The ANC is South Africa's governing party since 1994, a broad-based African-nationalist movement usually described as centre-left and social-democratic, rooted in the anti-apartheid liberation struggle. It favours state-led development, redistribution and redress through Black economic empowerment, and the expansion of public services and free basic services.
In the 2021 local elections the ANC won 4,549 council seats across 213 municipalities, mostly in the Eastern Cape (955), Limpopo (787) and KwaZulu-Natal (742). It holds the mayor's office in 147 councils today, including !Kheis, Amahlathi, Ba-Phalaborwa, Bela-Bela, Blouberg, Blue Crane Route and 141 more.
A match on these questions is not agreement with a party's whole programme. Here are other policies we did not ask you about.
Other recorded policies from African National Congress
Implement National Health Insurance; single electronic health record.
Implementing National Health Insurance
A shared direction does not mean identical plans, funding or conditions.Phase in a basic income grant by extending the SRD grant.
Introducing basic income support
A shared direction does not mean identical plans, funding or conditions.Selected policies, not a full manifesto or ballot list. National policies are context, not powers a council can exercise on its own. Local plans can also need other agencies. Read dates and sources before deciding.
Publish ward delivery schedules and a municipal baseline report in the first 100 days.
politicsweb.co.zaAutomatically enrol qualifying grant-receiving households for free basic services.
politicsweb.co.zaIncrease qualifying households' free basic electricity allocation.
politicsweb.co.zaReview tariffs for affordability and eliminate unjustified above-inflation increases.
politicsweb.co.zaImprove municipal infrastructure maintenance, billing and fault response.
politicsweb.co.zaTop municipal jobs, like the city manager and the head of finance, should be filled by an independent panel. Political parties should have no say in who gets them.
"Manifesto commits to appointments based on merit, qualifications, competence, experience and integrity; an independent selection panel excluding political parties is not specified."
The law should stop the municipality from raising rates and service charges (water, electricity, refuse) by more than inflation each year.
"Review tariff policies annually for affordability and eliminate unjustified above-inflation increases; no absolute statutory inflation cap is specified."
Note: Official ANC launch registration gives 23 August, not the previous 24 August; 24 August is the publication date. Full manifesto text was newly located on Politicsweb; the official PDF returned only a website label. Publication text is tool-truncated at about 48,000 characters. September Electoral Court statement confirms participation but adds no municipal policy. Incumbency or pitching for nomination is not a confirmed mayoral nomination: Morero, Xhakaza and Sele were excluded from the candidate object pending announcement. Q19 cleared: prioritising South Africans in municipal opportunities is not an exclusive nationality rule for spaza ownership. Q20 revised because City Power also converts specified prepaid accounts to postpaid. These are evidence corrections, not demonstrated party reversals.
Parties and readers can challenge any score with a source. A person reviews every submission; accepted changes appear in the public changelog with the date and source.
Party positions were checked in September 2026 against manifestos, party statements and news reports. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Changelog →
Answer the same statements and see your match with ANC, and with every other party.
Start the quizSupport township businesses, trading spaces and local production.
politicsweb.co.zaPoor households should get more free water and electricity, even if better-off households pay more to cover it.
"Expand free basic services and increase qualifying households' free electricity; automatic indigent enrolment covers grant-receiving households. Higher charges for better-off households are not explicit."
The municipality should cut off water and electricity to anyone who does not pay their bill, including businesses and government departments.
"ANC-led Johannesburg disconnected government departments over unpaid electricity accounts, demonstrating enforcement against non-paying state customers."
Where the municipality is failing at electricity, water or rubbish removal, it should pay private companies to run those services.
"The manifesto comparison describes state-led public-service rebuilding rather than private operators; opposition to contracting failing services is inferred."
The municipality should cancel what poor households still owe on old water and electricity bills.
"Johannesburg's council-approved programme offers qualifying customers a 50% municipal-debt write-off plus full interest and fee waivers."
Every home should be put on prepaid electricity and water meters, including homes that now pay a monthly bill.
"City Power moves non-vending prepaid meters and solar customers to postpaid billing; this contradicts the earlier inference of an all-households prepaid policy."
The municipality should buy electricity from private producers and from homes with solar panels, instead of only from Eskom.
"Johannesburg's City Power approved wheeling and small-scale generation frameworks enabling private generation on its grid; rooftop-solar buyback was planned."
When the municipality hands out contracts, it should stop giving black-owned businesses preference and choose only on price and ability to do the job.
"ANC rejected replacing B-BBEE in procurement and defended preferential procurement requirements."
Security guards, cleaners and other contract workers should become permanent municipal employees, even if that costs more than using private companies.
"A manifesto comparison reports ANC support for limiting tenders, municipal insourcing and remunicipalisation."
Before giving anyone a house, a trading permit or a business licence, the municipality should check that they are in the country legally.
"Enforce trading and licensing by-laws while coordinating immigration-law compliance; a blanket immigration-status check before every municipal allocation is not expressly stated."
Only spaza shops and street traders with a licence should be allowed to trade. Those without one should be shut down.
"Enforce trading, licensing and municipal by-laws, tackling fronting and corruption; blanket closure of every unlicensed trader is not expressly promised."
Only South African citizens and permanent residents should be allowed to own or run spaza shops and street stalls.
"2026 manifesto: 'Local authorities would also assist in enforcing immigration laws' plus inspectors to 'verify legal employment status'; Gauteng spaza drive targets unregistered foreign-owned shops (registration, not an outright citizens-only ban)."
When people occupy land or buildings illegally, they should be removed straight away, even if they have nowhere else to go.
"Johannesburg successfully challenged an interdict protecting Rabie Ridge occupiers; this establishes an enforcement stance, not an unconditional policy of immediate homeless eviction."
The municipality should take over hijacked and abandoned buildings in the city centre and turn them into affordable housing.
"Johannesburg's inner-city plan reclaims hijacked and abandoned buildings for affordable housing."
Metro police should get more officers and the power to investigate crimes, not only handle traffic and by-laws.
"Johannesburg's appointed metro-police chief prioritised intelligence-led action against violent crime and organised syndicates; expanded statutory investigative powers were not specified."
The municipality should limit the hours taverns and bottle stores may sell alcohol, and close those next to schools and homes.
"ANC councillor Mbongeni Shabangu supported enforcement of tavern operating-hour by-laws; this is one local official's statement, not a national party platform."
Renaming streets and public places after people from all of South Africa's history should carry on, even when it costs money and some residents object.
"ANC-led Johannesburg continued street renaming to improve historical representation despite objections and costs."