As South Africa edges closer to the 2026 local government elections, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is facing a perfect storm of disillusionment, corruption scandals and declining public trust. Into this storm walked President Cyril Ramaphosa with remarks that, while perhaps intended as sober self-reflection, landed like a grenade inside the ANC. By publicly praising Democratic Alliance (DA)-run municipalities for their efficiency and clean audits, Ramaphosa did more than acknowledge reality: he handed the opposition a campaign slogan and confirmed to millions of frustrated citizens that the ANC’s best days in local government are behind it.
Ramaphosa has delivered his party’s enemies the most powerful weapon of all: his own admission of failure.
A President’s Slip or Strategic Suicide?
At a time when the ANC desperately needs to project unity and competence, Ramaphosa effectively admitted what opposition parties have been saying for years—that DA municipalities outperform ANC ones in basic governance. This was not an off-hand comment either. It was widely covered by News24, IOL and eNCA, replayed on social media and debated across the political spectrum. Ramaphosa’s remark comes amid a context where Auditor-General reports continue to show many ANC municipalities failing audits, losing billions to irregular expenditure, and delivering ever-weaker services to communities. Against this backdrop, the DA’s record in Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Midvaal stands in stark contrast.
THE APARTHEID LEGACY PARTY’S record in Cape Town, Stellenbosch and Midvaal stands in stark contrast.
The symbolism is explosive. The ANC, a liberation movement that toppled apartheid, is now seen as conceding moral and administrative superiority to a party historically associated with white voters and business elites. This is not merely embarrassing, it is politically suicidal. For many black South Africans who still hold the ANC as the custodian of their aspirations, it feels like a betrayal.
Corruption and Institutional Rot
Ramaphosa’s remarks also land at a time when scandals are exposing the full depth of state capture and corruption. The revelations by General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi about the alleged criminal capture of the SAPS—politicians undermining elite investigation units, criminal syndicates influencing police appointments, and the gutting of political killings task teams—paint a picture of a security state hollowed out by graft and factional interference. When voters see municipal collapse, law enforcement compromised, and service delivery failures, the ANC’s credibility as a governing force disintegrates even faster.
In this context, Ramaphosa’s praise of DA municipalities appears not as a magnanimous call to “learn from the opposition” but as a desperate admission that the ANC is incapable of cleaning its own house. The President’s words inadvertently reinforce the DA’s strongest campaign narrative: that the ANC cannot govern without collapsing into patronage and corruption.
The DA’s Openin, and Africa Mayibuye’s Rise
With the 2026 local elections approaching, the DA is already moving to frame the election as a referendum on competence. Expect to see campaign adverts quoting Ramaphosa’s praise verbatim. “Even the President admits it,” will be the subtext. The DA has long struggled to convince black voters to shift allegiance en masse. Ramaphosa’s statement provides the credibility the DA has lacked,
it becomes the ANC President, not John Steenhuisen, who vouches for DA performance.
Meanwhile, new entrants like Africa Mayibuye are poised to siphon off disillusioned ANC supporters at grassroots level. The ANC’s once-unshakable hold on township and rural votes is eroding, especially among younger voters who never experienced apartheid but experience daily water cuts, power failures, potholes and collapsing clinics. As alternatives multiply, the ANC’s base fractures.
A Betrayal and an Insult?
There is also a racial and symbolic dimension that stings. When the ANC President openly praises a white-dominated opposition party as better at governance, it reinforces a narrative that black leadership is synonymous with incompetence. Whether fair or not, this perception plays directly into the DA’s hands. Instead of uplifting and fixing ANC municipalities, Ramaphosa has appeared to validate the opposition’s most damaging claim: that cadre deployment and political patronage are inherent flaws, not fixable policies.
This is not merely political messaging. It’s an insult to the ANC’s own councillors, activists and voters who fought for democracy believing they were building a better alternative to white minority rule. Instead of demonstrating the ANC’s capacity to reform and deliver, Ramaphosa’s words suggest surrender.
What This Means for 2026
Unless the ANC rapidly cleans house, rooting out corruption, replacing incompetent councillors with capable administrators, ending the paralysis of factional battles, the 2026 local elections will cement its slide into minority status in many municipalities. The DA, by contrast, is perfectly positioned to gain seats. Voters in ANC-run municipalities suffering under mismanagement will hear the President’s own voice endorsing the DA as the better choice.
Ramaphosa’s praise may also embolden internal rivals who will frame him as out of touch, capitulating to white interests, or undermining the party’s electoral base. Yet the hard truth is that service delivery failure and corruption, not Ramaphosa’s words, are what make the ANC vulnerable. His remarks simply strip away the last veil of denial.
Conclusion: The ANC’s Last Warning
In a country still deeply scarred by inequality and racism, Ramaphosa’s praise of DA municipalities is a political earthquake. It may be remembered as the moment when the ANC’s aura of inevitability in local government truly died. Rather than inspiring a renewal, his statement could become the rallying cry for the DA and new parties like Africa Mayibuye to hammer home the message that the ANC cannot govern.
In 2026, it may be remembered as the moment when the ANC’s aura of inevitability in local government truly died.
If the ANC fails to act decisively. cleaning its ranks, embracing transparency, ending cadre deployment, 2026 may not just be another electoral setback but the effective end of ANC hegemony at local level. Ramaphosa may have meant to acknowledge lessons. Instead, he has delivered his party’s enemies the most powerful weapon of all: his own admission of failure.
