Malatji to Ramaphosa: ‘Fire all incompetent ANC ministers and mayors’

ANC Youth League (ANCYL) president Collen Malatji has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to fire all incompetent ANC ministers and ANC-mayors who are failing to deliver basic services.

Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday at Luthuli House, Malatji said the only way for the ANC to regain public trust was through decisive action against non-performing officials.

His comments come as political parties gears up for the upcoming 2026 local government elections 

“We are calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to decisively fire all ANC ministers that are not implementing resolutions,” Malatji said.

“We want the ANC to decisively remove all the mayors, anybody else who is deployed by the African National Congress on behalf of South Africa.”

The country is battling with ongoing service delivery failures, including water shortages, power outages, poor sanitation and infrastructure, potholes, sewer spills among others.

Malatsi  added that ministers serving in the Government of National Unity (GNU) and mayors in ANC-run municipalities who have failed to deliver services should be shown the door.

“They must be held accountable on why there’s no service delivery, why there’s no implementation of resolutions, why there are gaps in this country.”

Malatji urged Ramaphosa, who also serves as ANC president, to take decisive action against them.

“Now we are saying that President Ramaphosa must be decisive and fire them. That’s what we mean when we say we want decisive leadership, who acts on people that are not implementing.”

Malatji said the party had previously resolved that every Tuesday, ministers would be held accountable at Luthuli House.

“We have started the process of doing that and we would work closely with the president, while also putting him under pressure - because we no longer have the luxury of time. We urgently need to regain the confidence of our people.

“And the only way to regain the confidence of our people is to implement what we promised them - a better life for all. That one is very urgent, which means it must happen very urgently,” he said.

Malatji said the party and the youth league requires leadership that “puts the people first and resists factionalism”.

He said the ANCYL is committed to building a youth league that is “militant, disciplined, and rooted in the struggles of young people”.

“The future of South Africa cannot be left to indecisive leaders or opportunists. We must rebuild the ANC and the ANCYL as the trusted vehicles of transformation,” he said.

Recently ANC NEC members Malusi Gigaba and suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has exposed deep internal divisions within the party.

Gigaba, a former cabinet minister, said that the ANC’s national executive committee had “failed in its objectives”. 

Mchunu warned that the 2026 local government elections would be a critical juncture for the ANC’s survival.

He likened the ANC to “a person walking on the edge of a cliff,” urging the party to regroup before it is too late. 

Mchunu said if the ANC failed to win next year’s municipal elections, it would be forced to “kiss power goodbye”, adding that the party would not survive the next national elections in its current state.

“We became big-headed and took the people for granted – they punished us. But there’s still time to mend our ways,” Mchunu said.

The ANC has since said it will take disciplinary action against the two members.

Meanwhile, ANC veteran and former International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor has said the party has lost its glory and that South Africans now look at the once-revered liberation movement with "disdain, horror and shame".

Pandor made the remarks while delivering a lecture during the centenary celebration of former ANC Women’s League president Gertrude Shope on Sunday.

Shope, who died in May this year was a former Member of Parliament and veteran activist. She would have turned 100 this month.

“She knew of the corruption that has dragged down the revolutionary morality of our leaders. She was aware of our failures at local government level and of the inadequate capacity to serve, which is so prevalent in our public service,” Pandor said.

“She was keenly aware of the decline of her beloved organisation, the African National Congress (ANC) - a decline not just in electoral outcomes but also in the party’s ability to reflect the values of leadership and commitment to serve the people,” Pandor said.

In response to Pandor’s comments, ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula has defended her, saying there is “nothing wrong” with her recent comments that the ANC has lost ”its glory.”

Speaking at a media briefing at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Mbalula dismissed suggestions that Pandor should face disciplinary action.

He said Pandor spoke truthfully and appropriately at a veteran ANC event.

“She said all the right things about the ANC as a veteran, and I am proud of her,” Mbalula said. 

“She spoke like a veteran, at an ANC veteran event. There’s nothing wrong with what she said.”

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

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