ANC Blames Coalitions for Service Delivery Failures, South Africans Reject Party’s Argument
- The African National Congress held a press briefing on 12 August 2026 as the party prepares for the Local Government Elections
- ANC National Executive Committee member Dickson Masemola explained why there were service delivery issues in some municipalities
- South Africans took to social media to weigh in on Masemola's comments, sharing sharp criticism of his claims about service delivery
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Source: UGC
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online.
GAUTENG — The African National Congress (ANC) has laid the blame for deteriorating municipal services squarely at the feet of coalition governments, urging voters in major cities to back the party as the only credible alternative.
Addressing reporters at a media briefing on 12 August 2026, ANC National Executive Committee member Dickson Masemola stated that the past decade of coalition politics had caused irreversible damage to urban governance.
Masemola made the comments as the ANC gears up for the Local Government Elections in November 2026.
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Masemola blames coalition dynamics for municipal rot
Speaking to the media, Masemola identified leadership failure as the root cause of what he described as ‘permanent systemic problems’. He added that these problems "were not there before."
Masemola then made a direct appeal to residents of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Buffalo City, calling on them to ‘agree with us that there is only one organisation that has got a solution’.
"From 2016 to date, we have seen how coalitions and this mismanagement of the interplay of different diverging ideological expressions represented by these parties would have impacted negatively on governance, on financial administration, and on delivery of services," Masemola said.
He called on voters to give the party another chance to fix the systemic problems.
South Africans reject Masemola’s statement
The briefing drew swift and largely hostile reactions on social media, with many users pointing to the ANC's own governance record rather than coalition politics as the source of the country's problems.
@prest5323 said:
"Always blaming something or someone else. Never taking responsibility."
@xhosans questioned:
"As if things are smooth in the areas where they are governing with a majority."
@isle_seven was more blunt:
"Oh, you have to be very stupid to think the ANC will ever change. They have a 30-year track record of failures. Highest unemployment, infrastructure failure, load shedding, corruption, etc etc etc. South Africans deserve better."
@GeorgeKeobakile added:
"Whenever it's elections, the ANC tells us the same story. Give us another chance to fix our problems. After that comes the arrogant Fikile to tell us how they don't need anyone, so it's either Mzansi has learned, or they still fall for their lies."
Lwazi Cedric Mamba noted:
"He's even saying that with a big smile."
ANC asks citizens to nominate mayoral candidates
Briefly News reported that the ANC has opened public nominations for its mayoral candidate post for the 2026 Local Government Elections.
The party's spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri, said the party wanted to recruit people who could relate to the concerns of the communities.
South Africans took to social media to weigh in on the ANC's latest move, with many expressing doubt that it would get any nominations.
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Source: Briefly News
