AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS’ COMMITMENT TO ACTION ON RENEWAL, SERVICE DELIVERY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND HONOURING OR TAMBO INTRODUCTION

MAKEKASIGREAT©®™ @KASIBC_AFRICA

ONLINE EDITOR @KASIBC_AFRICA

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS’ COMMITMENT TO ACTION ON RENEWAL, SERVICE DELIVERY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND HONOURING OR TAMBO INTRODUCTION 

The African National Congress (ANC) convenes this media briefing following the recent deliberations of the National Working Committee (NWC), a body entrusted with providing collective leadership on behalf of our movement between sittings of the National Executive Committee (NEC). We do so conscious of our historic mandate, bestowed upon us by generations of struggle, to remain the leader of society and the custodian of South Africa’s democratic transition. 

This October holds a special significance for our movement and our nation, as it is the month set aside to celebrate, honour and learn from the life, values and principles of President Oliver Reginald Tambo. OR Tambo was the embodiment of disciplined, selfless and visionary leadership, a leader who carried the torch of the ANC in the darkest days of exile and inspired generations with his clarity of purpose. As he once reminded us, “The fight for freedom must go on until it is won; until our country is free and happy and peaceful as part of the community of man, we cannot rest.” These words must continue to inspire ANC members and South Africans alike, as we recommit to building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa. 

The ANC acknowledges that the current political environment is one of both challenge and opportunity. On the one hand, we face persistent socio-economic difficulties, rising public scepticism, and aggressive opposition campaigns. On the other, our renewal agenda, our Action Plan on local government, and our unwavering solidarity with global progressive struggles demonstrate that the ANC continues to set the pace, inspire confidence, and chart the course of transformation. 

ROLLCALL IS BEGINNING TO SHOW IMPACT 

The Roll Call was not symbolic but operational. Councillors have been instructed to report monthly on the six pillars of the Local Government Action Plan. Baseline reports from Chief Whips are now under review, and by November the ANC will release a “Local Government Barometer” measuring progress against manifesto commitments. 

Already, communities are beginning to feel the impact of this renewed focus. In Myra Village, North West, where residents reported no access to water, urgent intervention was coordinated involving the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), the Office of the Premier in the North West, Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District, and Magalies Water. Through urgent action, repairs, and collaboration between institutions, water supply was restored. This case demonstrates the ANC’s commitment to unlock service delivery challenges, strengthen accountability, and restore dignity to communities. 

These achievements show that renewal is tangible, measured not in speeches but in roads fixed, taps f lowing, lights switched on, and communities served. To this extent, in the coming days, the ANC will embark on unannounced visits across the country to see, first-hand, the work being done to ensure service delivery in our communities. 

 These visits will prioritise engagement with our people: we will meet with communities first, listen to their concerns directly, and only thereafter will we engage councillors and leadership structures in those areas. 

This approach is a clear demonstration that the ANC’s renewal is people-centred, that accountability begins with the community, and that our commitment is to restore dignity through direct action, not distant reports. 

PROGRESS IN STRATEGIC SECTORS & LOCAL GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS 

The African National Congress is clear. service delivery must be felt in every municipality, from the smallest village to our biggest metros and in all State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). Our people deserve working roads, reliable water, proper housing, functioning electricity networks and cities that restore dignity and hope. Guided by the outcomes of the Councillor Roll Call and the President’s marching orders, the ANC is acting decisively to unblock challenges, drive accountability, and ensure visible improvements across our metros. 

The progress already under way in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and eThekwini is evidence that renewal is not a slogan but a lived reality of change on the ground. • Johannesburg: Roads are being rehabilitated, waste collection is stabilising, housing upgrades are under way, and a clear plan to resolve water issues is being implemented. • Ekurhuleni: Water reticulation in Tembisa and Vosloorus is being upgraded, while long-delayed title deeds are finally reaching our people. • eThekwini: Post-flood repairs are restoring infrastructure, electricity networks are being improved, roads are being upgraded, and the city is once again reclaiming its place as the fun city, the playground for all South Africans to enjoy. 

The ANC welcomes Eskom’s R16 billion after-tax profit, the first in eight years, reflecting the turnaround of a once-ailing utility. Coupled with the synchronisation of Kusile Unit 6 and steady improvements in the Energy Availability Factor, this is a milestone in restoring energy security. This achievement is testimony to years of disciplined work and the leadership of the Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and his collective. We acknowledge that challenges remain, particularly the continued implementation of load reduction in some communities, which has been a source of frustration and hardship for our people. 

The ANC supports the Minister and Eskom in their efforts to find lasting, equitable solutions that protect the grid while ensuring fairness in supply. Load reduction must be tackled with urgency, innovation and sensitivity to the realities of poor households. Equally, the ANC is deeply concerned about the rising cost of electricity, which places a heavy burden on households and businesses alike. We support the Minister of Electricity, Eskom, and government in their engagements with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to ensure that tariff increases are balanced, fair, and sensitive to the living conditions of ordinary South Africans. Energy reform must not only guarantee stability of supply, but also affordability, so that electricity becomes an enabler of growth and dignity, not a barrier to development. 

