ANC Tshwane Pledges Township-First Service Drive To Win Back The Capital

ANC Tshwane Pledges Township First Service Drive To Win Back The Capital

In a city where broken roads, power cuts and water disruptions have become daily conversation starters, the ANC in Tshwane believes the road back to voter trust begins in the townships.

Speaking at the party’s 12th Greater Tshwane regional conference in Pretoria, newly elected regional chairperson Eugene “Bonzo” Modise laid out a clear political promise: township service delivery will take centre stage as the party prepares for the 2026 local government elections.

For residents in places like Mamelodi, Soshanguve, Atteridgeville and Hammanskraal, the message is aimed squarely at lived experience, not slogans.

A Shift Towards Township Centred Governance

Modise, who also serves as Tshwane’s deputy mayor, told ANC delegates that the party wants communities to feel the impact of governance directly where they live.

He said the ANC-led coalition intends to implement a township-based service delivery model, arguing that many communities were left behind during years of DA-led administration in the capital.

The message was framed as both political and emotional, with Modise invoking the ANC’s liberation legacy while urging members to focus less on internal conference victories and more on fixing what is broken on the ground.

Reclaiming Tshwane, he said, would require more than speeches. It would require convincing residents that the ANC still stands for dignity, fairness and visible change.

Life Inside A Coalition Government

Tshwane’s political reality is complicated. The ANC governs as part of a multi-party coalition that includes the EFF, ActionSA and the GOOD Party.

The ANC currently holds five of the ten mayoral committee seats. The EFF and ActionSA each hold two, with ActionSA’s Nasiphi Moya serving as mayor. The GOOD Party’s Sarah Mabotsa oversees economic development and spatial planning.

Despite the shared power arrangement, Modise claimed the coalition has made measurable progress over the past year, particularly in housing, transport infrastructure, utilities, finance and social services.

One of the biggest talking points was the passage of a fully funded budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, something Tshwane has struggled to achieve consistently in recent years.

Budget Discipline And Big Promises

Modise credited disciplined financial management for the fully funded budget and stressed that delivery now matters more than planning.

He said the budget must be spent fully, ethically and without corruption, with service delivery as its primary goal.

Public-private partnerships, he added, will play a bigger role in tackling infrastructure backlogs, especially in areas where the city lacks capacity.

For many residents, this is where scepticism sets in. On social media, reactions to the announcement were mixed. Some users welcomed the renewed focus on townships, while others questioned why such urgency often appears only as elections approach.

Comments referencing long-standing issues in Hammanskraal’s water system and persistent potholes in township roads trended alongside cautious optimism that this time could be different.

Winning Back Voters Street By Street

Beyond service delivery, Modise also hinted at changes in political strategy.

He said the ANC plans to develop alternative and innovative campaigning methods to reach every household, including those in gated communities, which have traditionally been difficult terrain for the party.

The idea, he said, is to rebuild Tshwane as a whole, not govern in fragments divided by income or geography.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula reinforced the urgency of the task, reminding delegates that losing power in Tshwane in 2016 was a turning point that the party is still recovering from.

He praised ANC deployees currently working in the municipality and encouraged them to intensify visible work such as road repairs and basic infrastructure fixes.

Unity As A Political Weapon

Modise ended with a strong call for unity, warning against internal divisions and what he described as counter-revolutionary behaviour.

He urged ANC members to support leaders elected by branches and cautioned against collaboration with opposition parties aimed at undermining internal leadership.

In a city weary of political infighting, the subtext was clear: unity inside the party is being sold as a prerequisite for delivery outside it.

What This Means For Tshwane Residents

For Tshwane residents, the real test will not be conference resolutions or historic references, but whether daily life improves.

Township-first service delivery could reshape how resources are allocated in the city, but only if promises translate into cleaner streets, functioning infrastructure and reliable basic services.

As 2026 approaches, Tshwane may become one of South Africa’s most closely watched political battlegrounds, not because of speeches made on stage, but because of what happens in township streets long after the microphones are switched off.

{Source:IOL}

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