ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says his party will gladly take credit for the successes achieved in the country under its stewardship and also “humbly” accept the service delivery shortcomings that South Africans experience on a daily basis.Delivering the ANC’s 2026 local government elections manifesto in Riverside, Diepsloot, Ramaphosa said a lot had been achieved by the ANC-led government, including electrification, housing, basic services, development and more.This is something the party is proud to have achieved. However, he said, the ANC was willing to humbly accept that there had been problems in municipalities that negatively affected service delivery.WATCH | ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says the ANC’s task is to continue dismantling divisions, he pointed to improved housing conditions for Diepsloot residents since apartheid. pic.twitter.com/LTL9AVgjYs— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) August 23, 2026 He said the ANC spoke with “honesty” in admitting that in many municipalities services remained unreliable, infrastructure was deteriorating and communities waited too long to have their problems solved. That there were water treatment plants that are not properly maintained, and pipes that should be delivering and transporting water were ageing and deteriorating. That sewage spills that remain unattended are a continuous problem. Streetlights that remain broken and refuse that is not collected. The ANC, he said, would also humbly admit that there were municipalities that were in financial trouble, weakened by poor leadership, political instability, corruption and the appointment of people who do not have the skills required for the work they need to perform.“Now, as the ANC, we accept responsibility, both for the progress that has been made, but we also accept responsibility for the failures and shortcomings where we govern,” Ramaphosa told thousands of people gathered at the grounds.“We will not mince our words, and we will not run away from the reality that confronts our people, we will admit that yes, we have worked together with our people to make tremendous progress. We will say that today South Africa is what it is in terms of development because we worked with our people. But we will similarly say that there have been weaknesses, there have been failures and we will admit them as the ANC.”He said in the coming elections, scheduled to take place on November 4, the ANC would not want to justify itself on the failures South Africans are continually complaining about. WATCH | This ANC supporter says issues such as policing, schooling and youth unemployment are among the key concerns facing the Riverside community that he wants addressed at today’s manifesto launch.Video: Antonio Muchave pic.twitter.com/PaJFCggdoq— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) August 23, 2026 “We will not seek to explain away the frustration of our people. We feel our people’s frustration. We will not dismiss the anger that our people feel. We will not ask communities to accept our excuses where they have a right to expect us to do more,” said Ramaphosa.ANC leaders, he said, have in the past few months traversed the country to report back on the progress made as well as listen to what South Africans were unhappy about.“Over the past several months, we have travelled across the country to report back but also to listen and to learn. The people have told us what is working. Yes, as we have gone from house to house, our people have been explaining to us that there are things that are working. But they also explain that there are things that are not working,” said Ramaphosa.“Our people tell us the truth that we accept with pure hearts. When they speak, we humble ourselves as the ANC and say yes, we admit that we have made progress but along the way there have been weaknesses. Yes, we have heard them, we have listened to our people when they tell us the truth, when they tell us of their hardships, we have heard, and we have listened.”Instead of justifying the failures, based on the engagements with South Africans, the ANC would use this period to implement the policies his party had passed.“The message is clear, the next phase of local government must be about implementing the policies that we have put out,” he said.“In most of the places we go interacting with our people, they do tell us that yes, as the ANC you’ve got good policies, you’ve got good values, you’ve got very good traditions that you need to follow, but we now want to see implementation, we want to see action.”WATCH | An ANC supporter who travelled from Witbank shares the issues she would like to hear party president Cyril Ramaphosa address at the party’s manifesto launch.Video: Antonio Muchave pic.twitter.com/mC9AovcPB9— Times LIVE (@TimesLIVE) August 23, 2026 TimesLIVE