ANC launches smart card

The African National Congress (ANC) launched a smart card for its members this week as part of an organisational “renewal” process.

The card was unveiled by ANC secretary-general (SG) Fikile Mbalula and ANC and South African president Cyril Ramaphosa at a meeting of the party’s national executive committee (NEC) in Boksburg on Friday, 28 March 2025.

Ramaphosa explained that the card’s purpose would be to reinforce the party’s integrity by preventing gatekeeping and significantly reducing opportunities for abuse that lead to corruption.

The president called the launch a “very significant” day in the life of the ANC.

“It is a historic moment that enables members to feel proud of their identification with the ANC in a demonstrable manner,” he said.

“The most important position in the ANC is not that of president or national chairperson. The most important person in our organisation is the ANC member.”

Ramaphosa said the card featured advanced technologies to permanently and securely keep members’ details and status.

“A person’s membership status is updated whenever necessary and a member may also verify their status online through the ANC membership system or by tapping the card on the relevant ANC-approved device,” he said.

Ramaphosa joked that the card may not work at Pick n Pay, Checkers, or “Zama Zama” stores.

Ramaphosa added that the smart card was not just about making the ANC’s membership system more efficient and secure.

“The new smart card is an instrument that empowers members of the ANC,” the president said. “It enables them to participate more actively and more effectively in activities of the movement.”

Speaking on the ANC’s future technological plans, Ramaphosa also said that the party would start employing artificial intelligence in the management of its organisational systems.

Photos of Ramaphosa and other senior ANC members posing with their new card showed its front contained a member photo and personal details, while the back had an iconic picture of the ANC’s founders.

Below are photos of some of the first senior ANC members to receive the new smart card.

Part of fixing political quality among ANC members

Mbalula explained that the card was the culmination of work undertaken in the ANC’s organisational renewal to address the deterioration of political quality among its members.

The SG explained all membership cards would be printed centrally and delivered to regional offices.

At an additional cost, members may also have the cards delivered to their preferred address.

Mbalula said that roughly 600,000 of the party’s 1.3 million members were in good standing and could order their new cards via the ANC member website.

The remaining 700,000 would have the opportunity to renew their membership through an online portal.

The card’s first applications will be as an additional protocol on the registration and credentials administration process in the ANC’s forthcoming biennial branch general meetings, branch general meetings, and regional and provincial conferences.