The people have spoken and the ANC acknowledges and accepts the message‚ ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe says. He was speaking at a media briefing following a meeting of the organisation’s national executive committee at which he said the ANC has completed a vigorous‚ honest‚ open and thorough assessment of the local government election outcomes.The party had analysed the ANC overall performance and appreciated the winning of wards in many municipalities“We were disappointed at the loss of a number of key municipalities and failing to retain our majority in the metros‚” Mantashe said.But the organisation had unanimously agreed to take collective responsibility for the poor performance of the ANC during the elections and had resolved to take immediate and bold actions to address the weaknesses and shortcomings that led to the decline in its support.“We are convinced that the African National Congress remains the hope of the vast majority of South Africans‚ black and white‚” Mantashe added.He said the ANC viewed the outcome of elections as a clarion call of the people to the ANC to take steps to speed up programmes of change.The organisation had resolved to deal with perceptions of the ANC being arrogant‚ self serving‚ soft on corruption and increasingly distant from its social base and had resolved to take measures to address the challenges experienced during the campaign.“The people have spoken and we acknowledge and accept the message‚ Mantashe added...