ANC at 114: A Movement of Historic Achievement, Facing Hard Truths

As the African National Congress marks its 114th anniversary, it does so with a legacy few political organisations in the world can match. From leading the liberation struggle against colonialism and apartheid, to ushering in a democratic constitutional order in 1994, the ANC remains the central architect of modern South Africa. Yet anniversaries are not only moments of celebration; they are also moments of reckoning. And at 114, the ANC must confront a painful truth: while it has made important strides, it has struggled to create sufficient jobs and its performance in local government has too often fallen short of the expectations of the people.

There is no denying the progress. Millions have gained access to housing, water, electricity, social grants, education, and healthcare. A black middle class has emerged where none was permitted before. South Africa has built some of the strongest constitutional and institutional frameworks in the developing world. These are not small achievements; they are historic corrections to centuries of exclusion.

However, these gains sit uneasily alongside persistent structural unemployment, deep inequality, and uneven service delivery at municipal level. For many communities, particularly the youth, democracy has not yet translated into dignified work or reliable local services. This gap between political freedom and economic inclusion is the ANC’s most serious weakness.

On jobs, the failure is not simply one of intention but of execution and structure. The ANC inherited an economy designed to exclude the majority from productive participation, and transforming such an economy was always going to be difficult. Yet over time, policy incoherence, slow implementation, state capture, and weak coordination between government departments and the private sector have blunted the impact of otherwise sound interventions. Industrial policy has too often remained on paper, while small businesses and township enterprises struggle to access finance, markets, and infrastructure at scale. Youth unemployment, in particular, reflects a disconnect between education, skills development, and the real economy.

Local government presents an even starker picture. Municipalities are the face of the state to ordinary people, yet many are characterised by dysfunction, poor financial management, political infighting, and a lack of technical capacity. Where refuse is not collected, water does not flow, or roads crumble, it is not “the state” in the abstract that is blamed, it is the ANC. Cadre deployment without adequate skills, weak consequence management, and the politicisation of administration have eroded public trust and undermined service delivery.

The question, then, is not whether the ANC has problems, it does, but whether it has the political will and organisational discipline to fix them.

First, job creation must move from rhetoric to ruthless focus. The ANC should prioritise labour-absorbing sectors such as manufacturing, agro-processing, construction, the green economy, and the care economy, with clear delivery targets and timelines. State procurement must be aggressively leveraged to support local production and small businesses, not just large incumbents. Education and skills programmes must be aligned to actual economic demand, especially for artisans, technicians, and digital skills.

Second, local government must be rebuilt from the ground up. This requires professionalising municipal administrations, insulating them from factional politics, and enforcing strict consequence management for corruption and incompetence. Councillors must focus on oversight and community leadership, not operational interference. Where municipalities fail persistently, decisive interventions must be implemented early, not after collapse.

Third, the ANC itself must renew organisationally. This means restoring ethical leadership, enforcing its own resolutions, and reconnecting branches to real community struggles rather than internal power contests. A movement that once thrived on self-criticism must rediscover the courage to listen to uncomfortable truths from its own supporters.

At 114, the ANC remains a liberation movement with deep roots among the people. But history alone cannot secure the future. The next phase of its journey will be judged less by what it has achieved in the past, and more by whether it can honestly confront its weaknesses, govern competently at the local level, and place jobs and dignity at the centre of its programme. Renewal is not optional; it is the condition for survival. By Mothusi Shupinyane, Mo Media Chairman.