AD1192: Ahead of municipal elections, South Africans vent frustration with local government

Only one in six South Africans (17%) say members of their local government council “often” or “always” listen to ordinary people.

Two-thirds (67%) of poor respondents say regular citizens are “never” listened to, compared to 36% of those experiencing no lived poverty.

In 2022, four in 10 citizens (39%) said they reached out to a local councillor at least once during the previous year to discuss a problem or share their views, up from 22% in 2006.

About one-fourth (27%) of South Africans say their councillor is performing “fairly well” or “very well,” while 70% say they are doing a bad job.

Positive appraisals are well above average among Democratic Alliance supporters (58%), economically well-off respondents (47%), and Whites (43%).

Provincial differences are stark: Just 7% of Eastern Cape residents are pleased with their councillor’s performance, compared to 43% of Limpopo residents.

Perceptions of corruption in local government are nearly unanimous: 95% of citizens say at least “some” councillors are corrupt, including 34% who say “all” of them are.

Frequent consumers of traditional news media are more likely than those who infrequently or never consume news via radio, television, or newspaper to say “most” or “all” councillors are on the take.

Merely one in four respondents (26%) trust their local leaders “somewhat” or “a lot,” down from 42% in 2011.

Democratic Alliance supporters are more than twice as likely as supporters of other parties and nonpartisans to trust their councillor (66% vs. 20%-31%).

South African local government elections, slated for 4 November 2026, are approaching amid reports of extensive corruption, financial mismanagement, poor economic  performance, crumbling infrastructure, declining service delivery, and increasing public  dissatisfaction with democracy (Mavuso, 2026; Auditor-General South Africa, 2025; Mpako &  Ndoma, 2026a, 2026b).  

The country’s 257 municipalities are split into eight metropolitan areas, 44 district councils,  and 205 local councils. District councils are charged with overseeing and coordinating local  councils under their jurisdiction. Local government responsibilities include growing local  economies, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure, and delivering services such as water,  sanitation, electricity, and roads (Government Communication and Information System,  2025).  

President Cyril Ramaphosa has stated that fixing local government by ensuring proper  consequence management for non-performance is one of his administration’s top priorities  (Mokoena, 2026). In May 2026, the government published a review of the 1998 white paper  on local government. The review admits to “governance, integrity, and accountability  failures,” noting that “patronage, politicised appointments, blurred political-administrative  boundaries, and unstable coalitions” have led to weak administration and poor governance.  As a result, decaying infrastructure has produced a loss of investment and jobs in many  areas, while deteriorating services have hit low-income households the hardest (Department  of Co-operative Governance, p. 6, 2026). 

The review argues that the two-tier district-local model produces duplication, additional cost,  and confusion around roles and should be replaced by a single-tier system. The review also  recommends changes to municipal-billing and revenue-collection systems (Department of  Co-operative Governance, 2026).  

Ahead of the elections, this dispatch explores South Africans’ perspectives on and  interactions with local government. 

South Africans have been reaching out to their elected local representatives in greater  numbers since the mid-2000s, apparently to little effect. Nearly half say their local  government councillors never listen to ordinary people, while only one-sixth think they usually  do. Only one in four citizens say their councillor is performing well.  

Virtually all respondents say at least “some” councillors are involved in corruption, including  growing numbers who say “all” of them are, and the share who express trust in their council has declined significantly since 2011. 

Rehan Visser is an editor at Afrobarometer

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