Opinion: South Africa’s Local Government Elections: 3 decisive issues
But three issues stand out as central to how municipal power will be allocated: the unresolved question of irregular migration and undocumented foreign nationals, the revelations of the Madlanga Commission, and the stubborn failure of service delivery, now inseparable from whether citizens, especially women, are safe in their own neighbourhoods.
By Dr Tendai Shephard Mbanje South Africa approaches the 4 November local government elections carrying a long list of grievances: unemployment above 30%, an unstable coalition era, decaying infrastructure and a public mood that swings between fatigue and fury.
Voters may not have the capacity to interrogate whether such promises are lawful under the Constitution and the refugee treaties South Africa has ratified, and whether they address the real drivers of hardship, such as joblessness, collapsed municipal planning and unenforced labour laws, or simply redirect blame.
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