EDITORIAL: Local government chess begins

Time is running out for political parties governing South Africa’s municipalities to drastically change people’s lived experiences. Failure will risk another five years of political and economic instability that a coalition arrangement is sure to bring.

Voter apathy may well be a significant factor in the municipal elections, expected to be held later this year. If supporters of the big political parties elect to stay away, that could bolster support for those outside the ANC-led government of national unity (GNU).

A little more than 12-million of the 26-million registered voters made their mark in the 2021 local government elections, setting a record low 45.86% turnout. The tumbling numbers degrade public confidence in the election outcome and undermine political stability.

While the vote is still far off, the contest for control of municipalities, which manage basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation, will dominate the strategy of parties, parliamentary behaviour and intergovernmental relations throughout 2026.

For the ANC, bruised by the 2024 national election, which compelled it to form the GNU, the local polls represent a referendum on performance and a staging ground for its 2027 internal elective conference.

Parties such as the MK party and EFF, meanwhile, are positioning for a contest that will test local governance performance, coalition resilience, and the governing credibility of major political players.

In Ekurhuleni, which is run by the ANC, the mayor, Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, acknowledged the service delivery challenges in the metro when he gave an update on the state of governance matters last month.

He said the city is trying to prioritise maintenance and explore funding models to support and invest in long-term infrastructure, but the culture of nonpayment is affecting service delivery.

With the DA running most municipalities in the Western Cape, including the Cape Town metro, the party’s outgoing leader, John Steenhuisen, sounded the alarm, saying his party’s loss of wards in the Western Cape and the rise of the PA demand urgent and honest introspection.

This after a bruising by-election in George last month where the PA won two wards previously held by opposition parties, including one taken directly from the DA. The losses have sharpened concerns in the DA about voter drift in what has long been regarded as the party’s strongest political fortress, at least since 2009.

In Joburg, which is run by the ANC, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group, established in March 2025, has begun delivering improvements in service delivery and financial governance, though significant structural challenges remain.

The high-level intervention came after years of underinvestment, billing failures and service interruptions left the city vulnerable to systemic collapse, prompting the presidency to establish a co-ordinated intervention rather than invoke constitutional receivership under section 139.

In eThekwini, the audit risk committee (ARC) has warned that the municipality should improve information technology systems, monitor fuel contracts, improve clinics, read water meters, and address infrastructure management.

The ARC report for the first quarter, from July 2025 to September 30 2025, was debated at an eThekwini full council meeting last month. ARC chairperson Siboniso Shabalala highlighted that most audit findings remained unresolved.

‘Coalitions are here to stay’

In Nelson Mandela Bay, also run by the ANC, service delivery is experiencing a severe crisis in early 2026, with the municipality, according to the last midterm report, highlighting that only 34.15% of overall targets were met, down from 51.28% in the previous year.

Prof Bhekithemba Mngomezulu writes the ANC’s decline in electoral politics has shown no sign of reversing. “The party’s political leadership seems oblivious to the reality that has been unfolding before its eyes.”

He adds that the ANC looks likely to share the same fate of other liberation movements that have perished to the back benches after 30 years of democracy. Many have already lost power. Others have used undemocratic means to remain in office. The causal factors are also similar, Mngomezulu said.

Electoral analyst Wayne Sussman says unless ANC and DA supporters have good reason to turn out en masse on election day, “coalitions are here to stay”.

“Coalitions have often brought instability and chaos. However, coalitions are here to stay, and what we need is the political majority to ensure coalitions work and ensure that parties and elected officials put their own interests aside for the betterment of the municipality.”