Johannesburg, South Africa — South Africa’s governing African National Congress has released a six-item reform platform intended to recover voter support before this year’s local-government elections, according to official statements released on Saturday. President Cyril Ramaphosa told a rally marking the ANC’s 114th anniversary that poor delivery of water, electricity and sanitation at municipal level has undermined public trust. “We cannot blame our people if they question whether our democracy, our constitution, our economy and indeed the ANC … really work for them,” he said urging members to make the party’s renewal “visible and irreversible.
” Unemployment, measured above 30 percent since the pandemic, and a homicide rate police data place at more than 60 deaths a day, are listed as top priorities. Local sources report that the party hopes faster hiring programmes, tighter anti-corruption rules and visible service improvements will persuade voters to return ahead of the still-unscheduled municipal poll.
The ANC took 40 percent of ballots in the 2024 national contest, down from 57.
5 percent five years earlier, and fell below 50 percent in the 2021 local elections. Party officials say the upcoming vote will test whether the new agenda can reverse that slide.
Further details on timelines and budgets have not yet been released.
The election date is expected to be set by the national government later this year.
