ANC’s road to 2029 depends on more than admission
The ANC’s acknowledgement that it performed poorly in the local government elections offers a useful starting point for rebuilding its reputation. What it needs next is accountability that carries a political cost: decisions that change who holds responsibility, how public money is spent and what happens when those entrusted with government fail to deliver.
The party’s statement recognises that its support has fallen, that it has lost longstanding councils and that voters have delivered a judgement it cannot explain away. It acknowledges failures involving water, refuse collection, roads and municipal accounts. For an organisation seeking to regain public confidence, accepting those experiences without arguing with the electorate is a necessary first step.
There is political value in that response. Rejecting the public’s judgement would deepen the distance between the ANC and people who once supported it. Accepting the outcome, respecting the electoral process and expressing willingness to cooperate also gives potential coalition partners a more constructive basis for engagement. Humility can keep a political conversation open when defensiveness would close it.
However, a statement can establish an intention without establishing credibility. The ANC has explained that it understands the seriousness of the moment. It has yet to demonstrate, through this document, how that understanding will change the decisions its leaders make when accountability threatens an influential colleague or a powerful internal grouping.
The promise to select representatives for competence and character rather than faction is particularly important. Taken seriously, it would affect appointments, candidate selection and the relationships through which influence operates inside the organisation. Its credibility will depend on whether those criteria survive when the preferred candidate of a powerful structure falls short.
That is where the statement needed greater precision. It promises organisational rebuilding and stronger standards of conduct, but does not attach those commitments to a public timetable, named responsibilities or a reporting process. Those omissions do not prove that no such arrangements exist. They do, however, leave the public without a clear way to judge whether the promised change is happening.
A more convincing response would have paired the acknowledgement with a limited programme of decisions. The ANC could have committed to publishing its post-election review, explaining how leadership failures would be addressed and setting out the standards expected of its representatives in incoming councils. It could also have specified when the public would receive its first progress report.
Such commitments would not require the party to pretend that every municipal failure can be repaired quickly. Infrastructure, funding and skills constraints are real, and the statement is entitled to describe them. Credibility would improve if the ANC explained which problems require longer investment programmes and which involve decisions that should already have been taken.
Residents can assess a realistic repair schedule, a functioning complaints process or an accurately corrected bill. They have far less reason to trust a broad assurance that government will improve when nobody is clearly responsible for demonstrating it.
The statement’s treatment of national government also deserves scrutiny. Its assurance that municipalities will receive support regardless of how their residents voted is welcome. Yet its emphasis on the ANC holding the presidency and using national government to improve local conditions risks presenting public institutions as an extension of the party’s recovery effort.
National support should be explained through transparent public responsibilities, funding criteria and measurable need. A municipality governed by an opposition party should receive appropriate assistance because its residents are entitled to functioning government. The ANC would strengthen its reputation by defending that principle consistently, including where another party receives political credit for the improvement.
Coalition negotiations offer an immediate opportunity to show whether the statement has practical meaning. Agreements that disclose priorities, responsibilities, appointment standards and procedures for resolving disagreements would make its rejection of secret arrangements easier to assess. The real test will arise when preserving stable administration requires the ANC to accept less control than it would prefer.
There is reputational value in being a reliable governing partner. Supporting a workable budget, resisting unsuitable appointments and resolving disputes without repeatedly threatening an administration would give the party evidence of responsible conduct. Seeking office through arrangements that reproduce instability would weaken the message of renewal before it has had time to establish itself.
The period before 2029 should therefore be understood as a period in which the ANC must build a demonstrable record. During 2027, voters should be able to identify consequential changes in leadership standards, accountability and municipal administration. During 2028, those changes should be producing sustained improvements that residents can recognise without relying on party advertising.
Accountability must also be fair. Allegations require investigation, and disciplinary action must respect due process. But fairness cannot become a permanent explanation for unresolved cases, nor should political influence determine whose conduct receives scrutiny. Publishing lawful, substantive updates would help distinguish genuine processes from promises that remain indefinitely unfinished.
The same principle applies to rebuilding branches. More meetings and stronger campaign structures may improve organisational activity, but public confidence requires representatives who remain accessible between elections. Community engagement should help identify unresolved problems and unsuitable candidates, with visible consequences when residents raise substantiated concerns.
None of this guarantees an electoral recovery. Municipal results cannot simply be carried forward into a national election, and voters will assess the wider record of national and provincial government. Employment, safety, household costs and the performance of competing parties will also influence the choices made in 2029.
The ANC’s statement nevertheless creates a standard against which its next decisions can be judged. It has said it will accept correction, improve its conduct and earn back trust through service. Its willingness to apply those commitments when they inconvenience its own leaders will determine whether this admission becomes the beginning of recovery or another promise voters remember at the next election.
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