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For millions of South Africans, local government has become synonymous with instability.

Mayors come and go and coalitions are formed, collapse, and new ones are stitched together. Councils spend months fighting over positions while communities wait for potholes to be repaired, rubbish to be collected and streetlights to work. It’s the definition of politics failing the people.

South Africa went from 27 hung councils after the 2016 local government elections to 81 after the 2021 elections. Coalition governments have often proved unstable and have often collapsed before completing their terms.

And that instability is tangible for residents.

That instability results in water not flowing out of your tap, refuse trucks not arriving and potholes left to become ditches. That instability results in businesses not investing and jobs leaving. And it’s you who suffers.

Good local government makes people’s lives materially easier. Bad local government makes poverty harder.

That is why the election on 4 November is so crucial.

There is light in the tunnel in South Africa. The shape of South African politics is changing and it is changing for the better.

The DA is the only political party with a candidate in every one of South Africa’s 4485 wards. The DA is one of only two parties contesting all 257 municipalities. Even the ANC, the fading giant of SA politics, is only able to contest in 211 municipalities.

That the DA is now the party of the largest national footprint is significant, because South Africa desperately needs a strong DA capable of governing everywhere.
And the DA is big enough, and strong enough, to stop the chaos that has beset local governments and reverse the decline that South Africa has faced for over two decades.

Where the DA governs we are principled. We manage public money responsibly and we focus relentlessly on measurable improvements in people’s lives.

That is the standard I believe every government should be judged against.

But to do that, we need strong DA majorities in municipalities across the country. On November 4th, with your help, we can end the coalition chaos, and get towns and cities that work for all.

Issued by DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis