By Kaya Mntsantsa<\/p>\n
East London<\/p>\n
The African National Congress in the Eastern Cape says it is entering the 2026 Local Government Elections united and focused, with service delivery and organisational discipline at the centre of its strategy. This emerged from the ANC Provincial Task Team meeting held on 1 June 2026, which the party described as taking place at \u201ca critical juncture\u201d for the movement and the country.<\/p>\n
PTT Spokesperson Comrade Yanga Zicina said the meeting reaffirmed the ANC\u2019s responsibility to lead at a time of heightened political contestation. \u201cThis meeting reaffirmed the responsibility of the ANC to provide decisive leadership in a period characterised by heightened political contestation and organisational renewal,\u201d Zicina stated. He added that the PTT took place as the party prepares for its first local government elections where the SACP will contest independently, a development that \u201crequires reflection on the implications of this development while reaffirming the need to strengthen unity of purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zicina stressed that the 2026 elections are about more than administration. Quoting Vladimir Lenin, he said \u201cthe question of power is the fundamental question of every revolution,\u201d and argued that local government remains a critical arena for using state power to change lives. \u201cThe forthcoming local government elections are therefore not merely administrative contests, but critical arenas for consolidating democratic state power in the hands of the people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The PTT met as South Africa marks 30 years of the Constitution. Zicina warned that democratic gains of the last 32 years are \u201cunder sustained attack by right-wing forces seeking to reverse progressive policies such as Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, the National Health Insurance, and the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act.\u201d He said these attacks, often pursued through the courts by \u201ccounter-revolutionary elements,\u201d show why the ANC must defend and deepen the transformative agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe freedom which delivered this constitution was not freely given, but earned through immense sacrifice by generations of patriots,\u201d Zicina noted, adding that the PTT \u201creaffirmed its commitment to honour this legacy by advancing the struggle for a more just, equitable and prosperous society.\u201dTo strengthen delivery and accountability, the PTT resolved to establish a 15-member Provincial Working Committee including ANC League chairpersons and the provincial spokesperson.<\/p>\n
Zicina explained the PWC \u201cwill serve as a key coordinating structure to ensure effective execution of the decisions of the PTT and to strengthen organisational coherence across the province.\u201d The team also formed 16 sub-committees covering Political Education, Legislature, Campaigns, Finance, Communications, Elections, Economic Transformation, Education and Social Transformation, Health, International Relations, Policy and Research, Gender, Disciplinary, Deployment, Integrity, Appeals and Chaplaincy.<\/p>\n
According to Zicina, these committees \u201care mandated to intensify focused work in their respective areas, drive organisational renewal, sharpen ideological clarity, and ensure readiness for electoral contestation across all structures.\u201dThe PTT further resolved to deploy PEC members across all eight ANC regions in the Eastern Cape to improve coordination and grassroots presence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese deployments are intended to enhance coordination, improve organisational performance, and ensure alignment with provincial priorities, while deepening grassroots presence and responsiveness to community needs,\u201d Zicina said. Details of the deployments are being communicated to structures through the office of the PTT Coordinator.<\/p>\n
On candidate selection for 2026, Zicina said the PTT received a report and reaffirmed adherence to ANC guidelines. \u201cAll recommendations will be submitted to National Officials for final consideration, in line with organisational discipline and transparency,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
The criteria will prioritise gender representivity, generational mix, skills, qualifications, experience and knowledge of local government. Zicina committed the PTT \u201cto ensuring strict adherence to timelines and the transparent implementation of the prescribed processes, recognising that organisational credibility depends on fairness, integrity, and consistency.\u201d Branches were urged to submit BGM and community meeting dates timeously and to move citizens between voting districts where needed to align with Municipal Demarcation Board boundaries.<\/p>\n
The PTT also addressed discipline. Zicina expressed concern over \u201cacts of ill-discipline and defiance of decisions of the Provincial Executive Committee by deployees in the Elundini Local Municipality and Joe Gqabi District Municipality.\u201d He said such conduct \u201cundermines organisational unity and erodes public confidence in the ANC as a governing movement.\u201d The PTT therefore resolved to refer all implicated deployees to the Disciplinary Committee. \u201cThe ANC remains a disciplined organisation rooted in the principles of democratic centralism and accountability.<\/p>\n
Accordingly, the PTT resolved to refer all implicated deployees to the Disciplinary Committee for appropriate action to safeguard the integrity and authority of the organisation, ensuring that no individual is above the collective decisions of the movement,\u201d Zicina stated.<\/p>\n
On traditional leadership, Zicina said the ANC maintains \u201ca strong and historic relationship with traditional leadership, recognising traditional authorities as vital partners in governance, cultural preservation, and community development.\u201d He announced that the Provincial Election Team will host the Traditional Leadership Awards Programme on 6 June 2026 \u201cto honour the indispensable role being played by traditional leaders in advancing communities and sustaining social cohesion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zicina added that the Constitution \u201cexplicitly recognises the institution, status, and role of traditional leadership within the democratic order,\u201d and the ANC continues to support the Eastern Cape House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders and its relationship with CONTRALESA.<\/p>\n
Concluding the statement, Zicina said the PTT emerged \u201cunited, focused, and resolute in its commitment to lead the ANC to victory in the forthcoming Local Government Elections.\u201d He called on members to mobilise for by-elections in Ward 1 and Ward 10 in the WB Rubusana Region and to \u201cvote for the ANC, as the movement best placed to advance the interests of the people.\u201d Zicina also reaffirmed solidarity with Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela, and congratulated the ANCYL and ANCWL Young Women\u2019s Desk on their recent programmes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ANC in the Eastern Cape remains steadfast in advancing the aspirations of the people and will continue to work tirelessly to build a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Kaya Mntsantsa East London The African National Congress in the Eastern Cape says it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1106,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1105","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1105"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1107,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1105\/revisions\/1107"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecmessenger.co.za\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}