By Johnathan Paoli
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the ANC to deal decisively with corruption and unacceptable conduct while delivering a message in his Political Report at the party’s 5th National General Council (NGC).
Ramaphosa noted that while the ANC remains the country’s most supported party, winning almost twice as many votes as the next competitor, it also suffered its steepest decline in support since 1994.
“We lost our majority nationally and in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal,” he said.
“Among other things, the drop-in support can be linked to the emergence of the MK Party, dissatisfaction with the economy and unemployment, service delivery failures, and anger about perceptions of widespread corruption.”
He stressed that the ANC requires “a renewal of values and ethics,”.
“We need to deal decisively with corruption and unacceptable conduct. Only then can the ANC again be trusted to put the people first,” said Ramaphosa.
To tackle misconduct and corruption, Ramaphosa said the public procurement system must undergo substantive reform.
National Treasury is preparing to implement the Public Procurement Act, which will introduce a new framework and establish a Public Procurement Office.
“We need to ensure that procurement is used as an instrument to build black- and women-owned companies that produce the products and services government needs. Too many tenders are issued to ‘middlemen’ without the necessary competence,” he said.
“This wastes public funds, encourages corruption, and undermines genuine economic empowerment. Outsourcing has also weakened the state, stripping public institutions of the skills and capabilities they require and opening the door to tender manipulation, bribery, overpricing and fronting.”
He said the ANC must act to end the outsourcing of core state functions and rebuild in-house capacity.
Ramaphosa emphasised that the integrity of the criminal justice system is critical to combating crime and corruption.
He said progress has been made in rebuilding law enforcement agencies, security services, and prosecutorial bodies.
Since the final State Capture Commission report three years ago, government has implemented major reforms, including new laws to strengthen anti-corruption institutions, improve procurement, reform intelligence services and enhance corporate accountability and public administration.
The state has recovered more than R16.4 billion in assets linked to State Capture, Ramaphosa told delegates.
In 2024, he said, the Investigating Directorate against Corruption (IDAC) was established within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), with full criminal investigation powers.
The Directorate has since brought 232 State Capture-related accused to court.
Ramaphosa also noted that in August 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) submitted its final report recommending the creation of a permanent, independent anti-corruption body.
The proposal is now under review by government.
One of the most significant recent achievements, he added, was South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list.
“This is good for the integrity and reputation of our financial system and a boost for South
Africa’s international reputation and global standing,” said Ramaphosa
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