Other SOEs are stabilising including Transnet is addressing port congestion through the Freight Logistics Roadmap, SAA has resumed regional routes, and Denel has secured contracts that retain critical engineering capacity. Understanding the National Mood, Leading the Response Recent IPSOS surveys confirm both the scale of the challenges and the opportunities before us. Twentytwo percent of South Africans believe the country is moving in the right direction, but unemployment, crime and corruption, and the rising cost of living dominate our concerns and resolve to overcome them 

The ANC does not deny these realities. Rather, we confront them with a clear programme to restore safety, create jobs, reduce household pressures, and intensify the fight against corruption. In this regard, the ANC reiterates its full support for the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, established to investigate serious allegations affecting the integrity of state institutions by the President of the Republic and of the ANC, Comrade Cyril Ramaphosa. 

The Commission is evidence of the ANC’s fight against corruption and maladministration. We note that names of individuals may arise in testimony or submissions; we emphasise that all those mentioned will have the right to reply and the opportunity to clear their names, in line with our constitutional values of fairness and justice. 

Equally, the SIU report on Tembisa Hospital has laid bare disturbing patterns of procurement irregularities and criminality. The ANC welcomes the work of the SIU in exposing these networks, which have siphoned resources meant for the most vulnerable in our society. This demonstrates, once again, that our state institutions are working to uncover wrongdoing and hold perpetrators accountable. 

The ANC will continue to support law enforcement agencies and Parliament in ensuring that those implicated face the full might of the law. We state without hesitation. No member of the African National Congress has ever been given a mandate to be corrupt. Any member who engages in corruption stands alone, outside the traditions, values and discipline of the ANC. Corruption is treason against the people; it robs the poor, undermines service delivery, and desecrates the sacrifices that gave birth to our democracy. The ANC’s position is unmistakable. We will never defend corruption; we will expose it, confront it, and defeat it. 

Those who commit acts of corruption cannot hide behind the ANC, cannot drag our name into their crimes, and cannot claim legitimacy from the movement. The ANC will not sink with those who choose the path of corruption. Those who betray the people for personal gain will be isolated, disciplined and removed. 

Renewal means drawing a line, those on the side of corruption place themselves outside the ANC. Our fight against corruption is not borrowed from anywhere, it is the ANC’s own fight, guided by the policies and resolutions of our conferences. In government, this is implemented through consequence management, lifestyle audits, procurement reforms and the strengthening of institutions such as the SIU and the NPA. 

When action is taken against wrongdoing, it is because the ANC has resolved that corruption must be rooted out, wherever it hides, whoever is implicated, whatever the cost. The ANC is unwavering in its commitment to a South Africa free of corruption, a country where public resources serve the people, not thieves; where government is an instrument of transformation, not personal enrichment; and where accountability is the standard, not the exception. 

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS & ORGANISATIONAL WORK 

The African National Congress emerges from yesterday’s by-elections with renewed confidence and pride, having secured important victories in Ward 5, Elundini sub-region in the Joe Gqabi Region of the Eastern Cape, and Ward 10, in Greater Tshwane, Gauteng. We thank residents, voters, volunteers, activists and supporters who stood firmly with the movement. These victories are not just electoral wins, they are proof that the ANC continues to live, continues to lead, and continues to inspire the confidence of our people. These victories are a mandate for us to intensify renewal, deepen accountability, and accelerate the transformation agenda. 

The renewal of the ANC is not an abstract slogan, it is lived daily through the discipline of our comrades, the accountability of our councillors, and the active participation of our volunteers in communities. Across provinces and regions, the ANC is intensifying organisational work. Branches are reconnecting with communities, provincial and regional structures are driving programmes of service, and activists are already on the ground ensuring that the ANC remains present in the daily struggles of our people. 

Already, regional conferences have been successfully convened across our provinces, reflecting the vitality of our structures. In the Eastern Cape, the Chris Hani, OR Tambo, Alfred Nzo and Joe Gqabi regions have completed their conferences, while Nelson Mandela and Dr WB Rubusana regions are at advanced stages. In Limpopo, all five regions, Sekhukhune, Vhembe, Norman Mashabane, Peter Mokaba and Waterberg, have convened their conferences. 

In Mpumalanga, both Ehlanzeni and Gert Sibande regions have completed their processes, while Nkangala is finalising preparations. In Gauteng, Ekurhuleni has successfully convened, while Johannesburg, Tshwane and Sedibeng are ready to proceed pending dispute resolution. These conferences are not merely organisational rituals; they are platforms of accountability, unity and renewal. They reaffirm the strength of our democratic traditions inside the ANC, where branches and delegates shape the direction of the movement. Above all, the ANC is clear, those who represent our people must embody the highest standards of service, loyalty and humility. Renewal means placing the people at the centre, never personal ambition. It is this discipline and selflessness that will once again inspire the confidence of our people and secure victory for the ANC. 

