ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule cleaned up rubbish in the Vaal on Wednesday as he went on a pre-election charm offensive.

This comes as his party pulls out all the stops to prevent the opposition from taking control of Gauteng in the May elections.

"We are municipal workers today‚" said Magashule as he collected rubbish with a group of ANC supporters. "Comrades‚ all those with gloves must work‚" he told bystanders watching from the sidelines.

Ahead of the clean-up‚ Magashule told ANC supporters in Sesotho that Gauteng "could not be ruled by the DA". He further urged ANC volunteers to be "on the ground" at their branches.

Speaking to journalists during the clean-up‚ Magashule said he was visiting the region to follow up on an earlier visit to Boitumelo in Sebokeng‚ where he got complaints about drug abuse‚ crime and litter.

His visit follows President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement of a national cleaning campaign‚ similar to the one successfully implemented by Rwandan president Paul Kagame. Ramaphosa is expected to launch the programme‚ Clean South Africa‚ on Friday.

Magashule said the clean-up was not just electioneering or a PR exercise.

"We are just inspiring our communities - South Africans‚ black and white - that it can't just be government cleaning. We have to clean our environment. We have to keep our places safe and clean‚" he said.