#NoSugarAdded: ‘Politically homeless’ voters could decide South Africa’s local elections

Politicians have less than six months to win over the just under half of South Africa’s eligible voters, myself included, who are politically homeless ahead of the November 4 local elections.

According to Ipsos research released at the end of March, many voters are caught between disillusionment and determination. Nearly half (47%) say none of the more than 500 parties registered with the IEC represents their views. Yet six in ten eligible voters say they are looking forward to voting, despite only 38% believing their municipalities are doing their jobs well.

Over the next six months, parties and ward candidates will put their best foot forward, telling voters what they want to hear to secure support. We saw a glimpse of this last Tuesday outside the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court, where hundreds in party regalia gathered during the bail application of the accused in the Monswamy murders. While support for the slain Newark family is welcome, it was deeply concerning to see the matter politicised ahead of the upcoming local elections.

The ANC, having lost nearly half of the two-thirds majority it held at the dawn of democracy, now sits at 38% support for local government elections. It is followed by the DA (22%), MKP (14%), EFF (12%), ActionSA (4%), and the IFP and PA (3% each). Smaller parties may again become kingmakers, not necessarily strengthening municipal stability, with coalition negotiations likely in many municipalities.

A recent prediction suggests KwaDukuza municipality (KDM) could be hung, with the mayoral position negotiated between the ANC and MKP. The DA may gain seats but lack the numbers to secure the mayoralty.

For the first time since 1994, every vote genuinely counts.

So how will the politically homeless vote?

I will likely split mine between the best ward candidate in Ward 58, eThekwini (where I live) and the party I want to run the city.

A ward councillor, as a direct link to ‘bread-and-butter’ service delivery issues such as water, electricity and roads, must have a proven track record, be active in the community and be accessible. You know from experience whether your current ward councillor meets those standards. I do not care about their party affiliation; to me, it is about getting the job done.

The same applies at a city level. I want to see clear performance criteria for those in charge of budgets.
South Africa’s leadership vacuum in government has been widely noted. Many governments around the world would not tolerate this level of non-performance.

One of the country’s biggest post-1994 failures is the lack of a system to hold senior officials accountable, as is done in the private sector.

Whoever shows the strongest commitment to fixing that may earn my vote.