The African National Congress began its fifth National General Council in Boksburg on December 8, 2025, addressing the party's electoral decline, the Government of National Unity, and internal challenges. Secretary-general Fikile Mbalula highlighted the ANC's long-standing weakening since 2016, while President Cyril Ramaphosa urged discipline and humility amid a staff picket over delayed salaries. The gathering aims to prepare for the 2026 local elections without discussing leadership succession.
The ANC's fifth National General Council (NGC) convened at the Birchwood Conference Centre in Boksburg, Gauteng, on December 8, 2025, marking a midterm review between the party's 2022 and 2027 conferences. Secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's 294-page report traced the ANC's decline to 2016, when it lost major metros, accelerating after the 2021 local elections with over 80 hung councils, and culminating in the 2024 national elections where the party fell below 50% nationally, losing outright majorities in Parliament, Gauteng, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Mbalula attributed the 2024 setback to an 'intense, coordinated and well-funded campaign' by the Multi-Party Charter—formerly the Moonshot Pact—involving the DA, ActionSA, IFP, and others, alongside breakaway parties like the EFF and MK Party. In Gauteng, protest votes shifted from the ANC to the EFF and then the MK Party, with working-class and poor communities doubting ANC promises on jobs, housing, and services. 'The ANC can no longer command support; it must now compete for it,' Mbalula stated. In KZN, the ANC remains weakened but ideologically dominant, with no opposition fully replacing it.
Post-2024, the ANC formed the Government of National Unity (GNU) as a 'survival strategy,' controlling two-thirds of critical ministries despite DA attacks on transformation policies and foreign affairs. The GNU faced crises, including a failed national budget in February 2025, approved only in May. Mbalula warned, 'Time is not on our side,' urging swift action on growth, jobs, and service delivery.
The NGC opened amid a picket by ANC staff, represented by NEHAWU, over delayed salaries—a recurring issue since at least 2022—and unpaid medical aid contributions. Union deputy secretary Dan Semenya noted impacts on employees' health, calling for better communication. Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu acknowledged the workers' rights, stating 90% had been paid.
In his address, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasized renewal, discipline, and ridding the party of 'criminals, the corrupt, the careerists, extortionists, [and] factionalists.' He criticized the lack of door-to-door campaigning in 2024, which contributed to the ANC's 40.18% vote share, down from 57.5% in 2019, and urged humility: 'Stop showing off your wealth, our cars as we drive in our communities.' Ramaphosa stressed reconnecting with people ahead of 2026 locals.
A survey of 811 branches revealed mostly rural structures, with chairpersons averaging 49.3 years old and low youth involvement. Retention issues included 52% citing unresponsiveness to communities and 40% factionalism. The SACP's Madala Masuku criticized the ANC's unchanged economic stance on land and minerals, announcing the SACP's independent run in 2026. The four-day NGC focuses on policy and renewal, not succession, concluding Thursday.
