The ANC plans to toughen internal discipline before its December national general council (NGC), with the draft programme pledging stricter enforcement of rule 25 of its constitution.
Rule 25 outlines the ANC’s disciplinary processes and defines offences ranging from misconduct to bringing the party into disrepute. Sanctions include reprimands, suspension and expulsion.
The rule has been invoked often in recent years, most notably in cases involving corruption allegations, parallel political activities and public attacks on the party.
Earlier this year, police minister and ANC national executive committee member Senzo Mchunu avoided a formal step-aside after the party ruled he had not been charged or summoned to court.
But by November, after pressure from several provinces and the start of the Madlanga commission and parliament’s ad hoc committee investigation into the handling of policing matters, the ANC granted Mchunu’s request for special leave, which is a de facto step-aside, after initially resisting it.
Other prominent members of the party affected by the rule include co-chair of parliament’s joint standing committee on defence and former public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba, former ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe and former ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule.
This year’s NGC is scheduled for December 8 to 12 in Johannesburg. Topics for discussion, according to a draft document seen by Business Day, include local government, economic transformation, the 2026 election campaign and the ongoing national dialogue.
Acts of misconduct outlined in rule 25 include:
- conviction in a court of law and being sentenced to a term of imprisonment without the option of a fine, for any offence;
- publishing and/or distributing any media publication without authorisation that purports to be the view of any organised grouping, faction or tendency within the ANC; and
- undermining the respect for or impeding the functioning of any structure or committee of the ANC.
The ANC NGCbase document, which was released to branches for discussion earlier this year, directs the party to review economic plans focused on job creation, including directing the Reserve Bank to prioritise reducing unemployment, reforming empowerment policies to benefit a wider population and revisiting previous ideas such as a basic income grant and a major infrastructure programme.
The meeting is the ANC’s midterm review gathering, which has previously centred on leadership issues, and this year’s gathering is expected to be no different as the party looks towards the local government elections in 2026 and its internal leadership contest in 2027.
The meeting is not aimed at adopting policy or electing leaders but is a chance for factions to test the waters before the next elective conference.
It will be the first NGC at which the ANC contends with losing its electoral majority for the first time in three decades, compelling it to form a coalition government with its former rivals turned partners.
The progress of the ANC’s renewal programme, which has struggled to gain traction amid ongoing factional disputes, will also be assessed at the meeting.
ANC provinces are expected to hold their respective provincial general councils before the national gathering, where provincial positions on ANC matters are expected to be adopted. The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal will hold its provincial general council at the weekend.
Provincial spokesperson Fanele Sibisi said the provincial general councilfollowsregional general councils held throughout the province, where “valuable contributions” were gathered from different sectors in regions.
“The provincial general council will serve as a critical platform for branches and structures to engage with the NGC’s discussion documents, refine inputs and consolidate the unified provincial position before the NGC,“ Sibisi said.
Business Day
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