The African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Congress (NEC) will deliberate on the party’s candidate selection list for the 2026 local government elections.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says this weekend’s special NEC will focus on the quality of leadership the party will select for next year.

Mbalula briefed the media at the Birchwood Hotel in Ekurhuleni on Saturday.

The ANC Secretary-General has described the party’s selection list criteria as clear and uncompromising. This is as the ANC is expected to finalise its candidates list ahead of the 2026 local government elections as it seeks to claw back its lost majority in the municipalities.

Mbalula says the ANC’s local government candidates will undergo rigorous vetting.

“Candidates must emerge from community consultations, undergo rigorous vetting and be assessed not by factional loyalties, but by their integrity, their record of service and their ability to deliver. We are determined that every ANC councillor must be a leader of substance, rooted in their community, equipped with the skills to drive development and committed to running clean, accountable local government,” he says.

Mbalula has also welcomed the intervention of Police Minister Firoz Cachalia in sending an investigating team to France, following the death of Ambassador Nathi Mthethwa.

Mthethwa, who also served as the Minister of Arts and Culture, died last week after allegedly jumping from the 22nd floor of a high-market hotel in Paris.

Mbalula elaborates, “Our ambassador (can’t) just die, in a foreign country, just like that. And of course, it is beyond them if somebody took their life. But if there is a third hand in it, then we must be not only worried. Then, that country must equally be held accountable. Diplomats are treated in a special way in the context of the Geneva Convention.”

ANC NEC hosts special meeting:

The ANC Secretary-General also used Saturday’s press briefing to address the party’s stance on alleged Senzo Mchunu associate, Brown Mogotsi.

Mogotsi, whose membership with the ANC has expired according to Mbalula, is alleged to have used his ties with the party to solicit money from criminal syndicates.

Mbalula has confirmed that Mogotsi has also reached out to him, but he didn’t respond.

“He even sent me a message here. He sent me a message. I don’t know where he gets my number. I don’t care. I won’t respond to him. He’s not a member of the ANC. He’s not. To answer your question, Brown Mogotsi is not a member of the ANC. It took me time to go to the records. I went to the branch, even the province. He’s not a member of the ANC. He’s just going up and down, perambulating among leaders (in) his proximity.”

[WATCH] The ANC will announce the resolutions and action plans following the meeting. For now, we assure the people of South Africa: the ANC hears you, the ANC acts with you, and the ANC will not shrink from the tasks ahead. #LeadUsRamaphosa#ANCListProcess#ANCEconomicAction pic.twitter.com/7QMaQkzhV4

— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) October 4, 2025

Meanwhile, ANC National Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri has also clarified the matter regarding the debt owed to Ezulwini Investment. On Friday, a sheriff’s letter circulated social media showing the R85 million owed to Ezulwini by the ANC.

The debt relates to posters and banners that were printed for the ANC’s 2019 election campaign.

Bhengu-Motsiri says that ANC Treasurer General, Gwen Ramokgopa, will address the matter.

“We’re not one of those organisations that have got a stash of money coming from elsewhere, including from abroad. On the matter of Ezulwini, you know, we came back, and we have always been constant in briefing the media about this; when we reached an out-of-court settlement, we did report on that. In the light of the letter, the TG will offer a formal reaction in the course of the day, but we continue to do the work; there is no chance that the ANC is going to fold.”

AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS STATEMENT ON THE EZULWENI WRIT OF EXECUTION pic.twitter.com/KJMtzkIPdj

— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) October 4, 2025

The NEC will conclude on Monday, with President Cyril Ramaphosa expected to deliver the closing remarks.