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, to fix water leaks, potholes, and power outages, and to
deliver basic cleaning and greening services.”
“We call on our deployees in government to fast-track the review of the local government funding model and the equitable share policy so that municipalities are placed on a sustainable financial footing. We also call on municipal administrations to strengthen financial management so that scarce resources are used first and foremost to provide services and to develop our towns and communities.”
He said restoring functional, accountable and capable municipalities was essential if the ANC was to rebuild confidence among communities and reverse its electoral decline.
Ramaphosa reminded supporters that in last year’s January 8 Statement, the ANC had committed itself to ending load shedding and stabilising water supply through upgrading, maintaining and expanding municipal infrastructure.
While progress had been made in electricity generation, with Eskom showing “dramatic improvement” and increased private-sector investment in new capacity, he conceded that municipal load reduction continued to disrupt households and businesses.
He described load reduction as a consequence of mounting municipal debt to Eskom, calling on electricity users to pay for services and support government efforts to prevent illegal connections that cause system overloads and outages.
Municipalities, he said, must strengthen billing and revenue collection systems, honour repayment agreements with Eskom, and act decisively against vandalism and electricity theft.
“Local government has a central role in economic development and job creation. We call on all municipalities to ensure that local economic development plans reflect the comparative advantages of each area and build partnerships with the private sector. Municipalities must revitalise industrial parks and Special Economic Zones to attract investment that supports local manufacturing and creates jobs,” he said.
“Municipalities must review by-laws to improve the ease of doing business and reduce red tape for local SMMEs and informal businesses by speeding up approvals and reducing licensing costs.”
On energy access, Ramaphosa announced that the Department of Electricity and Energy would use new solar and battery technologies to connect 20 rural communities every year, targeting areas not yet linked to the national grid and ensuring access to clean and affordable electricity.
Water security featured prominently in the address, with Ramaphosa noting that it had been elevated as a national priority.
He said the government currently had 13 major water resource infrastructure projects under implementation, including the Lesotho Highlands Water Project to supply Gauteng and the uMkhomazi Water Project for eThekwini.
In the North West alone, R1.2 billion had been allocated to improve access to water services.
However, he cautioned that infrastructure spending alone would not resolve the crisis unless municipalities improved project preparation, appointed skilled contractors and enforced disciplined implementation so that communities benefited from public investment.
The ANC called on government departments to support municipalities in accessing the Trading Services Grant, enabling them to leverage private-sector investment in water services.
Ramaphosa stressed that water revenue must be ring-fenced and water losses reduced in a country facing increasing scarcity.
ANC councillors, he said, had a responsibility to educate communities about responsible water use and the importance of paying for services, while ensuring that households unable to afford water and electricity were properly registered as indigent.
Addressing the widespread reliance on water tankers, Ramaphosa recalled commitments made at the March 2025 Water Indaba that tankering should be used only in emergencies.
He urged communities and ANC structures to work with law enforcement to clamp down on the sabotage of water infrastructure, which he said was often driven by criminal networks seeking to sustain water tanker contracts.
“At the March 2025 Water Indaba, municipalities committed to using water tankers only for emergencies, rather than for regular provision. ANC branches and communities must assist the police in tackling those who sabotage water infrastructure to sustain water tankering businesses,” said Ramaphosa.
“We call on law enforcement to ensure that those responsible are investigated and prosecuted. Over the next three years, national government will invest R54 billion to repair water and electricity infrastructure in Buffalo City, Cape Town, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Johannesburg, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane.”
Beyond water and electricity, Ramaphosa said municipalities must return to the basics of service delivery: fixing potholes, collecting refuse, maintaining clean and green public spaces, and ensuring reliable sanitation.
He called for increased funding for infrastructure maintenance, the rebuilding of in-house technical capacity, functional municipal fleets and skilled personnel to respond rapidly to service failures.
He also emphasised the need for ethical, professional municipal administrations insulated from political interference and corruption, alongside a fast-tracked review of the local government funding model and equitable share system to place municipalities on a sustainable financial footing.
The renewed focus on local government comes as the ANC prepares for municipal elections expected between November this year and January next year.
After losing control of several municipalities in the last two local government polls, and its national majority in the 2024 elections, the party is under pressure to demonstrate tangible improvements in basic services.
Ramaphosa said rebuilding trust would require councillors to reconnect with communities through active ward committees, regular door-to-door engagement and honest communication about service delivery challenges.
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