National chairperson of the African National Congress (ANC), Gwede Mantashe said the 113-year-old party was in the process of renewal, and the programme was going well despite the unprecedented blows it suffered in the May 2024 general elections.

IOL has previously reported that for the first time since the advent of democracy, the ANC lost its majority in Parliament, a crushing defeat that reflected the growing public discontent with its leadership.

Years of corruption, scandals, an energy crisis that plunged the nation into darkness over the years, chronic water shortages, and a stalling economy had eroded faith in the party that once symbolised hope and liberation.

Pre-election polls had predicted a dip below 50%, but few could have foreseen the ANC’s dramatic fall to just 40% of the vote.

The ANC's historic loss forced it into the unprecedented position of forming a coalition government - an unthinkable scenario in its heyday.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Monday, following the ANC’s 113th celebration of its founding, Mantashe said in the ongoing process to renew the ANC, “things are happening step by step”.

“The only problem is that people think renewal is an event. Renewal is not an event, it is a process. It will take place over a period of time. It is a programme, it must be followed through, step-by-step,” said Mantashe.

“Remember when we adopted this theme of renewal, all our leagues were not functioning. All our leagues today are in good standing. That is the process of renewal. Many other things are going to happen step by step – that is renewal.”

He bemoaned the party’s fall in the May 29 general elections as a major setback.

“That was a massive setback because it meant the ANC had to use its brain quicker, to ensure that there is governance, and it protects state power, without having a majority. Hence we had the Government of National Unity. Many of the people who criticise the GNU start at the Government of National Unity, they do not start at losing the majority,” said Mantashe.

“Because we lost the majority, how would we make sure that there is government, there is stability, there is no war. You see, in many countries if the ruling party loses power, there is war, there is instability. We had to take responsibility that there is stability and there is governance in the country.”

On Sunday, IOL reported that in a speech delivered with yet another promise of the ANC renewal, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s January 8 statement has received mixed reaction from South Africans and political commentators alike.

“Renewal as such, is about fixing the ANC. It is as much, also, about improving the quality of governance and service delivery and fast-tracking the fundamental issues of socio-economic transformation of our country.

“But pursuant to the renewal task, that we set last year, we launched the ANC foundational course to ensure that all members of the ANC go through this course. That includes the leaders as well in order that we foster a culture of ethics and integrity,” Ramaphosa said during the party’s 113th anniversary in Khayelitsha, Cape Town at the weekend.