Johannesburg, South Africa | 29 January 2026
The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s governing party, concluded its high-level National Executive Committee (NEC) Lekgotla from 24 to 26 January 2026. The meeting adopted a formal strategic framework for the year, declaring 2026 a “Year of Decisive Action to Fix Local Government and Transform the Economy”.
The announcement followed the party’s annual January 8 Statement delivered earlier in the month, which reframed the party’s priorities against a backdrop of diminished public trust after it lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 2024 and entered a Government of National Unity.
The Lekgotla, a strategic planning conference, adopted a binding Programme of Action to guide the party and its deployed officials in government. According to the ANC’s official statement, the year must see a “decisive shift from planning to execution, from fragmented interventions to coordinated delivery”.
Key priorities articulated in the framework include:
- Fixing Local Government: Accelerating the implementation of the Local Government Action Plan, including deploying rapid-response technical teams to struggling municipalities, launching a national service delivery hotline, and improving water, roads, and energy services.
- Driving Economic Growth and Jobs: Sustaining progress in energy reform and executing over R1 trillion in public infrastructure investment to boost industrialisation, address youth unemployment, and expand public employment programmes.
- Strengthening Safety and Justice: Intensifying the fight against crime and corruption, with a focus on illegal mining operations and speeding up prosecutions and asset recovery.
The NEC Lekgotla also renewed the party’s commitment to address gender-based violence as a national emergency and to finalize a new legislative framework for modernizing South Africa’s immigration and border management systems.
References:
- African National Congress (ANC). “ANC NEC LEKGOTLA AFFIRMS 2026 AS A YEAR OF DECISIVE ACTION TO FIX LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ACCELERATE ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION, CREATE JOBS, DEEPEN SOCIAL JUSTICE AND RENEW THE MOVEMENT.” www.anc1912.org.za, 29 Jan. 2026, https://www.anc1912.org.za/anc-nec-lekgotla-affirms-2026-as-a-year-of-decisive-action-to-fix-local-government-accelerate-economic-transformation-create-jobs-deepen-social-justice-and-renew-the-movement/ .
- GlobalSource Partners. “The 2026 ANC January 8th Statement: renewed emphasis on local government ahead of municipal elections.” www.globalsourcepartners.com, 13 Jan. 2026, https://www.globalsourcepartners.com/posts/the-2026-anc-january-8th-statement-renewed-emphasis-on-local-government-ahead-of-municipal-elections/teaser .
- Democratic Alliance (DA). “The Leader’s Digest: January 2026 Edition.” www.da.org.za, 5 Feb. 2026, https://www.da.org.za/2026/02/the-leaders-digest-january-2026-edition
