By Simon Nare
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) has said it is satisfied with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s explanation of why he said the Democratic Alliance (DA) governed municipalities better than ANC-run ones.
Ramaphosa came under fire this week after telling ANC councillors during a “roll call” meeting that they must learn from the best-run municipalities, which were often managed by the DA. This irked many of his comrades, with some reportedly calling for his removal before his terms comes to an end.
ANCYL president Collen Malatji, at a press conference on Friday to report back on the league’s national general council, said the league was happy that Ramaphosa clarified himself during a television interview with the SABC on Thursday, where he said DA municipalities were merely compliant, but ANC municipalities were transformative.
Ramaphosa said being compliant did not mean that the DA governed better and gave examples of townships in Cape Town under the DA which were not receiving adequate service delivery compared to white areas.
Malatji said comparing the DA and ANC in governing municipalities was just not possible.
“I am sure the president regrets mentioning the DA because I saw the opportunism of the DA and Helen Zille (after Ramaphosa’s remarks). You know being a president is difficult, sometimes you say things then you get into trouble. I also get into trouble myself.
“He must take the bullet on behalf of the party. What we are saying to you now is that we are the first line of defence. Anyone who wants to attack the ANC, we are the first ones who are going to defend the ANC whether it’s internally or externally,” he said.
Malatji said that to that effect, the youth league had resolved in its general council that it is going to spearhead the party’s local government election campaign to ensure a decisive victory, and if the party doesn’t win, the league should take responsibility.
He said there was no way that the DA was outperforming the ANC and gave the example of Tshwane, which he said collapsed under DA governance.
“You go to Cape Town, they only service one part of Cape Town, because the DA policies are clear on a racial way of operating. They are clear they are only supporting one race and don’t care about the majority.
“It would be ignorant to compare the ANC and the DA fully because ANC municipalities are mainly those in poor rural areas designed by the apartheid system. The constituents of the ANC in those areas are poor and can’t pay rates and taxes and depend on grants,” he said.
Malatji said the ANC was trying to correct the wrongs in municipalities by removing underperforming mayors and deploying those who could deliver.
“We are not going to the 2026 local government elections with mayors who don’t deliver. And if the ANC is going to move slow to remove them, we are going to push them. We are saying we are going to show society that we are acting and we are going to bring new brooms to sweep in areas where it is dirty,'” he said.
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