ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the need for party renewal to eliminate bad habits and corruption during outreach in North West province. He addressed communities in Boitekong and visited the grave of Moses Kotane in Pella, vowing to mend ties with the South African Communist Party. These activities precede the ANC's 114th anniversary celebrations in Moruleng.
On January 8, 2026, ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa engaged in community outreach in North West province as part of preparations for the party's 114th birthday celebrations scheduled for Saturday at Moruleng Stadium. In Ward 21, Boitekong, Ramaphosa stressed that renewal is the top priority to rebuild public trust in the ANC. He urged the party to rid itself of bad habits and corruption, calling for united leadership focused on national interests rather than personal gain.
"ANC must be renewed. ANC must be united. It must have leadership that will work for the nation. Not leadership that will serve their own interests. It must have leadership that loves the nation. Not the leadership that will put their interests first. It must not be the ANC of the leadership that will steal public funds. It must not be the ANC of lazy leaders," Ramaphosa told community members.
He also addressed challenges in the province's municipalities, describing them as a "disaster" ahead of local government elections. Ramaphosa indicated that the ANC's National Executive Committee would discuss solutions to fix these dysfunctional entities and advance the country.
"We will discuss our dysfunctional municipalities, especially most of municipalities in the North West. Municipalities in the North West are just a disaster. We will discuss how we will fix the municipalities, especially now that we are headed to the local government elections. So, the National Executive Committee will determine how we take our country forward," he said.
Earlier, at the gravesite of Moses Kotane in Pella outside Rustenburg, Ramaphosa led a wreath-laying ceremony. There, he committed to mending strained relations with the South African Communist Party (SACP), which has decided to contest elections independently. Despite disagreeing with the SACP's choice, Ramaphosa affirmed the tripartite alliance's endurance.
"The alliance is not going to die. All of us as leaders of the various components of the alliance, we have committed ourselves to renewal... We have accepted the SACP decision to contest the elections... They have taken that decision and we don’t agree with that decision but it is a decision of the SACP," he stated.
