'We have listened', says Ramaphosa at ANC's final push rally - IOL

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa said his party has listened and has heard what the people need.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed opinion polls showing the ANC losing support, insisting the party remains strong and will emerge ahead of its rivals in Wednesday’s local government elections.

Addressing thousands of supporters at the ANC’s final election rally in Mdantsane, KuGompo City, Ramaphosa described the gathering as a demonstration of the party’s strength and declared that it would continue governing the Eastern Cape.

“We are three days from a very important election. Many people are saying the ANC is on a downward spiral, but from what I am seeing here, the ANC is on the rise and on November 4, we are going to show those that say the ANC is going to lose,” he said.

The Siyanqoba Rally was the party’s final push to mobilise supporters ahead of the polls, with Ramaphosa urging volunteers not to become complacent or assume that those attending the rally would automatically vote for the ANC.

He warned that low voter turnout had contributed to the party’s performance in the 2024 national and provincial elections, when some supporters stayed away from the ballot box believing the ANC would win.

“The final push is to make sure our people go all out and not make a mistake of thinking everyone here will vote for the ANC. In the 2024 election, many people didn’t go to vote because they thought the ANC had already won,” he said.

Ramaphosa thanked volunteers and candidates who had campaigned across the country, saying their engagements with communities had given the party a clearer understanding of voters’ concerns and expectations.

He said the ANC had listened to workers calling for better employment conditions, women raising concerns about gender-based violence, and young graduates struggling to find jobs.

“We heard very clearly what the aspirations of our people are,” he said.

“We also heard the enthusiasm, as well as the encouragement of our people. We've heard them repeating that they want us to work diligently, to advance (their) lives.”

He said the party had also engaged traditional leaders, people with disabilities, residents, business owners and entrepreneurs, who had raised issues affecting their communities and livelihoods.

Ramaphosa singled out youth unemployment, saying young people had told the party that despite obtaining university degrees, many remained without work.

He argued that the ANC’s national footprint and presence in every ward gave it an advantage over other political organisations, which he dismissed as “Mickey Mouse parties”.

The president also defended the party’s councillor selection process, claiming it had allowed communities to choose their preferred representatives rather than leaving the decision to party structures.

“In the end, we said we are not only going to listen, but we are going to want our people to elect the people they want to represent them, the councillors that will represent them.

“We are the only party that said, ‘as the party machinery, we are not going to select councillor candidates for the people; we will allow the people to select the candidates’,” he said.

Turning to opinion polls that have consistently indicated declining support for the ANC, Ramaphosa dismissed their findings, insisting they did not reflect the party’s standing among voters.

“There are those who think they are educated, who tell us about surveys that show them the ANC will collapse; there is no truth to that,” he said in isiXhosa.

“The ANC will come out tops; it will do better than the other parties. I call them Mickey Mouse parties. They go around whining or talking gibberish, but we have listened to our people,” he added.

Ramaphosa acknowledged that the ANC had fallen short of some communities’ expectations but maintained that its record in government demonstrated progress.

He said the party was prepared to take responsibility for its shortcomings and work harder to address service delivery failures and improve people's lives.

“We are the ones who will say, yes, we have had shortcomings. We have done a lot, but we didn’t go as far as our people wanted. But we know we have to work even harder.

“So, we stand here to say the ANC is ready to do more; the ANC is ready to address the aspirations of our people.”

He reiterated the party’s election commitments, including growing the economy, creating jobs, and improving municipal service delivery.

The president also pledged to tackle the treatment of political office as an entitlement, warning that councillors and mayors who failed to perform would be removed.