JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — The ruling party has officially launched the ANC local government performance review at Luthuli House, a strategic internal assessment designed to evaluate past service delivery promises and prepare the organization for the upcoming 2026 municipal elections.
The comprehensive review, which began with a series of media briefings, aims to measure the implementation of commitments made during the 2021 local government elections. According to African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee (NEC) member Dickson Masemola, the internal audit is a critical step in identifying both the successes achieved and the systemic constraints hindering service delivery across various municipalities.
Addressing the balance of probabilities regarding the party’s track record, Masemola noted that the assessment points to a mixed but realistic picture. He highlighted significant historical achievements over the past 30 years, including vastly expanded access to electricity, improved sanitation, and widespread housing delivery for previously marginalized citizens.
However, the NEC member openly acknowledged inherent challenges, particularly regarding widespread functionality and the financial viability of local municipalities. Masemola conceded that financial management has deteriorated in several areas, a reality frequently echoed in successive Auditor-General reports highlighting accountability deficits. He also addressed public criticism regarding the deployment of unskilled personnel, affirming that the party is not ignoring these deficits but is actively formulating a systems response plan to readjust municipal structures.
A major focal point of the review is the severe financial strain on local governments. Masemola revealed that South African citizens currently owe municipalities nearly R400 billion in unpaid consumer bills. Furthermore, government departments and private businesses owe municipalities an estimated R30 billion to R40 billion. He argued that if these debts were settled, municipal viability would improve drastically. He also noted that broader economic underperformance and high unemployment rates have severely impacted the ability of everyday citizens to pay for municipal services, thereby crippling local revenue capacities.
Beyond revenue collection, Masemola pointed to an outdated policy framework as a root cause of local government struggles. He cited the 1998 White Paper on local government, which established a funding model requiring municipalities to fund 90% of their operational costs while receiving only 10% from nationally collected revenue. Describing this 90/10 split as an “inherent systemic constraint” that has proven unsustainable over the last three decades, Masemola announced a clear policy decision to review and overhaul the local government funding formula to ensure municipalities are adequately resourced to meet their developmental objectives.
The review also tackles the professionalization of the administrative system. Moving forward, the party intends to enforce merit-based selection, recruitment, and appointment of well-schooled and experienced administrative personnel to lead municipal operations.
Reflecting on past electoral declines, such as the loss of the City of Johannesburg in 2016, Masemola clarified that the shift in voter support was not solely due to a failure in service delivery by the local leadership at the time. Instead, he attributed the electoral dip to compounding national political developments that influenced voter sentiment.
As the party looks toward the future and the November 4 municipal election timelines, Masemola emphasized that the ANC is aggressively committed to resetting the system. He invited South Africans to review the party’s comprehensive policy responses and announced that the official manifesto will be launched on the 23rd, asking voters to endorse the new blueprint aimed at revitalizing local governance.
