Fight for Working Municipalities Extended

For too long, Gauteng politics has been dominated by what happens in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

Meanwhile, communities in Sedibeng and the West Rand have been dealing with their own municipal problems from failing infrastructure, poor services, unemployment and local governments that too often simply don’t work.

ActionSA wants to change that.

On Friday, we announced the leaders who will take our mayoral campaigns into these communities ahead of the 4 November Local Government Elections.

Rev. Caleb “Bongani” Dhlamini will lead our campaign in Sedibeng District, Vuyisile William Mcunana in the West Rand District, and Gibsy Mosibudi Diale in Mogale City.

Their job is not simply to become the faces of an election campaign. We expect them to be on the ground, building support, listening to residents and making the case for a different kind of local government.

In Sedibeng, there is no better example of why change is needed than Emfuleni.

Residents have lived with failing infrastructure and deteriorating basic services for years. Government interventions have come and gone, but many of the same problems remain.

We will also be building ActionSA’s presence in Midvaal and Lesedi. These are very different municipalities, and our campaigns must recognise that. But wherever people live in Sedibeng, they deserve real political competition and leaders who will fight for municipalities that work.

The same is true of the West Rand.

Residents of Mogale City, Merafong and Rand West City are dealing with serious problems around infrastructure, housing, economic decline and basic municipal services.

These communities cannot be treated as less important simply because they sit outside Gauteng’s three metros.

People there pay rates and taxes. They need water, electricity, working roads, refuse collection and responsive municipalities just like everyone else.

Mogale City, in particular, has become an important growth area for ActionSA. We have seen encouraging signs of support there, and we intend to build on that by giving residents a serious alternative.

Friday also gave us the opportunity to formally welcome Ayanda Allie to ActionSA.

Ayanda has been deployed as our 2026 LGE Campaign Ambassador: Issue Driving. It is a focused campaign role that will see her working with our campaign teams to help take the issues residents are raising in their communities into the heart of our election campaign.

That is important because we don’t want to spend the next three months talking at people.

We want to listen.

And we want our campaign to speak to what people are actually dealing with – whether it’s water, electricity, crime, housing, unemployment, failing infrastructure or simply a municipality that doesn’t respond when residents need it.

Our offer to Gauteng therefore goes beyond changing who occupies the mayoral office in Johannesburg, Tshwane or Ekurhuleni.

We are building a serious political alternative across the province. That means competing seriously in Sedibeng. It means growing into a meaningful political force across the West Rand.

And it means showing communities that have been taken for granted for years that their votes can change the direction of their municipalities.

Between now and 4 November, our mayoral candidates, Ward Candidates and activists will be taking that message directly to residents.

The problems may differ from one municipality to another, but what people expect from local government is actually quite simple.

They want water to run. They want the lights to stay on. They want roads and infrastructure maintained. They want their communities to be safe and clean. And they want municipal leaders who answer to the people who elected them.

In short, they want municipalities that work.

That is what ActionSA will fight for.

ActionSA Education: Advocates for specialized skills training and artisan schools.