The Democratic Alliance has put fixing failing municipalities, ending cadre deployment and ring-fencing money collected for water and electricity at the centre of its campaign for the November local government elections.
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis unveiled the party’s manifesto on Saturday before thousands of supporters gathered at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg, for the party’s manifesto launch rally.
Dressed predominantly in blue and white DA regalia and carrying placards reading “Working for All”, supporters filled the square as the party formally launched its campaign ahead of the November 4 elections.
Hill-Lewis told supporters that South Africans had heard enough political promises and wanted local governments that delivered basic services reliably.
“When you ask South Africans what they want from their local government, the answer is not grand,” he said.
“They want to open a tap and get water. They want to push the light switch and get light. They want to walk home safely under a working streetlight. They want their rubbish collected. They want the pothole fixed before it cuts another tyre.”
The DA leader said the party’s central promise was to restore functioning local government and make an ordinary life “ordinary” again for South Africans.
“You should not have to plan your family’s life around a water tanker,” he said.
“You should not have to check a neighbourhood WhatsApp group before switching on your stove.”
Hill-Lewis said the DA rejected what he described as a growing acceptance that municipal decline was inevitable.
“The greatest danger to our country is the creeping belief that decline is inevitable and irreversible,” he said.
“Many South Africans are losing hope that their towns and cities can be fixed.”
The party’s manifesto makes three broad guarantees: a government residents can trust, reliable services and communities where people can build businesses and access economic opportunities.
Under the first commitment, Hill-Lewis pledged that municipal jobs in DA-run councils would be awarded on merit rather than political connections.
“Under the DA, municipal jobs will go to people who can do the work and not to the politically connected,” he said.
“We will end cadre deployment in the municipalities we govern.”
He said engineers should manage infrastructure and professionals should run municipal administrations, while officials found guilty of corruption, waste or gross negligence should face consequences.
“Public money is not party money,” Hill-Lewis said.
The DA also promised greater transparency in municipal procurement and said it would overhaul billing systems.
One of the party’s clearest financial commitments is a pledge to protect revenue generated from municipal services.
“Every rand collected for water will be protected for water,” Hill-Lewis said.
“And every rand collected for electricity will be protected for electricity.”
He said municipal revenue should be reinvested into repairing pipes, maintaining substations and replacing electricity cables rather than being diverted to inflated salaries, political projects or corrupt contracts.
The party also intends to use technology to identify water leaks, illegal connections and failing infrastructure before they become major problems.
Hill-Lewis said DA-run municipalities would also work with communities and businesses to restore public facilities, including parks, libraries, clinics, swimming pools and sports facilities.
“Clean, safe public spaces should not belong only to wealthy neighbourhoods,” he said.
“Every child deserves somewhere safe to play.”
The third pillar of the manifesto focuses on economic opportunities, with the DA promising to cut red tape for businesses and entrepreneurs and simplify permit processes for informal traders.
The party says it will create safe, serviced trading spaces while seeking to make municipalities more conducive to investment and job creation.
Crime and policing also feature prominently in the DA’s local government pitch.
Hill-Lewis said the party would push for greater policing powers for capable municipalities, arguing that local governments were best placed to understand crime hotspots within their communities.
He called for municipal police forces to have greater investigative powers and said proper evidence should be gathered to ensure arrests result in successful prosecutions.
“When you walk home at night, you must know that your government is on your side — not the criminal’s,” he said.
Hill-Lewis pointed to municipalities governed by the DA as evidence that the party’s approach can work.
He cited Midvaal, Kouga, Swartland, Saldanha Bay and Cape Town as examples of municipalities where the party believes clean administration and financial discipline have delivered better outcomes.
He contrasted Midvaal with neighbouring Johannesburg and Emfuleni, saying the three municipalities offered a visible comparison of the consequences of different approaches to local government.
“We are not guessing about how to fix municipalities. We have done it. We are doing it. And we will do it where you live,” he said.
Hill-Lewis also highlighted the DA’s narrow victory in Ward 28 in Emfuleni, where the party recently defeated the ANC by just eight votes.
“That is how close the choice can be between another five years of decline and a councillor who gets up every morning to serve the community,” he said.
“Never let anyone tell you that your vote does not matter.”
The DA’s message comes as the party seeks to build on its performance in the previous local government elections.
In 2021, the DA secured outright majorities in 13 municipalities, while 66 councils produced hung outcomes. It retained its dominant position in Cape Town and was the second-largest party in several major metros, including Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg.
The party is now seeking to expand its municipal footprint by presenting itself as an alternative to what Hill-Lewis described as failing local governments.
“This is not an idea for one language, one race or one kind of community,” he said.
“An honest municipality matters in every village, town and city in South Africa.”
Hill-Lewis said the party’s “Working for All” slogan was intended as a practical programme rather than a political slogan.
“A professional, corruption-free municipality, where the best person gets the job. That is Working for All,” he said.
“Where water flows because water revenue is put back into the pipes, pumps and reservoirs. That is Working for All.”
He urged voters to use the November election to demand functioning municipalities.
“Vote for your taps to run. Vote for your streetlights to shine. Vote for your bins to be emptied,” Hill-Lewis said.
“We will fix what is broken. We will restore hope. We love our country, and we will build a South Africa that works, for everyone.”