By Johnathan Paoli
The ANC has placed its renewal programme at the centre of the third day of its 5th National General Council (NGC).
Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said that the organisation’s midterm review was a “strategic self-correction platform” rather than a compliance exercise.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, Bhengu-Motsiri said the party was confronting “existential threats” to its credibility, unity, and electoral viability, and must urgently recommit to the values of the Freedom Charter as its guiding compass.
“I do need to emphasise that these commissions that are sitting this morning, all of that work is tied to the renewal message, the renewal programme, addressing the existential threats that we face as an organisation, and the message that says we must renew or perish. That is a core message that we wish to underscore as we address you this morning to give you an update, a recap from yesterday, as well as the look ahead for today,” she said.
Bhengu-Motsiri said delegates concluded “robust commissions” on the state of the national democratic revolution, the balance of forces, and the Freedom Charter’s 70th anniversary.
The message emerging from these engagements, she said, was unequivocal: the Freedom Charter remains the foundation of ANC renewal, shaping ethical leadership, economic transformation, and the pursuit of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa.
She said that Wednesday marked “the core business” of the NGC, with 17 commissions interrogating the ANC’s midterm report and overall programme implementation across both party structures and government.
Among the commissions are organisational building and renewal; national dialogue and sectoral work; reconnecting with communities, workers, young people, traditional leaders and civil society.
Other commission meeting are monitoring and evaluation; accountability mechanisms for deployees; elections strategy; local government reforms; economic transformation; social transformation; communications and the battle of ideas; peace and security; international relations; and ethics, integrity and discipline.
Bhengu-Motsiri highlighted the “battle of ideas” commission, saying that the ANC was engaged in concerted efforts to counter a “well-coordinated narrative” portraying the party negatively.
Part of renewal, she said, was “reminding our people of what has been achieved since 1994, and what remains to be done”.
Responding to questions, Bhengu-Motsiri dismissed speculation that the ANC might sell assets or downsize staff as part of its financial recovery plan.
“We are not at that stage,” she said, adding that the party remains in good standing with the City of Johannesburg, SARS, and other compliance bodies.
On concerns regarding instability in the KwaZulu-Natal coalition, she confirmed that the ANC was engaged in “sensitive discussions” with political partners to safeguard stability in the province. “This is not something we can use a megaphone to broadcast,” she said.
Asked if the renewal programme would be completed before the 2026 local government elections, she said: “The renewal of the ANC cannot be accomplished in a year or two or three, it is a continuum.”
However, she said that ongoing interventions in local government had already yielded positive results.
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