ANC kicks off its National General Council in Boksburg

ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula said its four-day National General Council (NGC), is being billed as a decisive moment for an organisation fighting sliding support, internal fractures and a fast-approaching elections calendar.

Starting on Monday to Thursday, the conference will be proof that the party still has discipline and credibility to renew itself, Mbalula said.

He set the tone, “This is not the time for leadership battles.”

Instead, Mbalula said, delegates must focus squarely on organisational renewal and preparing the ANC for the election cycles ahead.

Addressing journalists on Sunday, he insisted the party is “ready for the NGC” and is intent on tightening its machinery.

He dismissed any speculation about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s future, emphasising that the president “will finish his term” and that succession chatter is “misplaced” and “unhelpful”.

His directive comes at a moment of profound strain for the ANC.

The party is navigating historic electoral decline, volatile coalition arrangements, corruption fatigue among voters and lingering factional mistrust.

Renewal, invoked repeatedly since Nasrec — has become the ANC’s mantra, but its implementation has been inconsistent.

The party’s own assessments cite weaknesses in branch organisation, lapses in discipline, blurred lines between party and state, and recurring ethical failures.

This NGC will test whether the ANC can turn its rhetoric into action. Delegates are expected to debate ethical leadership standards, membership verification, a more professionalised party apparatus, and stronger systems to deal with corruption internally.

The meeting will also confront strategic questions: how to stabilise governance, sharpen policy priorities, and craft a convincing election message in an increasingly competitive political landscape.

With Mbalula pushing delegates away from internal theatrics, the ANC faces a rare chance to refocus.

Some of the topics will be the protection of whistleblowers in the country.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics