unity” within the group.
“The strategic alliance between the national liberation movement, the ANC, working together with the SACP, the trade union federation Cosatu and, later, the civic movement Sanco, is possibly one of the best examples of the success of a united front in the world. The alliance remains the proven vehicle to uplift the working class and the poor,” said Ramaphosa.
“The alliance has been put together in struggle by the sweat and the blood of our people. It is therefore important that this alliance must remain united. Let us unite the alliance and not divide this revolutionary alliance.”
Ramaphosa acknowledged the formation of the GNU as a “tactical decision” needed to put the ANC back on track.
Following the 2024 general elections, Ramaphosa said the ANC had to answer the question of how, under conditions not of its choosing, to re-establish the party “as a credible and well-supported force for progress and change” in the country.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) came to the decision to formulate “an inclusive ANC-led government of national unity”, said Ramaphosa.
“The formation of the GNU is a tactical decision to pursue the NDR [National Democratic Revolution] under new conditions that were occasioned by the electoral setback. The ANC’s strategic objective has not changed, but we pursue this objective under conditions where we no longer have a majority to form a government on our own but in cooperation with other parties, “he said.
Ramaphosa said the ANC was “determined” to return as a majority party in the next elections, but would work with other political parties, including those with whom it has “fundamental differences”, in the meantime.
In delivering the ANC’s first January 8th Statement, Ramaphosa could not avoid the topic of the party’s defeat in the May 2024 polls. The 40.2% support garnered by the ANC represented a 17 percentage point drop in support compared with the 2019 elections, or three times the polling decline from election to election since 2009.
The NEC described the electoral defeat as “a strategic setback for the ANC-led National Democratic Revolution” and the ANC as whole, said Ramaphosa.
“For any liberation movement or progressive party, losing a majority in government is a strategic setback. We have to be honest that the outcome of the May elections was a really sad moment for the ANC; it was a huge setback for the ANC, “he said.
The reasons for the ANC’s electoral decline, Ramaphosa said, included the state of the economy, the unemployment crisis, poor basic services and “deficiencies of capable, ethical and responsive governance, as well as the ANC’s organisational weaknesses”.
“A combination of some of these reasons led to many of our traditional supporters and voters staying away from voting or voting for other parties. We accept this.
“The extent and depth of the electoral loss points to an organisation that has lost significant support and public confidence. This may be a painful reality for us to accept, but our healing lies in accepting the depth of dysfunction in our structures, and among our members and leadership,” he continued.
“The 2024 elections results confirm that we face an existential crisis, and this is a moment wherein the ANC should either renew itself or perish.”
Ramaphosa said the renewal of the ANC included, among other things, reviving the party’s branch structures, which have become “weak”, introducing a compulsory course on ethics and integrity in the political education curriculum, and enhancing the quality of membership by overhauling the party’s membership system.
He outlined six priority actions and tasks aimed at driving the country’s progress in the year ahead. “Renewal of the ANC remains the number one priority, while resolving the water crisis, fixing local government and fixing the economy remain the top priorities in the six tasks for this year.