With exactly four weeks remaining until South Africa's highly anticipated 2026 local government elections, the DA is putting its governance track record front and centre.

On Monday, DA Western Cape spokesperson on Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Dave Bryant declared that five DA-run municipalities in the province serve as the “ultimate blueprint for competent, accountable, and financially responsible” local government in South Africa.

Speaking on the campaign trail, Bryant highlighted that Swartland, Saldanha Bay, Hessequa, the City of Cape Town, and Drakenstein were all major winners at the recent National Municipal Performance Awards.

Notably, Swartland, Saldanha Bay, and Hessequa swept the top three positions nationally.

The City of Cape Town was crowned the country’s best-performing metropolitan municipality, while Drakenstein secured the title of Most Improved Municipality.

“These results matter because municipal performance is ultimately about whether residents receive reliable services, whether infrastructure is maintained and expanded, whether municipalities create economic opportunities and whether public money is managed responsibly,” Bryant stated.

He said Swartland municipality boasts 12 consecutive clean audits and a 96.71% revenue collection rate.

The municipality has spent 91.52% of its capital budget, repaired 2 135 potholes, and generated 465 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) jobs alongside 194 jobs via capital projects.

He said Saldanha Bay municipality has achieved nine consecutive clean audits and a 96.70% collection rate. Crucially, 100% of its tenders were awarded within their validity periods with zero successful appeals or supply chain management audit findings.

Bryant noted that Hessequa municipality has locked in ten consecutive clean audits and spent 98.15% of its capital budget.

In addition to creating 402 EPWP opportunities, the municipality has invested R143.19-million into the Riversdale PV solar plant to boost energy resilience.

Bryant highlighted that the City of Cape Town spent R9.29-billion on capital infrastructure as part of an aggressive R118.5-billion, ten-year capital pipeline.

Furthermore, strategic partnerships worth R6.4-billion helped facilitate over 15 000 jobs, while the city deployed 500 new law enforcement officers to bolster community safety, he added.

The DA is leveraging these administrative successes as its core pitch to the electorate, contrasting its governance record against the widespread service delivery failures and financial mismanagement the party says is seen in many non-DA municipalities across the country.

“Together, these municipalities are demonstrating the DA’s record of delivery in government: clean audits, strong financial management, infrastructure investment, job creation, safer communities and reliable basic services — all achieved under DA-run local governments,” said Bryant.

As the countdown to the polls begins, Bryant urged voters to look at the empirical data when making their choice.

“Approaching the 2026 local government elections, residents should ask a simple question: do they want municipalities that protect every rand, create opportunities, invest in safer communities and build infrastructure for the future? The record of DA-run municipalities gives voters a clear answer,” he said.