Voters demand change as growing distrust in municipalities raises questions about whether newly elected leaders can restore public confidence.
South Africa's local government elections have exposed a growing crisis of trust, with voters demanding change after years of poor service delivery, corruption, and broken promises, leaving many questioning whether their municipalities are capable of improving their lives.
At voting stations, several residents said they were casting their ballots in the hope of replacing administrations they believed had failed them. Their frustration reflects a wider national problem, with research showing that most South Africans have little confidence in their local governments.
Political analyst Sandile Swana said the loss of public confidence was rooted in the conduct of political leaders and municipal officials rather than weaknesses in the country's Constitution or electoral system.
“What has actually happened is that the laws have remained in place. What has changed is the personnel, the human beings put in charge of implementing these laws,” Swana said.
An Ipsos study found that only a quarter of South Africans aged 18 and older trusted their current local governments, while 55% of registered voters expressed distrust.
The findings highlight the extent of public dissatisfaction ahead of the November 4 elections, with residents increasingly questioning whether voting can bring meaningful improvements to their communities.
The study also found that concerns about service delivery remained widespread. Some 68% of registered voters believed poor sanitation caused by water interruptions posed a serious health risk, while 66% said local governments were failing to give infrastructure maintenance sufficient attention.
Another 69% believed newly elected municipalities should prioritise appointing skilled and experienced artisans and technicians to improve service delivery.
Swana said political leaders had contributed to the erosion of public confidence by shifting responsibility for municipal failures away from themselves.
He argued that politicians had created confusion about the causes of poor service delivery, with some blaming the Constitution and existing laws instead of confronting failures in leadership, administration and accountability.
“There has been a diversion by a lot of these political elites away from themselves and away from auditable and audited root causes of the very many problems that they've created and pointing the residents in the wrong direction.”
Swana rejected suggestions that South Africa's democratic system was responsible for the deterioration of municipalities, pointing to earlier periods when major cities recorded stronger economic growth and municipal performance under the same constitutional framework.
He said the decline became more pronounced after 2008, when the quality of councillors, municipal managers and other officials began deteriorating.
“So a lot of the parties have tended to put into office people of very questionable ethics and also a lot of people of questionable professional competencies.”
He argued that poor appointments, corruption and a lack of work ethic had undermined municipal institutions, leaving residents to bear the consequences through unreliable services.
Swana also questioned why voters continued returning political parties to power despite repeated failures.
He said some communities had supported the same parties over successive elections, even when their municipalities showed little improvement.
“Unfortunately, the voters themselves have been re-voting the parties that have got into power, failed to deliver, and then voted back in.”
He suggested that giving communities greater power to hold ward councillors accountable between elections could help address the problem.
Freedom Front Plus representative Peter de Necker acknowledged that many South Africans had lost confidence in local government, with some questioning whether their votes would make any difference.
“It is telling us that people still have a problem with local government; people still feel that it doesn't help to vote,” he said.
De Necker said the fact that some dissatisfied residents had nevertheless participated in the elections showed that they were still willing to seek change through the ballot box.
He said rebuilding trust would depend on municipalities delivering basic services and taking meaningful action against corruption.
ActionSA representative Matthew George said political parties had to recognise that public support was not guaranteed and that voters expected results from those elected to represent them.
He said the election had demonstrated the consequences for parties that took communities and their concerns for granted.
“The one thing that we hate as a political party is the assumption that we are entitled to the support of voters,” George said.
He added that ActionSA would have to work over the next five years to respond to residents' concerns and earn their confidence.