The South African Communist Party (SACP) has fired a fresh political salvo ahead of the 2026 local government elections, positioning itself as the political home of workers and poor communities while taking aim at municipalities it says have been crippled by corruption, poor service delivery and tender capture.
The party launched its local government election manifesto at Tshwane University of Technology in Soshanguve on Sunday, formally setting out its case for contesting the elections independently.
The manifesto is a direct challenge to the political status quo, particularly in municipalities where residents continue to grapple with water shortages, electricity problems, potholes, sewage spills, unemployment and allegations of corruption.
The SACP said millions of South Africans were working and paying their way through life but were still unable to live with dignity.
“Councillors vanish between elections,” the party said, accusing local political representatives of losing touch with the communities they are elected to serve.
“This is not the democracy our people fought for.”
The party’s decision to contest the elections independently marks a significant political departure and is aimed at giving the working class its own candidates and political programme at municipal level.
The SACP said it was not seeking simply to increase the number of politicians in municipal councils, but wanted to use its presence in councils to “build people’s power” and transform municipalities into institutions that serve workers and poor communities.
At the centre of its manifesto is a six-point programme covering basic services, employment, land and housing, community safety, corruption and greater accountability from councillors.
The party has promised to fight for ward-by-ward audits of water and sanitation infrastructure, rapid-response teams to deal with leaks and sewage spills and properly staffed municipal technical departments.
It also wants municipalities to prioritise preventative maintenance rather than continually responding to crises.
Electricity tariffs have also come under scrutiny, with the SACP calling for pro-poor tariffs and the protection of lifeline services.
The party further wants essential municipal services to be brought back in-house, arguing that outsourcing has weakened public-sector capacity and opened the door to corruption.
The manifesto makes job creation another major battleground.
The SACP says municipalities should develop “Decent Work Plans” linked to community needs, including infrastructure maintenance, food production, recycling, care work, community safety and local manufacturing.
It also wants greater support for worker and consumer co-operatives, agricultural co-operatives and community-owned businesses.
Informal traders and platform workers, the party said, should be formally recognised, protected and allowed to organise.
The SACP has also put land and housing at the heart of its election campaign, arguing that municipal land should be treated as a collective resource rather than an asset available for private enrichment.
It wants well-located social and affordable housing, including housing for the so-called missing middle — working people who earn too much to qualify for subsidies but too little to afford a bond.
The party also called for the eradication of the bucket system and the upgrading of informal settlements in consultation with residents.
On crime and community safety, the SACP wants stronger community safety structures, repaired streetlights, safer routes and survivor-centred services for victims of gender-based violence.
It also singled out stock theft, cable theft and extortion networks as threats to working-class communities and public infrastructure.
But perhaps the most politically pointed section of the manifesto is its attack on tender corruption.
The SACP rejected what it described as “tenderisation” as a system, arguing that municipalities should first determine whether major projects can be undertaken by municipal workers before outsourcing them to private companies.
The party wants municipal budgets, contracts and project progress to be made public, with community monitoring and social audits supplementing the work of the Auditor-General.
It has also promised that its councillors will sign public pledges committing them to regular reporting, disclosure of interests, rejecting tender influence, defending workers and supporting insourcing.
The party says councillors who betray the manifesto should face recall.
For the SACP, however, the election campaign will not end when the ballots are counted.
It pointed to its People’s Red Caravan, which it says has been operating since the party’s 15th National Congress in 2022, taking on issues such as food insecurity, water failures and unused land in townships and villages.
The initiative is being presented as evidence that the party’s election promises are intended to translate into grassroots organising beyond election day.
The SACP is effectively asking voters to see the 2026 local government elections as more than a contest for municipal seats.
Its message is that voting alone will not transform local government and that communities must organise themselves to monitor councillors, budgets and service delivery.
“A vote can elect a councillor. Only an organised people can change the balance of power,” the party said.
The manifesto therefore represents both an electoral programme and a broader attempt by the SACP to build an independent political base among workers and poor communities.
With local government elections approaching, the party is betting that anger over failing municipal services, unemployment and corruption can be converted into support for its independent candidates — and potentially reshape the political balance at grassroots level.
Its central pitch is blunt: municipalities should belong to the people who depend on them, rather than those who use public power for private gain.