When South Africa’s ruling party marked its 114th anniversary on 08 January, it did so under conditions it had not faced in three decades.
Development Diaries reports that for the first time since the end of apartheid, the African National Congress (ANC) no longer holds a parliamentary majority.
In its anniversary statement, the ANC acknowledged that unemployment remains crushingly high, inequality is entrenched, and basic services are failing too many communities.
From electricity blackouts and collapsing municipal services to youth joblessness and deepening poverty, the crisis is no longer abstract.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu attempted to re-anchor the organisation in its liberation roots. The ANC, she said, ‘was never built for comfort, but for struggle; never for power, but for service’.
It was a deliberate reminder of the moral authority the party once commanded, and an implicit acknowledgement that many citizens believe it has drifted far from that purpose.
The party now describes this period as one of ‘renewal and hope’, rather than despair. In practical terms, it has committed itself to rebuilding local government, creating jobs, and intensifying the fight against corruption as it prepares for the 2026 local government elections.
The loss of a parliamentary majority in 2024 was the cumulative result of years of governance failure, weak accountability, and the perception that party loyalty had replaced public service as the organising principle of the state.
Municipal collapse across large parts of the country has left communities without water, sanitation, refuse removal, or functioning infrastructure. Youth unemployment remains among the highest in the world. Corruption scandals, despite commissions and reports, have rarely produced decisive consequences.
This is the system citizens must interrogate. South Africa does not suffer from a lack of policy frameworks. It suffers from institutional decay and political impunity.
The challenge is whether the ANC is willing to dismantle the patronage networks, internal protections, and weak oversight mechanisms that have hollowed out the state.
Local government reform, which the ANC now places at the centre of its renewal agenda, is a particularly telling test. Municipalities are where constitutional rights are either realised or denied.
When water does not run, when clinics lack staff, when refuse is not collected, rights to health, dignity, and a safe environment are violated. These failures disproportionately affect poor households, women who carry unpaid care burdens, and residents of townships and informal settlements. Any renewal agenda that does not confront this inequity is cosmetic.
Responsibility for change lies squarely with political leadership. Party renewal that does not translate into administrative discipline, transparent procurement, and consequences for corruption will not rebuild public trust.
Parliament, provincial governments, and municipal councils all remain under ANC influence. Citizens are therefore justified in demanding evidence, not rhetoric.
South Africans should treat the ANC’s anniversary message as a claim that requires proof. If the party is serious about renewal, it must show how job creation will be funded and measured, how local governments will be stabilised, and how corrupt officials will be removed from positions of power, not redeployed quietly.
As the country moves towards the 2026 local elections, the question is no longer whether the ANC understands the scale of public frustration. It has admitted as much.
The real question is whether renewal means changing how power is exercised, or simply rebranding it for survival. Citizens, having already demonstrated their willingness to withdraw electoral support, now hold the strongest leverage they have had in years. The task ahead is to use it.