Ramaphosa puts fixing local government and basic services at heart of ANC’s 2026 agenda

By Johnathan Paoli

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has placed fixing local government and improving basic services at the centre of the party’s priorities for the year, ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

Delivering the ANC’s January 8 Statement at its 114th anniversary celebrations at Moruleng Stadium in the North West, Ramaphosa acknowledged that local government remains the sphere of the state most closely connected to the daily lives of citizens, and also the level at which public trust has been most severely eroded by service delivery failures.

“Local government remains the sphere closest to citizens’ daily lives, where the injunction of the Freedom Charter that ‘the people shall govern’, must find its most direct expression. We cannot accept dysfunctional, apathetic, uncaring local government,” Ramaphosa said.

“Municipalities must also increase funding for infrastructure maintenance and strengthen administrative capacity. They must build in-house capacity, especially functional yellow fleets and skilled personnel,