President Cyril Ramaphosa speaks during the ANC's 113th anniversary celebrations at a large open field in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on 11 January 2025. Picture: Rodger Bosch / AFP
Despite the ANC losing its majority in parliament, President Cyril Ramaphosa says the party still leads and is still in charge of the country.
Ramaphosa spoke at the Mandela Park stadium in Khayelitsha on Saturday, where the ANC celebrated its 113th birthday.
This was the first time the ANC celebrated its birthday in a power-sharing arrangement with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other government of national unity (GNU) partners.
However, Ramaphosa said it is not all doom and gloom, even if the ANC celebrates its birthday under these circumstances.
“Even if we are not in complete control where we govern independently, the African National Congress still leads. The president of the country is ANC, and the majority of the members of the cabinet are ANC.
“We are still moving forward even if we did not get 50%,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the ANC is currently in a renewal process. Part of this process entails regaining the confidence of all South Africans.
“The ANC is committed to decisive action on three urgent and interrelated fronts. Firstly, we aim to improve the ability to create jobs and to ensure that we improve the lives of our people.
“Secondly, we seek to improve the quality of services, and thirdly, to renew and rebuild the ANC to provide decisive and ethical leadership in resolving our country’s problems.”
“We want to regain the confidence of the majority of our people in our ability to represent their hopes and aspirations,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the loss at the polls last year was “painful” for the ANC.
“For any liberation movement, for any progressive party, losing a majority in government is a strategic setback. We have to be honest that the outcomes of the May elections were a really sad moment for ANC. It was a huge setback.”
However, he said the ANC had to admit that factors inside the party caused it to lose electoral support.
“The reason for our decline also includes poor basic services and deficiencies of capable ethical and responsive governance, as well as the ANC’s organisational weakness and our damaged brand.”
Ramaphosa said many ANC voters had stayed away from voting in last year’s poll.
“The extent and depth of the electoral loss points to an organisation that has lost significant support and public confidence.
“Our healing lies in accepting the depth of dysfunction in our structures and among our members and leadership.”
Ramaphosa said he was confident that the ANC will return to full power in the next elections.
“We will come back whether they like it or not.”
He said the formation of the GNU was a practical move to protect the gains of the National Democratic Revolution.
“The goal of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) is to transform South Africa into a national democratic society by irradiating all manifestations of apartheid of colonial and patriarchal power relations,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the NDR sought to build a new nation with a new identity of an African country that does not tolerate discrimination.
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