Water stops flowing from taps, refuse trucks fail to arrive, and potholes grow into ditches. That, according to the Democratic Alliance, is what follows when coalition governments in South Africa’s municipalities collapse before they can fix anything.
The scale of the problem is measurable. After the 2016 local government elections, South Africa had 27 hung councils. After the 2021 elections, that figure rose to 81. Coalition governments have frequently proved unstable, and many have collapsed before completing their terms. Councils spend months fighting over positions while communities wait for potholes to be repaired, rubbish to be collected and streetlights to work.
For millions of South Africans, local government has become synonymous with instability. Mayors come and go, coalitions are formed and fall apart, and new ones are stitched together in their place. It is, as the DA puts it, the definition of politics failing the people. Businesses hesitate to invest and jobs move away, and the residents waiting for basic services are the ones who carry the cost.
Against that backdrop, the party argues that the election on 4 November carries real weight for service delivery. The DA’s case rests on its claim to be the only political party fielding a candidate in every one of South Africa’s 4,485 wards. It is also one of only two parties contesting all 257 municipalities. By comparison, the ANC, described in the party’s messaging as the fading giant of South African politics, is contesting only 211 municipalities.
That footprint matters, in the DA’s framing, because the party sees itself as large enough and strong enough to stop the chaos that has beset local governments and to reverse the decline South Africa has faced for more than two decades. The party’s federal leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, argues that a strong DA capable of governing everywhere is what the country needs.
The party points to its own record in office as evidence. Where the DA governs, it says, it manages public money responsibly and focuses relentlessly on measurable improvements in people’s lives. Hill-Lewis describes that as the standard he believes every government should be judged against, and the benchmark against which voters can assess whether delivery actually happens.
The underlying argument is a simple one about governance capacity. Good local government makes people’s lives materially easier, while bad local government makes poverty harder. Stable, functioning councils are presented as the precondition for reliable services, functioning infrastructure and an environment in which businesses are willing to invest.
Meanwhile, the party contends there is light in the tunnel. The shape of South African politics is changing, and changing for the better, with the DA now holding the largest national footprint of any party. The significance, in its telling, lies in what that footprint makes possible on the ground: municipalities that can be governed without the constant churn of coalition bargaining, and towns and cities that work for all residents.
The ask that follows is straightforward. To deliver that outcome, the DA says it needs strong majorities in municipalities across the country. On 4 November, with voters’ support, it aims to end the coalition chaos and replace it with councils capable of keeping the water running, the refuse trucks moving and the streetlights working.
Hill-Lewis’s closing message to voters is to get ready to vote, with the party directing readers to a link to take part. The election, in the party’s framing, is less a contest of personalities than a decision about whether municipal government can be made to function again, and whether the services residents depend on can be restored to reliable working order.