ANC Lays Out Local Government Delivery Blueprint for 2026 Municipal Elections

JOHANNESBURG - At Riverside Park in Diepsloot on Sunday morning, the African National Congress will formally unveil its 2026 local government election manifesto, with party President Cyril Ramaphosa leading the launch. The document sets out what the ANC describes as a detailed program of delivery, one that elected councillors and mayors will be expected to implement once in office.

The manifesto is framed explicitly around execution. Party statements describe it as drawing on lessons from the implementation of the ANC’s 2021 local government platform, making the gap between past commitments and actual outcomes a central reference point for what comes next.

Ramaphosa announced the party’s mayoral nominees for eight metropolitan areas and 22 secondary cities on Saturday, a day ahead of the Diepsloot event. He described the manifesto as a product of broad consultation. “It is the result of extensive consultation with our alliance partners, the broader democratic movement, various sectors of society and communities,” he said. “The manifesto will set out in detail the program of delivery that our elected councillors and mayors will be expected to implement.”

The party’s record in local government spans more than three decades. Ramaphosa leaned into that continuity directly. “For more than three decades, the ANC has been trusted in local government because we remain committed to building a better life for all. We will not fail the people who trusted us with their votes,” he stated.

By contrast, the candidate confirmation process moved more cautiously than originally signaled. Rather than formally naming its mayoral candidates on Saturday as planned, the ANC disclosed only the names of individuals who have undergone interviews as potential nominees. Official confirmation of successful candidates will follow during the course of next month, a staged rollout that pushes final decisions closer to the 2026 election period.

The manifesto development process drew on alliance partners, the broader democratic movement and communities across South Africa, according to party statements. Its core task, as the ANC frames it, is to articulate how local government institutions can be strengthened and living standards improved.

Sunday’s unveiling at Riverside Park will formally introduce the platform to the public and anchor the ANC’s municipal campaign strategy. Whether the document’s delivery commitments hold up against the implementation record it claims to have learned from is the question that will follow the party through every campaign stop between now and polling day.