Grant Pascoe
Every five years the parties come begging. They sing their slogans, plaster our communities with posters, and tell us that this time things will be different. We know the story. Once they are in power, their mayors and councillors act as if we are a nuisance. They don’t answer their phones, they avoid meetings, and they treat the very people who gave them power with disrespect.
I believe in 2026 we must demand more. We must stop giving free passes to leaders who only know us when it is election season.
Let’s be honest about the parties and their leaders who are vying for your vote in South Africa’s Local Government Elections 2026.
Political Parties and Their Leaders
The ANC has had 30 years and left us with corruption, unemployment, broken clinics and collapsing towns. Ramaphosa and his leaders live in comfort while our families struggle. If they could not fix jobs, housing and crime in three decades, why would they do it now?
The DA brags about clean governance, but the truth is households are paying crushing electricity tariffs, high fixed charges and “sundry” fees. On the Cape Flats and in townships, gangs rule, drains are blocked and shacks pile up while middle-class suburbs shine. Who are they really fighting for?
The EFF shouts about land and jobs, but after ten years in Parliament and chances to govern, they cannot point to real delivery. Malema and Shivambu have become performers, not problem-solvers.
The IFP is still strong in KwaZulu-Natal, but outside of that province it is irrelevant. What is their vision for the whole country?
The PA talks loudly about Coloured pride, but where they govern people still live without houses, jobs or safety. Is it really about delivery or is it about Gayton’s ambition?
Patricia de Lille and GOOD keep promising housing. Decades later, where are the houses? Has she become a fighter for the poor or just a comfortable Cabinet minister?
The NCC talks about Coloured identity, but cannot organise itself. If a party cannot manage its own structures, how can it manage government?
Al Jama-ah speaks out for Muslims and Palestine, but what about jobs, housing and gang violence in our streets?
The VF+ cares for Afrikaner rights and federalism, but what about the millions of poor South Africans suffering right now?
The UDM was once strong, but today it is invisible. Holomisa cannot point to real results after decades in Parliament.
The PAC is stuck in the past with “land first.” After sixty years of shouting, where is the land and where are the jobs?
BOSA sounds good when Maimane talks about youth and jobs, but they have no real presence in communities. Is this a serious party or just his personal project?
Rise Mzansi talks about clean politics and honesty. Nice words, but where is the plan to make our streets safe, build houses and create jobs?
ActionSA talks tough but Mashaba walked away from Johannesburg in chaos. If he cannot hold his own party together, how can he govern?
The ARA preaches Christian values, but sermons do not stop gangs or create work. Are they a church group or a government alternative?
And the ACDP, under Kenneth Meshoe, has been in Parliament since 1994. Almost thirty years later, what do they have to show? Good values are fine, but values alone do not lower electricity bills or build houses.
ALSO READ: THE COLOURED DECOY – How Violence Is Used to Distract Us and Protect Political Power
A Word to Those Who Want Re-Election in 2026
Now, a word to the mayors and councillors who want re-election in 2026. Stop thinking you can vanish for five years and come back for votes. Walk in your communities. Answer the phones. Respect the people who pay your salary. Deliver results on houses, jobs, safe streets and working services. Stop squeezing households with unfair electricity charges while people are drowning in debt. If you cannot show proof of delivery, you do not deserve another term.
What Should Influence Your Choice in the 2026 Elections?
The truth is simple. In the 2026 Local Government Elections every voter should ask four questions.
Who will make our streets safe from gangs and drugs?
Who will create real jobs for our children?
Who will deliver houses and land fairly?
Who will bring down electricity prices and stop unfair fixed charges that punish the poor?
If a party or a leader cannot answer these questions with real proof, then they are not fighting for us. They are fighting for seats, salaries and power.
