The year 2026 is a year of local government elections. These are going to be the most interesting elections after the 2024 elections which saw the ANC getting below 50% for the first time since 1994. The ANC’s decline at local government started 10 years ago in the 2016 elections when it lost metros such as Tshwane, the capital city. Many would remember the campaign dubbed “No Sputla, no vote” when the ANC fielded Thoko Didiza as their mayoral candidate. The ANC also lost Johannesburg, which is the economic hub of the country; Ekurhuleni, which is Africa’s workshop due to its vast industrial and manufacturing base; and Nelson Mandela Bay, which is known as the friendly city.
Poor service delivery, unemployment and corruption have been the primary causes of the ANC’s decline, compounded by low voter turnout. Some have argued that the ANC is becoming a rural party, something I don’t agree with because if you look at most township wards in the country, they are led by ANC councillors. The day the ANC loses township wards to other political parties is the day I would agree that indeed it is now a rural party. The only challenge for the ANC is the proportional representation (PR) system, which means that the low voter turnout in ANC traditional strongholds is a big headache for them. I don’t think the ANC has a strategy on how to encourage their supporters to go out on election day to vote. This year’s local government elections will be interesting, especially because uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) will be participating in their first local government elections since their launch in December 2023.
The ANC is currently struggling in Kwa-Zulu Natal where they won just 17. 62% in 2024. This was because Jacob Zuma, their former president, decided to campaign against the ANC and lead MKP. During the ANC’s National General Council in December, Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula announced that the party would appoint a new task team for KZN. The ANC needs consider appointing someone who is charismatic as their convenor in the province. On the hand, we have the Inkatha Freedom Party which has been due for its national conference for some time and they have not been able to go their conference. This will be their first conference since death of their founding leader Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi. On 15 December, MKP tabled a motion of a motion of no confidence in the KZN Premier Hon. Thami Ntuli, who is contesting their current president Hon. Velenkosini Hlabisa, who is the Minister of COGTA.
There have been a lot of challenges at local government over the years. However, the historic press briefing in July 2025 by the KZN police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, shocked many South Africans. It led to President Cyril Ramaphosa appointing the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry which submitted its interim report on 17 December 2025. What was interesting for me was the appearance of Ekurhuleni’s former city manager, Dr. Imogen Mashazi, and the suspended deputy chief of the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), Brigadier Julius Mkhwanazi. Their testimonies showed how officials at local government have often enabled the rot and how the likes of Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala were in charge in that municipality.
The wrongdoing they allegedly committed did not happen under the ANC administration in the city, as we heard how Matlala’s security company was even brought in to provide security services to the then Mayor Tania Campbell, who was deployed by the Democratic Alliance (DA). A case study should be done on Ekurhuleni because if it was not for Lieutenant-General Mkhwanazi, we would not have known some of the things that happened when Dr. Mashazi was the city manager. While we must rightfully scrutinise politicians and hold them accountable, we should also look at the role that municipal accounting officers or senior managers play in enabling poor service delivery and wrongdoing such as the alleged blue lights for Matlala. We have seen Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza acting swiftly and decisively against those who are linked to wrongdoing as they are being suspended.
We need to talk about the need for officials to undergo lifestyle audits. We often talk about lifestyle audits for politicians but we don’t talk about officials. If we are to fight corruption, both officials and politicians need to undergo lifestyle audits this year and I hope Ramaphosa would really enforce them as we know that he is not coming back as the ANC president in 2027. This can be part of his legacy because he has been speaking about professionalising the civil service. This will help because some will just resign voluntary because they know they will fail the lifestyle audit. Through this, we might see less corruption and an improvement of service delivery at local government.
Lastly, we need to talk about hijacked buildings in the big cities. The death of Warrick “DJ Warras” Stock should be a wakeup call for the government. I always tell people that Johannesburg CBD is a crime scene, as we all know that you can’t walk freely because it is not safe at all. We have also recently learned of the hijacked house in Bryanston, Johannesburg. It can’t be business as usual. We would also like to feel safe walking in Johannesburg. Many people are scared of the city because of it not safe for them. Let’s work towards building safe cities as we talk about building smart cities.
Rebone Tau
Political Commentator
