Yasmin Bilal
The ANC has outlined its priorities ahead of the 2026 local government elections, focusing on the cost of living, struggling municipalities, economic transformation, corruption, migration and constitutional matters.
Speaking at the party’s National Working Committee briefing today, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula said reducing the cost of living remained the movement’s top priority.
“The ANC has made the cost of living the first item on the nation’s agenda, because it is the first item at every family’s table,” Mbalula said.
He welcomed the latest inflation figures and the South African Reserve Bank’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged, saying it would bring relief to households.
Mbalula said conflicts in the Middle East, including around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb, continued to push up fuel and food prices by disrupting oil and fertiliser supplies.
“The National Working Committee adds the movement’s voice to the call for calm in the Strait of Hormuz, and now the Bab-el-Mandeb, and we stand ready to assist any genuine effort towards peace and a ceasefire,” he said.
Turning to local government, Mbalula said 2026 would be “the year of decisive action” to improve struggling municipalities through constitutional interventions and stronger governance.
“Public money must never be stolen or wasted, and that discipline must be exercised within the constitutional order, through Parliament,” he said.
Mbalula said the latest Auditor-General outcomes showed an increase in clean audits, with several municipalities improving their performance. He also highlighted eThekwini’s financial recovery, saying it was collecting 93 cents in every rand billed.
On economic transformation, Mbalula defended Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), saying South Africa remained one of the world’s most unequal countries.
“Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment will survive the attacks and the slander. It is not a cost; it is an investment in stability and social peace,” Mbalula said.
He said transformation also included expanding local mineral beneficiation, protecting workers as artificial intelligence entered the workplace and introducing a permanent Basic Income Support grant.
Addressing corruption, Mbalula backed the work of the Madlanga Commission, Parliament’s ad hoc committee established after allegations by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and the Khampepe Commission.
“We insist the work be done in the open, so the nation sees that even when the wrongdoer wears ANC colours, that person is named and isolated,” he said.
Mbalula also called for an end to “phone-call policing” and said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate should return to its lawful mandate.
On the parliamentary process involving President Cyril Ramaphosa, Mbalula said the Western Cape High Court had only paused the Section 89 committee hearings pending a judicial review.
“The process is what matters. A fair, unrushed process will give the country a result it can stand behind,” Mbalula said.
He also defended National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza, saying she had acted appropriately by remaining impartial.
Mbalula condemned anti-immigrant protests and warned against vigilantism, saying immigration enforcement was the responsibility of the State.
“There is no one in our country, a country where the rule of law reigns supreme, who can take the law into their own hands,” he said.
Mbalula said authorities had deported about 72,000 undocumented foreign nationals and criticised employers who knowingly hired undocumented workers for exploiting cheap labour.
“The one who knowingly hires the undocumented to work them harder and pay them less is not only breaking the law. That employer is depressing wages, starving the fiscus, and sabotaging the economy and the peace of our communities,” Mbalula said.
He urged South Africans to reject violence and vigilantism.
“Take your grievance to the ballot, not the streets,” he said.
Mbalula said migration was a continental challenge and announced the ANC’s proposed Continental Compact on Migration in Africa for public engagement.
Looking ahead to the municipal elections, Mbalula said the ANC had completed interviews with more than 200 mayoral candidates through a strengthened vetting process.
The candidates will be announced before the party’s manifesto launch in Diepsloot on 15 August.
“We are registering more than 10,000 candidates. This campaign will be wall to wall, and we will contest everywhere in the country,” he said.
Mbalula said all candidates were undergoing rigorous vetting, including criminal record checks, before being approved.
Responding to questions on ageing infrastructure, Mbalula said South Africa needed urgent investment in water infrastructure while continuing to address electricity challenges.
“We must now overcome the challenge of water due to ageing infrastructure. We need to deal with the question of water in relation to the rapid expansion of our communities,” he said.
He said rapid urbanisation and population growth had placed increasing pressure on public infrastructure, adding that South Africa’s population had grown to more than 60 million since 1994.
Mbalula said the ANC would spend the next 90 days focused on fixing local government while campaigning across every ward ahead of the elections. He urged eligible South Africans, particularly young people, to register to vote.