ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe has urged voters to remember the services delivered under ANC-led governments over the past three decades as the party faces public frustration over failing municipalities.
Addressing supporters in the Eastern Cape over the weekend, Mantashe encouraged volunteers to highlight programmes including RDP housing, electricity, education, healthcare and social grants when speaking to communities.
He rejected suggestions that reminding people about these programmes amounted to buying their support, saying delivering services was a responsibility.
“It’s our duty to provide service,” he said.
Mantashe appealed for support in the 4 November local government elections and urged volunteers to continue taking the party’s message into communities.
The campaign follows successive electoral setbacks for the ANC. It fell below 50% of the vote in the 2021 municipal elections and lost its national majority in 2024, against a backdrop of dissatisfaction with basic services and deteriorating infrastructure.
The party’s leadership has also acknowledged the need for improvements. At the ANC’s anniversary celebrations in January, President Cyril Ramaphosa identified fixing local government as a priority for 2026.
He called on municipalities to repair potholes, collect refuse regularly and provide clean water and sanitation, placing these everyday responsibilities at the centre of the party’s efforts to improve services.
