South Africa president urges ANC to fix local government ahead of elections

President Cyril Ramaphosa urged the ANC to address municipal service failures and announced 54 billion rand for water and power infrastructure; local elections must be held before November.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday urged the African National Congress to fix failures in local government and improve basic services. He made the remarks at a televised party event in Rustenburg marking the ANC's 114th birthday. South Africa must hold local elections before November, and local polls often reflect voter frustration over services such as water, sanitation and roads. In the 2021 local vote the ANC won less than half of the votes for the first time since 1994. Key points: - Ramaphosa said the ANC's first task in 2026 is to fix local government and improve services. - He listed municipal duties including fixing potholes, removing refuse regularly, and providing clean water and sanitation. - The president pledged 54 billion rand in state funding for water and power infrastructure and said nationwide chronic power shortages had ended while some municipalities still had local outages. - Local elections are due before November, and the ANC's share of the vote is widely expected to decline compared with past local polls. Summary: President Ramaphosa framed service delivery as a central party priority and announced significant funding for infrastructure. Local elections due before November will be the next formal test of voter sentiment.