ANC KZN convenor Jeff Radebe says 2026 local elections are a referendum on municipal performance. Voters will judge service delivery, councillor visibility, and infrastructure improvement, not ideology or rhetoric.
Image: ANC KZN / X
The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has warned that the 2026 local government elections will be decided not by ideology, but by visible performance at municipal level.
ANC KZN Provincial Convenor Jeff Radebe told delegates at the party’s provincial Lekgotla in Durban on Sunday that the polls will be a “referendum on our renewal”.
Radebe said while the national sphere shapes policy and the provincial sphere coordinates strategy, it is local government that “defines the lived experience of democracy”.
He added that it is at municipal level where citizens judge whether freedom has translated into dignity.
“It is here that taps run or remain dry, that refuse is collected or left to decay, that streetlights function or darkness prevails. It is here, in the everyday interaction between citizen and state, that legitimacy is either reinforced or eroded,” he said.
Radebe said the 2021 local government polls and the 2024 provincial and national elections were “not simply influenced by national narratives; they reflected frustration at municipal dysfunction”.
He said communities punished the ANC where service delivery faltered and support was withheld “where councillors were absent, where infrastructure projects stalled, where corruption scandals surfaced, and where communication collapsed”.
He emphasised that the electorate had not abandoned the values of the National Democratic Revolution, but had expressed dissatisfaction with execution.
“If we misdiagnose that message, we will repeat the error. If we confront it honestly, we can reverse the trend,” Radebe said.
Radebe framed local government as the “frontline of transformation”, saying it is where spatial apartheid must be dismantled, township economies nurtured, and informal traders supported rather than harassed.
He added that municipalities are the delivery instruments of the Constitution’s mandate to progressively realise socio-economic rights.
Radebe also said renewal would be judged by tangible improvements in services, including “the cleanliness of our streets, the reliability of our water supply, the responsiveness of our councillors, and the speed with which potholes are repaired”.
He said it would also be measured by whether residents in deep rural wards feel that the state has reached them and whether township youth see opportunity rather than neglect.
Radebe called on the party to tighten deployment standards, saying that ''Public representatives must understand that deployment is not reward; it is responsibility.''
He urged councillors to be visible in their wards, municipal caucuses to be disciplined, and Integrated Development Plans to be realistic, funded and monitored. Infrastructure projects, he said, must be prioritised, tracked, and protected from theft and sabotage.
''Where underperformance persists, corrective measures must be swift. The era of tolerance for complacency must end,'' he warned.
He also stressed the need to improve engagement with communities. “Too often, interaction occurs only during election cycles. That must change. Community meetings must be regular, structured and solution-oriented.
''Feedback mechanisms must be strengthened. When communities protest, our first response must be listening, not defensiveness. Trust is rebuilt through presence, not press statements,” Radebe said.
According to Radebe, voters in 2026 will ask three key questions: Are services improving? Are leaders accessible? Is corruption being confronted?
He said the ANC’s ability to answer these questions through action would determine whether support consolidates or volatility deepens, noting that “in many wards, margins will be narrow. Small improvements in perception will determine outcomes.”
Radebe also said local government must integrate economic development into municipal strategy by supporting small enterprise, local procurement, and infrastructure that enables industrial expansion.
“A municipality that facilitates local economic activity strengthens both livelihoods and political stability. A municipality that delays approvals or fails to maintain infrastructure undermines both growth and confidence,” he said.
He called for organisational readiness, saying branches must be active, membership processes credible, and candidate selection rigorous.
“The candidate who carries our banner must embody competence, integrity and community rootedness. Our communities must see in our representatives not career politicians, but servants of the people,” he said.
“We do not and should not approach 2026 defensively. We approach it determined to demonstrate that the African National Congress has heard the message of the electorate and has acted upon it,” he said.
''The path to restoring majority support does not run through rhetorical escalation; it runs through repaired infrastructure, functioning clinics, responsive councillors and visible integrity. I
''If we fix local government, we fix legitimacy. If we fix legitimacy, we stabilise governance. And if we stabilise governance, we create the foundation upon which economic transformation can advance.''
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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