By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) president Cyril Ramaphosa pledged the party’s commitment to local governance as they gear up for the 2026 local government elections.
Ramaphosa delivered the closing remarks at the party’s NEC Lekgotla in Boksburg.
The president reiterated the ANC’s six priorities as outlined during the party’s January 8 celebrations, with fixing local government identified as a central focus.
This includes prioritising water, roads and energy — particularly load reduction — as well as job creation through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
He said this new emphasis on strengthening local government forms part of the Local Government Service Delivery Action Plan.
At the centre of the framework is the ability of residents to report service delivery failures and corruption so they can be escalated to the relevant municipality, province, or specific departments for action.
“It is encouraging that the commissions that were constituted as part of this lekgotla have heeded the call to focus their attention on clear plans with responsibilities, time frames, and targets. As such, the organisation will use these markers to hold all public representatives and deployees accountable. This is not negotiable. This must be done,” Ramaphosa emphasised.
The remaining priorities include economic transformation and inclusive growth, tackling corruption and crime, facilitating a National Dialogue, renewing the organisation, and building a better Africa and world.
The ANC has described the year ahead as one of decisive action, with an emphasis on execution and implementation.
Ramaphosa said the function of the lekgotla was to acknowledge progress made over the past few years in a number of areas affecting the lives of citizens. The party has recognised the momentum of meaningful changes is gathering pace and momentum.
According to the president, “this can be seen in the renewal and rebuilding of our movement and in the recovery of our economy and transformation of our society”.
“This lekgotla has adopted a programme of action for 2026 that not only sustains this momentum but will accelerate the pace of change all South Africans want to see. The actions we have agreed on here must have an immediate and transformative impact on people’s lives, added Ramaphosa.”
Meanwhile the ballot boxes and papers linked to the Greater Johannesburg Regional Conference have been discovered at a private residence in Pretoria.
The discovery has reignited allegations of irregularities surrounding the conference that saw the defeat of current Johannesburg Mayor, Dada Morero, and led to the election of a new regional chair, Loyiso Masuku.
Police and officials from the ANC Secretary General’s office descended on the property on 25 January following the discovery of the election materials.
The house in question belongs to the owner of EMCA, the elections agency appointed to run the regional conference. This connection has fueled existing suspicions regarding the integrity of the vote.
Morero sent a formal letter of complaint to ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula regarding the conduct of the elections agency.
In the letter dated January 21, Morero says the Gauteng leadership must respond to complaints about how the electoral committee and its members were appointed, as well as how it ran the conference.
Ramaphosa has said that he is waiting for a detailed report on the discovery of the ballot papers for the Greater Johannesburg Regional Conference.