Ramaphosa’s Own Words Come Back To Haunt ANC As Hopewell Chin’ono Reveals What He Said

Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has shared a video of President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledging that some of South Africa’s best-performing municipalities are governed by the Democratic Alliance, pushing back against an online insult over his praise of DA-led councils.

In a post accompanying the clip, Chin’ono said Ramaphosa had made the comments while addressing ANC councillors at FNB Stadium in Soweto in September 2025. The President urged the party’s representatives to examine what DA-run municipalities were doing well and learn from places such as Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

Ramaphosa’s remarks came during an ANC gathering focused on the performance of its councillors and the party’s prospects ahead of the 2026 local government elections. He said it was painful to see that municipalities receiving the strongest outcomes were often not ANC-controlled, and urged the party to improve its own governance and audit results.

Chin’ono argued that the criticism directed at him would not change what Ramaphosa had said or alter the Auditor-General’s findings. He also pointed to service-delivery problems in Johannesburg, including potholes, burst pipes and broken streetlights, as examples of the issues facing residents in major cities.

The journalist’s post responded to an accusation of racial bias over his praise for DA governance. He said the assessment had come from Ramaphosa himself, who was speaking to ANC councillors, rather than from Chin’ono. His post framed the President’s comments as a call for the ANC to study municipalities it considered better performing.

During the address, Ramaphosa also raised concerns about weak municipal financial management. He criticised the preparation and accuracy of financial statements and called for rules to be followed so that public money intended for services reached communities. He said the ANC needed to improve its performance rather than remain at the bottom.

The remarks were not a blanket endorsement of every DA-run municipality. Ramaphosa’s comments focused on learning from councils he said were often performing better, and on addressing shortcomings in ANC-controlled municipalities. The distinction has been central to the debate over the clip, which has since been circulated in political discussions about local governance.

The exchange comes as South African parties negotiate coalition arrangements following the 2026 local elections. With many councils facing fragmented representation, questions about financial management, reliable services and municipal stability have become prominent in debates over who should govern.

Chin’ono’s post has revived Ramaphosa’s earlier appeal for the ANC to learn from competitors. It has also drawn attention to the gap between political arguments over municipal performance and the everyday service failures residents continue to face.

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