{"id":102713,"date":"2025-12-08T22:49:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T20:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=102713"},"modified":"2025-12-08T22:49:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T20:49:15","slug":"ancs-5th-national-general-council-opens-amid-calls-for-renewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/ancs-5th-national-general-council-opens-amid-calls-for-renewal\/","title":{"rendered":"ANC\u2019s 5th National General Council opens amid calls for renewal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n4-minute read | 08 December 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

Political analysts Roland Hanwood and Hlumelo Xaba weigh in on the ANC\u2019s challenges and prospects for renewal at the 5th NGC. \ud83d\udcf8 File Photo \/ South Africa Vibes<\/p><\/div>\n

The ANC\u2019s 5th National General Council (NGC) kicked off in Ekurhuleni today, a critical moment for a party trying to convince South Africans it can renew itself and regain trust after years of internal divisions, corruption scandals, and declining electoral support. Framed under the theme of renewal and the Freedom Charter\u2019s promise that \u201cthe people shall govern,\u201d the NGC aims to review progress since the 55th National Conference.<\/p>\n

Political Analysts Roland Hanwood and Hlumelo Xaba joined Radio Islam International<\/em> <\/a>to unpack the challenges ahead. Hanwood said the NGC presents both an opportunity and a test for the party. \u201cIf one looks at the documentation released for this NGC, it externalizes a lot of the problems that the ANC faces. But the problem is, and the challenge it leaves, is that it does not address what is happening within and with the party. And that is where you need to make the hard changes, the hard choices, if you want to turn the fortunes of the ANC around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Xaba highlighted the financial mismanagement that has compounded the party\u2019s woes. \u201cFor it to actually be at a stage where it\u2019s even being threatened, it just goes to show the caliber of leaders that are within the organization now, and also corroborates their inability, at times, to govern even municipalities,\u201d he said, citing Luthuli House\u2019s reported debts and donor withdrawals as evidence of broader administrative failures.<\/p>\n

The panel also reflected on the ANC\u2019s electoral decline. Hanwood noted, \u201cIt is unfortunately no longer going to be good enough to claim historical victories. People live in South Africa; they perceive a different reality. And if they don\u2019t see that changing in a material way, we are not going to see the party move away from where it is.\u201d Xaba added that corruption has become institutionalized within the party, complicating efforts to restore public confidence.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Hanwood said, \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think one can ever say that an organization with the history and achievements of the ANC cannot be saved. But it\u2019s going to be a long-term, painstaking process, there will be a lot of pain that will be suffered by many people associated with the ANC.\u201d Xaba echoed this sentiment, warning that the party is following a similar downward trajectory to other liberation movements in the region. \u201cThe ANC currently is also going on a downward spiral. However, it does have certain elements in it that can change it, young people in the ANC now, which I believe are more capable, have the capability and the academic and intellectual acumen to take their organisation forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The analysts concluded that while the ANC is gathering under the banner of renewal, its ability to reinvent itself and regain the trust of South Africans remains uncertain, making this NGC a pivotal moment for the party.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em><\/a> with Annisa Essack and Political Analysts Roland Hanwood and Hlumelo Xaba.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 4-minute read | 08 December 2025 The ANC\u2019s 5th National General Council (NGC) kicked off in Ekurhuleni today, a critical moment for a party trying to convince South Africans it can renew itself and regain trust after years of internal divisions, corruption scandals, and declining electoral support. Framed under the theme […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102714,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ANC-NGC.jpeg?fit=320%2C158&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qIF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 13:36:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}