South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a strong warning against what he described as domestic and international “bullies” seeking to divide the nation and undermine the country’s constitutional democracy, saying that the values of human solidarity and social justice are under sustained attack both at home and abroad. The president made the remarks during celebrations marking the 114th anniversary of the African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s governing party and one of the oldest liberation movements on the African continent.

Ramaphosa’s address came at a moment of deep political transition and uncertainty for South Africa. For the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, the ANC no longer holds an outright parliamentary majority, following its poor performance in the 2024 general elections. The party is now governing through coalition arrangements at national and provincial levels, while facing growing public frustration over economic stagnation, high unemployment, crime, corruption, and failing basic services.

Against this backdrop, Ramaphosa framed his speech as both a commemoration of South Africa’s democratic achievements and a call to vigilance against forces he believes are attempting to roll them back.

The president opened his address by reflecting on the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s Constitution, which he described as one of the most progressive in the world. Adopted after years of negotiation following the end of apartheid, the Constitution enshrines principles such as equality before the law, non-racialism, non-sexism, human dignity, and social justice.

However, Ramaphosa warned that the anniversary was being marked amid “increasingly strident attacks” on constitutional values, the rule of law, and the rules-based international order.

“Across the world, the values of democracy, equality, equity, inclusion, human solidarity, gender equality and social justice are under attack,” he said, placing South Africa’s challenges within a broader global context. According to the president, a rising tide of authoritarianism, misinformation, and political polarization is threatening democratic norms in many countries, and South Africa is not immune to these pressures.

While Ramaphosa did not explicitly name specific organizations, his remarks were widely understood to be aimed at certain South African civil society groups and political movements that have been critical of the ANC’s transformation agenda. Groups such as AfriForum and Solidarity have previously drawn controversy for engaging with conservative political networks and media platforms in the United States, including those associated with former US President Donald Trump.

The president accused these forces of spreading misinformation and aligning themselves with global movements hostile to South Africa’s post-apartheid project.

“They employ multifaceted tactics, including the propagation of blatant falsehoods such as claims of ‘white genocide,’ to attract sympathy and solidarity from global racist movements and individuals,” Ramaphosa said. He argued that such narratives were deliberately designed to undermine South Africa’s constitutional order and to portray the country as descending into racial persecution, a claim repeatedly rejected by the government and independent analysts.

Ramaphosa went further, accusing these groups of seeking to foment regime change in South Africa. According to him, their actions range from funding political parties intended to fragment progressive forces, to encouraging secessionist tendencies and establishing what he described as “parallel state structures.”

“These forces are trying to undo the gains of democracy, non-racialism, non-sexism and the transformation project,” he said.

In response to these perceived threats, Ramaphosa called for the building of the “broadest possible united front” to defend and deepen South Africa’s national democratic revolution. He stressed the need to strengthen constitutional democracy, protect national sovereignty, and resist both internal and external attempts to bully or divide the country.

“We as a people refused to be divided. We refuse to be bullied by anyone, whether here or around the world,” he said. “We are united in our will and our resolve.”

The message of unity was clearly aimed not only at the broader South African public, but also at ANC supporters who have grown disillusioned with the party amid years of governance failures, corruption scandals, and internal factionalism.

In a notable departure from purely defensive rhetoric, Ramaphosa also acknowledged the ANC’s own shortcomings. He admitted that poor service delivery, slow economic growth, and persistently high levels of unemployment had demoralized and alienated many South Africans, particularly young people.

“The movement must correct its weaknesses and failures if it is to reclaim its role as the leader of society,” he said, acknowledging widespread criticism that the ANC has lost touch with ordinary citizens since coming to power three decades ago.

South Africa’s official unemployment rate remains among the highest in the world, with youth unemployment exceeding 40 percent. Energy insecurity, driven by years of mismanagement at the state-owned power utility Eskom, has disrupted businesses and households alike, while water shortages and failing municipal infrastructure continue to plague many communities.

Looking ahead, Ramaphosa outlined six key tasks that the government plans to prioritize in 2026, presenting them as part of a renewed effort to restore public trust and stabilize the country.

These priorities include fixing local government and improving basic services, accelerating economic transformation and inclusive growth, and creating jobs. He also emphasized the need to intensify the fight against crime and corruption, declaring gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) a National Disaster.

Other priorities include strengthening national unity through a planned National Dialogue linked to the Constitution’s 30th anniversary, making organizational renewal within the ANC “visible and irreversible,” and advancing South Africa’s role in building “a better Africa and a better world.”

As part of efforts to address infrastructure decay, Ramaphosa announced that the government would invest R54 billion over the next three years to repair water and electricity systems in major metropolitan areas, including Buffalo City, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Nelson Mandela Bay.

The ANC’s anniversary celebrations come at what many analysts describe as the most serious crossroads in the party’s history. Having lost its parliamentary majority in 2024, the ANC now governs in coalition, a situation that has forced it to compromise and negotiate in ways unfamiliar to a party accustomed to dominant rule.

At the same time, opposition parties are gaining ground, civic activism is on the rise, and public patience with corruption and poor governance is wearing thin. Protest action over service delivery failures has become increasingly common, while trust in political institutions remains fragile.

Ramaphosa’s speech sought to balance defiance with introspection: warning against external and internal threats to democracy while acknowledging that the ANC itself must change if it is to survive politically and fulfill its historic mission.

Whether the party can translate this rhetoric into tangible improvements in people’s lives remains an open question. For many South Africans, the coming years will test not only the resilience of the ANC, but also the strength of the country’s constitutional democracy in the face of mounting social, economic, and political pressures.

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Source: Weekly Blitz :: Writings