JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The African National Congress’s (ANC) preparations for the 2026 local government elections are being driven by a wide-ranging review of its performance in previous terms, with party leaders seeking to turn lessons from the past five years into a practical plan ahead of the November polls.
The African National Congress has been holding review sessions to assess both the advances and the difficulties experienced during the current municipal cycle. The process is meant to highlight what the party has achieved, where it has struggled and what must be corrected before it asks voters for another mandate.
The party’s Local Government Intervention Sub-Committee has reaffirmed its commitment to building on progress already made while dealing directly with areas that still require improvement. The ANC said the party would enter the 2026 local government elections with a record of real advances and a disciplined programme to consolidate them, especially where implementation has been uneven.
The party said the lessons emerging from the current term are already helping to shape a more focused and effective programme for the next term. It has called on ANC structures, incoming councillors and public representatives to treat the review as a living mandate for renewal and implementation, rather than a static document.
According to the sub-committee, lessons identified during the review must be translated into action programmes. Successful turnaround examples must be studied and adapted, while integrity and performance standards must be applied consistently across the movement.
The ANC says this approach will help convert reflection into visible improvements in communities and strengthen the effectiveness of the democratic state for the people of South Africa.
The party’s undertaking to the public remains clear: it will account honestly, implement purposely and improve continuously. As the November polls approach, the ANC says it will defend the progress achieved, measure work still under way, report openly on implementation and act where additional support or correction is required.
