National General Council
About
The African National Congress (ANC) will convene its 5th National General Council (NGC) in the Ekurhuleni Region, Gauteng, from 8 to 11 December 2025 under the theme:
“The Year of Renewal to Make the ANC a More Effective Instrument of the People to Achieve the Vision of the Freedom Charter: The People Shall Govern! The People Shall Share in the Wealth of the Country!”
The 5th NGC is the second-highest decision-making body of the ANC and a critical midterm platform between national conferences to assess the movement’s progress in implementing the resolutions of the 55th National Conference. It is a strategic moment for self-reflection, correction, and renewal, ensuring that the ANC remains the revolutionary movement of the people.
Beyond its review function, the NGC remains the largest political school of the movement, bringing together delegates from ANC branches, regional and provincial structures, members of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the Leagues, Veterans, Members of Parliament, the Alliance, and formations of the mass democratic movement. It is here that cadres converge to renew their commitment to the people’s cause and sharpen their ideological understanding of the movement’s historic mission and prevailing context.
At its core, the 5th NGC is a gathering of revolutionaries dedicated to rebuilding and strengthening the ANC as a people’s revolutionary movement for the transformation of South Africa, the African continent, and the world. It seeks to deepen the renewal of organisational culture, restore revolutionary discipline, and reinforce the ANC’s character as a united, people-centred movement for social and economic justice.
The NGC provides a forum for rigorous discussion, ideological engagement, and strategic direction on the organisational and political challenges confronting the movement in the current phase of struggle. It is an opportunity to collectively examine how the ANC must adapt and reassert itself as the moral, intellectual, and organisational leader of the National Democratic Revolution.
In preparation for the NGC, the Base Document has been made available to raise critical questions and stimulate deep ideological engagement within all structures of the movement and society. Discussions were initiated from the branches upwards, ensuring that every cadre contributes to enriching the ideas and perspectives that will shape the Council’s deliberations.
The NGC will receive and deliberate on the Political Report, Midterm Report, Reports from Subcommittees, and the Financial Report, each forming part of the collective reflection on the state, progress, and renewal of the ANC.
As the ANC enters this decisive phase, the 5th NGC stands as a moment of renewal, rebuilding, and recommitment. It is a reaffirmation that the ANC must remain the most effective instrument of the people to achieve the vision of the Freedom Charter and advance the transformation of South African society.