ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeated his call for municipalities under ANC control, to abandon the culture of outsourcing key services and instead build internal capacity. This could emerge as a new governing doctrine ahead of the next local government elections.
The intervention, delivered at the ANC’s 114th Provincial Conference in Mbombela at the weekend, confirmed a shift that echoes long-held positions by opposition parties such as the EFF and ActionSA, which now carries the weight of executive endorsement. Ramaphosa first spoke about insourcing weeks ago during a question-and-answer session in Parliament.
‘Sewer Spillage Approach to service delivery’
Closing the conference, he introduced what can be called the Sewer Spillage (SS) Approach to service delivery, a philosophy rooted in urgency, proximity and personal accountability.
“When there is a sewer spillage, it must be like there is a sewer spillage in your own house. We all know in our heart of hearts that if there were to be a sewer spillage in our homes, we would not rest until we get a plumber to come and repair that. Let’s do that for our people as a whole,” he said.
Structural reset of the state
The SS Approach emphasises immediacy, arguing that government must respond to community problems with the same urgency citizens apply to their own homes, turning service delivery from a bureaucratic process into a lived responsibility.
From this foundation, Ramaphosa pivoted to what can be described as a structural reset of the state, openly conceding that the ANC’s reliance on outsourcing has weakened municipalities.
“One of the biggest mistakes we’ve made is to outsource everything,” he said, drawing agreement from delegates. “We outsource everything, and in the end we rely on companies and entities that cannot do the work. We now say let us in-source those important services so that they are done by our municipalities and our government.”
Outsourcing hollowed out the state’s internal muscle
He warned that outsourcing had hollowed out the state’s internal muscle.
“Outsourcing weakens the capability of the state. It just takes away the capability, the energy and the innovation that should reside in the state. I want all of us in our various centres of deployment to internalise this and think about it. We must rid our structures of corruption,” he said.
Owning essential tools of service delivery
Ramaphosa then moved from principle to practice, calling for municipalities to take ownership of essential tools of service delivery.
“Municipalities must own the water tankers themselves,” he said, to loud applause. “I know that a number of our people have invested a lot of money in water tankers. I know that’s where corruption has been taking place. Our objective must be to strengthen the municipality so that it can serve our people as a whole. There is a water tanker mafia. That’s what must end.”
He extended the argument to infrastructure equipment, criticising the rental economy that has emerged around municipal work.
“Similarly, municipalities must own yellow equipment, the graders, the TLBs and all that. We must stop hiring them from those who are making a lot of money from them. They must be owned by municipalities. In-source that service as well,” he said.
Cadre deployment
The president’s sharpest warning came when he addressed cadre deployment, saying it’s a direct threat to electoral survival.
In what can be defined as a World Cup Strategy (WCS) for governance, Ramaphosa argued that competence, not political comfort, must determine appointments.
“Let’s reduce and eliminate political interference that leads to us appointing wrong people in key positions who are not able to do the work. We should get the right people,” he said. “It’s like when Bafana Bafana goes to play in the World Cup, we want the coach to deploy people who are capable of representing the country properly.”
‘We know that this person is not capable’
Using humour to sharpen the message, Ramaphosa illustrated the cost of poor choices.
“You already know you’ve lost the cup,” he said. “Sometimes that’s what we do. We know that this person is not capable, but we appoint that person to come and be city manager, chief director, head of department and so forth. We must move away from that.”
The WCS frames governance positions as a performance arena where only the most capable must be fielded, warning that political patronage is like sending an unfit squad into a global final.
Self-inflicted ANC electoral decline in 2024
Ramaphosa acknowledged that the ANC’s electoral decline in 2024 was self-inflicted. He urged structures to reconnect with communities through action rather than symbolism.
“We must be visible, not only by wearing a t-shirt but also according to good works. All of us in our branches must make sure that when there are challenges in the community, the ANC must be there,” he said.
“I’ll soon be announcing the date on which the elections will take place. We lost the 2024 elections. We are the ones who did not reach our people. We are the ones who were negligent and did not do our task.”
‘We must ask for love back’
He said the party must actively rebuild emotional and political trust.
“We must focus on what will help us win the election. People love the ANC. We must go out and win them back. We must ask for love back. That is the approach we must have, for our people to love us back,” he said.
“We need to explore new ways of campaigning while keeping our basic tactic, which is door to door.”
- ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa urged municipalities to stop outsourcing key services and build internal capacity, framing this as a new governance doctrine ahead of local elections.
- He introduced the "Sewer Spillage (SS) Approach," emphasizing urgent and personal accountability in service delivery, comparing it to addressing a sewer issue at home.
- Ramaphosa criticized reliance on outsourcing for weakening municipal capability, calling for municipalities to own essential service tools like water tankers and infrastructure equipment.
- He condemned cadre deployment and political interference in appointments, advocating for merit-based selections likened to fielding a capable team in the World Cup.
- Acknowledging the ANC’s 2024 electoral decline as self-inflicted, Ramaphosa called for reconnecting with communities through visible action and regaining public trust to win back support.
ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has repeated his call for municipalities under ANC control, to abandon the culture of outsourcing key services and instead build internal capacity.
“When there is a sewer spillage, it must be like there is a sewer spillage in your own house. We all know in our heart of hearts that if there were to be a sewer spillage in our homes, we would not rest until we get a plumber to come and repair that. Let’s do that for our people as a whole,” he said.
From this foundation, Ramaphosa pivoted to what can be described as a structural reset of the state, openly conceding that the ANC’s reliance on outsourcing has weakened municipalities.
“One of the biggest mistakes we’ve made is to outsource everything,” he said, drawing agreement from delegates. “We outsource everything, and in the end we rely on companies and entities that cannot do the work. We now say let us in-source those important services so that they are done by our municipalities and our government.”
He warned that outsourcing had hollowed out the state’s internal muscle.
“
Ramaphosa then moved from principle to practice, calling for municipalities to take ownership of essential tools of service delivery.
“Municipalities must own the water tankers themselves,” he said, to loud applause. “I know that a number of our people have invested a lot of money in water tankers. I know that’s where corruption has been taking place. Our objective must be to strengthen the municipality so that it can serve our people as a whole.
He extended the argument to infrastructure equipment, criticising the rental economy that has emerged around municipal work.
“Similarly, municipalities must own yellow equipment, the graders, the TLBs and all that. We must stop hiring them from those who are making a lot of money from them.
In what can be defined as a World Cup Strategy (WCS) for governance, Ramaphosa argued that competence, not political comfort, must determine appointments.
“Let’s reduce and eliminate political interference that leads to us appointing wrong people in key positions who are not able to do the work. We should get the right people,” he said. “It’s like when Bafana Bafana goes to play in the World Cup, we want the coach to deploy people who are capable of representing the country properly.”
“You already know you’ve lost the cup,” he said. “Sometimes that’s what we do. We know that this person is not capable, but we appoint that person to come and be city manager, chief director, head of department and so forth. We must move away from that.”
Ramaphosa acknowledged that the ANC’s electoral decline in 2024 was self-inflicted. He urged structures to reconnect with communities through action rather than symbolism.
“We must be visible, not only by wearing a t-shirt but also according to good works. All of us in our branches must make sure that when there are challenges in the community, the ANC must be there,” he said.
“I’ll soon be announcing the date on which the elections will take place. We lost the 2024 elections. We are the ones who did not reach our people. We are the ones who were negligent and did not do our task.”
He said the party must actively rebuild emotional and political trust.
“We must focus on what will help us win the election. People love the ANC. We must go out and win them back. We must ask for love back.
“We need to explore new ways of campaigning while keeping our basic tactic, which is door to door.”
