Ramaphosa pledges anti-corruption drive, higher grants in Soweto campaign stop
SOWETO, South Africa — President Cyril Ramaphosa told residents in Soweto’s Jabulani suburb that his party would tackle corruption, improve services and rais...
SOWETO, South Africa — President Cyril Ramaphosa told residents in Soweto’s Jabulani suburb that his party would tackle corruption, improve services and raise social grants as he campaigned ahead of local government elections in November. The ANC leader made the promises while standing before a community still living with long power cuts, broken roads and sewage spills.
Ramaphosa linked the municipal troubles to corruption and poor administration. He said officials were already dealing with corruption and problems in electricity supply, including “load reduction” as the area struggles with outages. He also blamed illegal power connections for damaging transformers.
Service delivery under strain
The visit came as Soweto residents continue to deal with basic infrastructure failures that have become common in many South African townships. Power cuts disrupt homes and small businesses. Poor roads slow movement through the suburb. Sewage spills add another layer of daily frustration.
Ramaphosa said the municipality needed to “do things the right way” and return to proper administration. He framed the message as part of a broader push to restore trust in local government, a pressure point for the ANC as it seeks support in urban communities where service delivery complaints have piled up.
Jobs, grants and education
The president also promised work opportunities for young people, saying the government would create employment so “we can all progress.” He did not give details. But the pledge tied into a familiar ANC campaign message: jobs for the unemployed, help for struggling households and better access to public services.
Ramaphosa went further, saying the state wanted to increase social grants, including child support payments, and provide free education for one young girl he addressed during the stop. Social grants remain a crucial safety net in South Africa, where unemployment stays high and many families rely on monthly state payments to cover food, transport and school costs.
Why it matters beyond Soweto
Corruption has become a central political issue far beyond South Africa. The World Bank has called it a major obstacle to poverty reduction, saying it hits poor people hardest by raising costs and limiting access to health, education and justice. In places where public services are already stretched, even small leaks in governance can have outsized effects.
That is part of the pressure on Ramaphosa’s message in Soweto. Voters there are not hearing abstract promises. They are living with the outages. And with November’s local government elections approaching, the test for the ANC is whether a pledge to root out corruption can be turned into working lights, cleaner streets and functioning municipal systems.