The African National Congress will convene a Special National Executive Committee (NEC) Meeting from Saturday, 04 October to Monday, 06 October 2025, at the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre. This NEC will deliberate on and resolve critical matters, including the Guidelines on the List Process and key questions of economic development. These discussions are central to strengthening organisational renewal, ensuring integrity and accountability in candidate selection, and sharpening the ANC’s response to the pressing economic challenges facing our people.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY 

The African National Congress continues to play its role as part of the global progressive movement. At the United Nations General Assembly, the President reaffirmed South Africa’s principled positions on Palestine, economic sovereignty, and multilateralism. 

The ANC commends the courageous South African activists who have joined the Global Sumud Flotilla, a powerful symbol of international solidarity with the Palestinian people. Their journey, which echoes our own struggle for freedom from apartheid, stands as a testament to our nation’s enduring commitment to justice, human rights and international law. We salute their principled stand, which reflects the values of the ANC and aligns with our government’s historic action at the International Court of Justice against Israeli apartheid and genocide. The Flotilla is  not only a humanitarian mission; it is a vital, non-violent act of defiance against the illegal blockade of Gaza, and a moral statement against the daily injustices and suffering imposed on the Palestinian people. 

The ANC calls on Israel to immediately desist from obstructing this humanitarian effort and to respect international law. We further call on the international community to provide protection and support to those onboard, who are now facing intimidation and unlawful threats from the Israeli navy. Their courage should inspire us all to intensify the global campaign to end the occupation, lift the blockade, and secure freedom and dignity for the people of Palestine. 

The ANC is engaged in the solemn and dignified process of exhuming and repatriating the mortal remains of our combatants who fell in Angola during the difficult years of exile and armed struggle. This historic task is being carried out in partnership with liberation movements, the government of Angola, and the South African government, to ensure that those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom are honoured with dignity. It is more than a logistical exercise; it is a profound act of remembrance and justice. By bringing our heroes and heroines home, we preserve our shared history, we reconnect families with their loved ones, and we teach new generations about the sacrifices that underpin the democracy we enjoy today. 

The ANC regards this process as a sacred duty, rooted in our values of respect, solidarity, and loyalty to those who carried the spear of liberation into battle. In collaboration with the Russian Embassy and relevant ANC subcommittees, the African National Congress will host the ANC/SACP/MK and Soviet Solidarity Exhibition under the theme: “Solidarity in Action; Honouring the Role of the Soviet Union and Cuba in Supporting Southern Africa’s Liberation Struggles.” This historic exhibition will officially open at Chief Albert Luthuli House on 23 October 2025, running until 30 October 2025, before moving to Cape Town as part of a national programme of remembrance and education. 

Taking place during OR Tambo Month, the exhibition pays special tribute to President Oliver Reginald Tambo’s visionary leadership in building enduring bonds of solidarity between the ANC and the global progressive movement. It was under his stewardship that relations with the Soviet Union, Cuba, and other international allies were strengthened, ensuring that our liberation struggle was not isolated but sustained through material, diplomatic, and moral support. The exhibition is therefore both a tribute to the unwavering solidarity extended to our liberation movements, and a reminder to current and future generations of the internationalism that sustained our struggle for freedom. 

It is also a call to deepen today’s global solidarity with oppressed peoples, including the Palestinian struggle, in the spirit of Tambo’s enduring message that “The fight for freedom must go on until it is won.” 

HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY OF COMRADE NATHI MTHETHWA  

It is with profound sadness that the African National Congress conveys its heartfelt condolences to the family of our dearly departed Comrade Nathi Mthethwa. Cde Mthethwa was not only a loyal member of the ANC, but also a servant of the people who dedicated his entire adult life to the liberation struggle and the building of a democratic order. 

As an organiser in Northern Natal, a Regional Secretary, which is an equivalent of a Provincial Secretary in our current Constitution, and freedom fighter, Cde Nathi played a decisive role in advancing free political activity under repressive apartheid conditions. His activism in communities and trade unions laid the ground for democratic participation and broadened the reach of the ANC in that region. 

He served the movement and the country with diligence, humility and commitment, whether as Minister of Police, where he worked to stabilise the security services; or as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, where he championed heritage, creativity and social cohesion. He embodied the qualities of discipline, loyalty and selfless service that the ANC continues to demand of its cadres, as Head of Political Education in our movement, he imparted these very values that characterised him. Cde Nathi Mthethwa’s passing is not only a loss to his family, but to the entire movement and nation. 

We extend our deepest sympathies to his loved ones, comrades and friends. We dip our revolutionary banner in his honour and pledge to carry forward the ideals he so faithfully lived for. May his soul rest in eternal peace. CONCLUSION As we confront the months ahead, the ANC calls upon all South Africans to unite in the struggle for a better life for all. 

The challenges of unemployment, crime, poverty and inequality demand collective action, not despair. The ANC remains the only movement with the vision, depth and experience to lead this struggle. In this month of OR Tambo, we remind ourselves of his enduring counsel that “It is our responsibility to break down barriers of division and create a country where there will be neither whites nor blacks, just South Africans, free and united in diversity.” 

As we recommit to renewal and service, let us draw from his wisdom to strengthen our resolve and inspire our path forward. 

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