Ramaphosa centres ANC’s final election push on local jobs and procurement

The ANC took its closing election campaign to Sisa Dukashe Stadium in Mdantsane on Sunday, 1 November 2026, with municipal services and local economic opportunity at the centre of its message. SABC’s live coverage confirmed the Eastern Cape gathering.

The party’s jobs message was set out by ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa in Polokwane on Saturday, 31 October. In remarks reported by SABC on Sunday, he said ANC councils would increase purchasing from local businesses and expand public employment. He urged municipalities and metros to create conditions that attract investment and deliver tangible benefits for communities.

Services and work in the closing programme

In a campaign statement titled “Key Messaging: 30 October 2026”, published on 31 October, the ANC identifies water shortages, load reduction, potholes, crime and youth unemployment among the concerns raised through its community engagements. It presents a six-point local government plan as its response and says consultation with communities should continue beyond the rallies.

The party also links renewal to candidate selection, skills and municipal administrative capacity, and reports positive feedback from its community engagements. That is the ANC’s assessment of its campaign, rather than a polling measure.

That confidence sits alongside secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s 27 October comments to SABC in Duncan Village: the party would continue campaigning and could not treat votes as guaranteed.

The commitments residents can track

The ANC’s own August account of its manifesto launch records Ramaphosa acknowledging municipal failures and promising localised implementation plans, published priorities and public performance agreements for representatives. Those commitments put a measurable test alongside the closing campaign’s optimism.

For local purchasing, useful records would identify the work commissioned, the businesses paid, payment dates and the people employed. Public employment programmes can be assessed through their budgets, duration, wages and completed work. Permanent employment arising from new investment would need to be reported separately.

Residents could then compare what was promised in their ward with funded projects, completed repairs and accessible report-backs. That would give the party’s undertaking to maintain community engagement a practical form after voting has ended.