JOHANNESBURG - The ruling African National Congress (ANC) is committed to clean government, transport minister Blade Nzimande said on Wednesday after casting his vote in national elections.

The ANC has been in power since the first democratic elections in 1994, but the government has been buffeted by allegations of corruption in recent years.

""There is commitment to restructure government and to improve the functioning of government but most importantly to clean government," said Nzimande, whose South African Communist Party (SACP) has long been in a governing alliance with the ANC. "To us as the SACP and to me as part of the ANC, this cleaning is very important."

He urged citizens to be active participants in the running of the country.

"It would be a mistake for South Africans to leave it all to government alone. South Africans must stand up, whether you serve in a school governing body or you are in a civil organization or even if you are a professional somewhere, join in together with government, " Nzimande said.

"Let all South Africans irrespective of political persuasion fight to defend the gains we have made over the last 25 years."

"It is important that we deal with things like state capture, corruption and theft so that we are actually able to protect those things. If we allow rot to sink in it may actually undo all the important things we have achieved as a country," he added.