There is usually a straight line that connects the ANC’s national general council (NGC) to its January 8 statement, to its national executive committee lekgotla, to the cabinet bosberaad, to the president’s opening of parliament session and the finance minister’s budget speech.
What could possibly go wrong in South Africa as we march towards the 2026 or 2027 local government elections? For one, the global geopolitical context is worryingly fragile, especially given the image South Africa has retained as a leader of progressive and enlightened policy and thinking.
Anecdotal evidence is showing migrants from Europe and North America coming to South Africa are retreating from the rising tide of right-wing parties and the possibility of the reintroduction of military conscription in their countries of origin.
While these fair-minded visitors regard us as being the poster nation for diversity, equity and inclusion policies, there is no doubt we will be attracting the wrong attention from the forces these people are escaping from. This is going to require all South Africans to unite around defending the sovereignty of our country.
You would think that should be a “duh” thing to say. However, the manner in which some elements from South Africa have been genuflecting at the feet of the forces has moved at least one erudite analyst sufficiently to call on opposition parties to stop being gatkruipers.
The challenges faced on the domestic front were signalled by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa in his speech marking the 114th anniversary of the party’s formation, where he declared 2026 “the year of decisive action to fix local government and transform the economy”.
The speech brought into sharp relief the outcomes of the 2025 NGC, which were refreshingly specific. The daily indignities of potholes, broken traffic lights, irregular refuse collection, water outages and electricity load reduction erode public trust more effectively than any external or internal opposition campaign.
The December NGC documents acknowledged this brutal reality: poor service delivery in ANC-governed municipalities has “demoralised and alienated” citizens, particularly the working class and poor who depend on public services. It could well account for the public’s alienation from democratic processes, leading to ever lower voter participation.
Ramaphosa’s insistence that implementation needs to be prioritised is trotted out at every occasion possible, with ministers and officials repeating, chorus-like, “implement, implement, implement”.
It is true implementation has been improving steadily with the laser-like focus on delivery introduced with Operation Vulindlela. Launched in 2020 as a joint initiative of the presidency and National Treasury to implement high-impact structural reforms that address long-standing constraints on economic growth, it has succeeded in drawing ever-widening circles of the business sector and the state.
This could lead to South Africa following the path prescribed by 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes in The Leviathan, with the fabled sea monster a metaphor for a powerful government that has absolute sovereignty, wielding absolute power over its subjects. This would appeal to the increasing numbers here and around the world who are being seduced by the prospect of improved service delivery through illiberalism, authoritarianism and even military rule.
However, implementation requires some preconditions to be met, most importantly political will, intent and capacity. These ingredients can help make South Africa a democratic, developmental state as described by the late Malawian economist Thandika Mkandawire.
Speaking at the inaugural Mapungubwe Annual Lecture in 2012, he advised that the South African state should aim to be developmental by facilitating and promoting economic growth and structural transformation, democratic by deriving its legitimacy through popular participation and the electoral process, and socially inclusive by pursuing policies that ensure equitable entitlements for citizens, ensuring inclusion in societal affairs.
This connection was captured by Cosatu president Zingiswa Losi at last week’s ANC celebrations: “The people of this country did not struggle for freedom without dignity, the people of this country did not vote for democracy without jobs.”
To safeguard ourselves against external interference we will need to have an effective democracy, which in delivering a better life for all inspires the public to defend the realm.
• Abba Omar is director of operations at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
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