South Africa: ANC Unveils Reform Plan Ahead of Local Polls

Is the ANC's 2026 reform agenda decisive action to fix local government, or hollow rhetoric from a corrupt party?
South Africa: ANC Unveils Reform Plan Ahead of Local Polls
Above: Cyril Ramaphosa at the Freedom Charter Night in Boksburg, South Africa, on Dec. 9, 2025. Image credit: Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

The ANC's comprehensive reform agenda for 2026 signifies decisive action to fix broken local government and transform the economy. With R54 billion allocated for infrastructure repair in major metros and a focus on competent, community-rooted councillors, the party is addressing service delivery failures head-on. These concrete proposals demonstrate the ANC's capacity for self-correction and renewal, proving the movement remains the only force capable of uniting South Africans across all divides to achieve meaningful progress.

Opposition narrative

The ANC's so-called reform plan is hollow rhetoric from a party that has systematically destroyed local government through corruption and cadre deployment. While the ANC talks about renewal, it simultaneously pushes land expropriation without compensation and blames unemployed South Africans for being lazy rather than acknowledging its own anti-growth policies. The party's 30-year decline from liberation hero to obstacle to progress is complete, and voters are finally recognizing that real solutions require removing the ANC from power entirely.

Metaculus Prediction


Public Figures



© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.20.3

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.20.3