As the ANC marks its 113th anniversary in Cape Town this week, party president Cyril Ramaphosa has again put renewal at the top of the agenda.
Addressing thousands of supporters at the ANC's birthday celebration at the Mandela Park stadium in Khayelitsha on Saturday, Ramaphosa said the ANC faced an existential crisis and had to either renew or perish on the back of a poor electoral showing in the recent national elections.
He said the ANC must do much more work with greater urgency and determination, adding the cornerstone of the party's renewal agenda remains building its capacity to discharge its historical mission.
The ANC has previously been accused of having an inward focus with little care for South Africa's communities. The ANC's support dropped to 40% in the last elections after decades of majority rule. The party has been fingered as the architect of state capture, with Ramaphosa having labelled the party as accused No 1 in corruption.
Now more than ever, the party sits at a crossroads. Whether Ramaphosa, facing numerous obstacles both inside and outside the party, is able to put his words into action remains to be seen — the future of the party depends on it.
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