Pretoria – The African National Congress (ANC) has unveiled a dedicated “war room” strategy aimed at tackling persistent service delivery failures in local government, as the party gears up for this year’s municipal elections.
The initiative was announced during the ANC’s three-day national lekgotla in Boksburg, with Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula appointed to lead the effort.
Speaking on the sidelines of the lekgotla, ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile said the war room is designed to stabilise struggling municipalities and improve the delivery of basic services across provinces, districts and metros.
“Our focus is on fixing local government,” Mashatile said, referencing the President’s January 8 Statement, which called for decisive action on governance and service delivery.
“This is the year of decisive action to fix local government and ensure a viable economy,” he added.
A key priority of the war room will be addressing water shortages by resolving critical infrastructure challenges. Mashatile noted that “in the main, it is not that we do not have water in our dams, but it is the issue of reticulation,” stressing that many communities continue to experience water shortages due to poor distribution systems rather than a lack of supply.
The ANC will also place a strong emphasis on improving rural road infrastructure, which Mashatile described as a “major challenge” in areas the party recently visited.
[WATCH] ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile highlights that the party will set up a war room, led by the Secretary-General, to monitor implementation across provinces, districts, and metros. This will ensure timely interventions so local problems are fixed quickly.… pic.twitter.com/OlVzFtEAbr
— ANC – African National Congress (@MYANC) January 25, 2026
In addition, the war room will coordinate responses from ANC representatives at various levels of government to accelerate the implementation of solutions, including improving water access, repairing roads and addressing energy load reduction. Mashatile said this coordinated approach is crucial to ensuring more effective and responsive service delivery.
The announcement comes amid broader concerns about the state of local government, with many municipalities struggling to function effectively. ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the party to eliminate political interference in local councils and to prioritise strengthening service delivery, following audit findings that revealed deep-seated governance challenges at municipal level.
[WATCH] The lekgotla outlined specific tasks in the six priority areas identified by the NGC:
• Firstly, to fix local government and improve basic services
• Secondly, to speed up economic transformation and to engender inclusive growth and job creation
• Thirdly, to wage war… pic.twitter.com/wyy4BJTh3d— ANC – African National Congress (@MYANC) January 25, 2026
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Compiled by Lisabeal Nqamqhele
