The ANC has announced that it has trained more than 125,000 party members who have completed the compulsory five-module training on leadership in the past year.

This was announced by the party’s head of political education, David Makhura, during a National General Council (NGC) media briefing on Thursday.

Makhura, who addressed a media briefing on Thursday, alongside other ANC NEC members Andries Nel and Febe Potgieter-Gqubule, said while this renewal is currently at its early stages, its work within the party and all its structures is taking effect.

Part of the briefing was to update the media on the outcomes of critical commissions, including the National Democratic Revolution (NDR), Strategy and Tactics, as well as the economic and social transformation pillars that anchor the movement’s programme of action for the next phase.

Makhura indicated that, for the first time in the history of the ANC, especially since the advent of democracy in 1994, only recently has the party’s step aside rule taken effect, with some of the implicated officials volunteering to take a back seat while they allow due processes to take effect.

“There is evidence that things are turning, and that we are in the early stages of renewal. We can see this because there have never been so many NEC members who are on a step-aside rule. Some of the ANC members have voluntarily stepped aside. So, indeed, the environment is changing in the organisation,” he stated.

Makhura further stated that the party’s renewal programme has placed more members of the party into the party’s political engagement, where Makhura is the head.

“This is a turnaround, and renewal is not rhetoric but being enforced.  In the past three years, and particularly the past 12 months, the OR Tambo School of Renewal has put more than 125,000 through the compulsory foundation training on the history of the ANC. Last time we had this scale of political education was during the unbanning of the ANC,” he stated.

Last year, the party introduced the roll-out of the political education programme across all branches, leagues, and its national leadership, which kicked off in January 2025. The program includes five modules, covering topics such as the ANC’s history, the South African Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the roles of an ANC branch.

Also reflecting on the party’s renewal programme, Potgieter-Gqubule said this important pillar of the party’s programme can no longer be negotiated.

Potgieter-Gqubule echoed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent sentiments on the issue of renewal when she stated: “It is renewal or death. We either renew or we perish. The time has run out for the movement. This is a simple realisation, which is why we have been firmer in this regard.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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