ANC accuses the DA of taking credit for its work

Spokesperson for the African National Congress (ANC), Mahlengi Bhengu, said that the Democratic Alliance (DA) is taking credit for work that the ANC has done.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Bhengu said that the DA has made “false claims” about its achievements in portfolios awarded to the DA, and is using these claims to illustrate the effectiveness of the DA within the Government of National Unity.

“There’s been reportage in the last few days about the fortunes that we have realised regarding citrus exports, posted on a DA poster,” said Bhengu.

The success of South African citrus exports in 2025 was among the DA’s achievements listed by leader John Steenhuisen in his final Leader’s Digest report for 2025.

“SA’s citrus industry has had a record-breaking season, delivering over 200 million cartons to global markets this year. This is a massive 22% increase on last year,” he said.

“The positive difference that the DA has made (and continues to make) is clear: where we govern, services are delivered, and lives improve.”

Bhengu, however, said that the DA only took the reins in 2025 and that improvements in agricultural exports take years to build.

“I hardly talk about the DA because my job is to communicate the message of the ANC, but these are the types of things that have got to be rebutted,” she said.

She said that if one understands agricultural production, particularly agricultural production for the purpose of export promotion, a country requires a strategic plan that begins to show green shoots over time, sometimes even over five years.

“We’ve had a lot of people involved in agriculture, including agricultural economists, advising the ANC directly and indirectly. It’s a function of a lot of strategic planning; you can’t achieve that within a year of being in government,” she said.

A further example of the DA taking credit for ANC work, according to Bhengu, is in DA Minister Leon Schreiber’s Department of Home Affairs.

Bhengu said that Schreiber and the DA are taking credit for work being done internationally to provide South Africans abroad with access to government services.

‘You can’t achieve this within a year of being in government’

Steenhuisen listed the implementation of a new system for South Africans abroad as another DA achievement.

“The Department developed a digital portal to enable affected South Africans, particularly those living abroad, to verify and confirm their citizenship status,” he said.

“This is through a secure, fully online process that eliminates queues and paperwork, while using facial recognition, biometric verification, and integration with the National Population Register.”

Steenhuisen added that the new system positions South Africa at the forefront of global digital public infrastructure and lays the groundwork for future services such as Digital ID and more effective immigration and citizenship enforcement.

However, Bhengu claims that this achievement and move toward digital infrastructure was “started by Aaron Motsoaledi” when he was Minister of Home Affairs.

Bhengu said, however, that the ANC does not plan on “going toe to toe with false claims.”

However, she added that it should be noted that these outputs and green shoots “are the function of work that’s been done by ANC cadres.”

“I use the word cadres because that is what they are. They’ve done a lot of great work there.”

She said that the ANC is not focused on such antics and that the party is looking ahead to 2026, with a focus on accelerating service delivery and reconnecting with voters ahead of the 2026 local elections.