Local Elections 2026: A Look at the Successes and Struggles of South Africa's Mayors
- Political parties are preparing for the upcoming Local government elections, and mayors are fighting to keep their positions
- Service delivery woes mark Johannesburg's mayor Dada Morero's term, while Cape Town experienced continuous growth under mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis
- Briefly News takes a closer look at eThekwini, Johannesburg, and Cape Town's mayors, their achievements, and losses
With over seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News, Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist, offered insights into South African politics, national, provincial, and local governance, the Government of National Unity, political parties, and Parliament.
Source: UGC
GAUTENG— Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has survived multiple no-confidence motions from opposition parties that lack confidence in him; Cape Town's Geordin Hill-Lewis has come under fire for questionable appointments; and Cyril Xaba is facing criticism over eThekwini's deteriorating infrastructure. Briefly News discusses the performance of these three mayors as they prepare to contest their positions after the 2026/2027 Local Government Elections.
Among the three mayors, Geordin Hill-Lewis has held his seat the longest, having been elected on 18 November 2021. Dada Morero became mayor on 16 August 2024, while Cyril Xaba took the reins from Mxolisi Kaunda on 10 July 2024. Service delivery has been at the centre of their term, and amid various challenges, they have improved their metros since taking over.
Cracking down on corruption: Xaba
According to IOL, one of Xaba's achievements as mayor includes a crackdown on corruption in the metropolitan area. He revealed that during the 2024/2025 financial year, eThekwini registered 17 criminal cases of fraud and corruption, blacklisted nine entities barred from doing business with eThekwini, implemented consequence management in 81 cases, and recommended 15 cases for the recovery of municipal funds totaling R35 million.
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Despite passing a R70.9 billion budget in June 2025, tariff increases have been difficult to swallow. According to Daily Maverick, electricity consumption in eThekwini increased by 12.72% in 2025, while water consumption rose by 13% for residents and 14% for businesses. Water losses skyrocketed from 55.29% to 58.08% between September 2024 and 2025.
Johannesburg: G20 Summit and water woes
Since taking over from Al Jama-Ah's Kabelo Gwamanda following his resignation, Morero led the city to a successful G20 Summit, held on 22 and 23 November 2025. Dignitaries from around the world descended on Nasrec, and Morero said the G20 Summit was successful from a logistical standpoint. Johannesburg's roads were also resurfaced, and public areas have been cleaned. Morero also spearheaded inner-city reclamation efforts and announced that the Mayor's office will relocate to the inner city to accelerate the CBD's reclamation.
The City of Johannesburg's struggle to ensure quality water and service delivery marred Morero's tenure. Morero survived multiple no-confidence motions amid coalition government instability, and the most recent was filed in January 2026. Communities in Johannesburg have staged service-delivery protests following weeks of water blackouts. The Institute for Security Studies reported on 3 March 2026 that inadequate technology and investment, poor sustainability planning, low political maturity, and corruption are the reasons for Johannesburg's water woes.
The Democratic Alliance's Nicole van Dyk told Briefly News on 20 November that the Johannesburg Water board must be dissolved. She said that the lack of engineers on the board has severely hindered the state-owned enterprise's ability to implement necessary reforms to improve water services in Johannesburg.
Source: Getty Images
The best city in the world
Under Geordin Hill-Lewis, the City of Cape Town has been named the Best City in the World twice and was recently named the World's Best City by The Telegraph Travel Awards. Cape Town also invested R9.7 billion in infrastructure. According to Nova News, Cape Town maintained its position as the city with the lowest unemployment rate in the country. MyCiti has also been expanded to accommodate Mitchell's Plain and Khayelitsha. Cape Town also released more land for affordable housing and deployed 800 new Metro Police officers in 2025.
Hill-Lewis's term was not without friction. In May 2025, the National Coloured Congress (NCC) tabled a motion of no confidence against him. He was accused of abusing his power, demonstrating a lack of professionalism, and failing to fulfill his responsibilities. He survived the motion. GOOD also accused him of inconsistent and politically motivated enforcement of municipal bylaws.
According to Business Tech, four of the top five policing precincts with the highest murder rates are in Cape Town. The DA has attributed this to the government's alleged refusal to devolve policing powers to the president. The DA has also stated that the high murder rates are to be attributed to an under-resourced, mismanaged, and centrally controlled police force.
LGE voter registration weekend announced
In a related article, Briefly News reported that the Independent Electoral Commission announced the voter registration weekend for the upcoming Local Government Elections. The IEC held a press briefing on 10 March 2026 and revealed that the weekend will be on 20 and 21 June 2026.
IEC commissioner Sy Mamabolo said the date will allow voters to make arrangements to register at their nearest voting station. South Africans expressed excitement as the elections drew near.
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Source: Briefly News
