Politics

Patriotic Alliance's Kenny Kunene Makes Municipal Debt Relief Promise Ahead of Elections

Published 9 Sep 2026 at 6:41 PM

by Mbalenhle Butale

3 min read

Patriotic Alliance mayoral candidate Kenny Kunene put municipal debt relief at the centre of his Johannesburg election campaign
Kunene's proposal targets households whose properties are valued at less than R1 million, citing high unemployment as the root cause
The pledge comes as residents across major metros face steep municipal tariff increases for the 2026/27 financial year

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SOUTH AFRICA - Kenny Kunene, the Patriotic Alliance's mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, is making municipal debt relief one of the party's defining promises heading into the 4 November 2026 local government elections.

Kunene promises municipal debt relief

Speaking during an SABC roundtable discussion, Kunene said the PA would push to introduce debt relief for residents whose properties are valued below R1 million. His argument is straightforward: with unemployment as high as it is, many households simply cannot keep up with their municipal bills.

Kunene said we need to introduce municipal debt relief for households whose properties are less than a million rands.

PA targets cost-of-living pain in Joburg

Alongside the debt relief proposal, Kunene has also called for a flat-rate municipal tariff, placing the affordability of basic services at the heart of the PA's pitch to Johannesburg voters.

The timing is deliberate. For the 2026/27 financial year, Johannesburg residents are dealing with an 8.63% electricity increase, a 12.5% rise in water charges, an 11% sanitation increase, a 6.2% hike in refuse removal costs and a 3.6% rise in property rates.

The picture is similar across other major metros. Tshwane raised electricity by 8.8% and water by 10%. eThekwini approved a 9% electricity increase and a 12% rise in domestic water tariffs. Ekurhuleni set an 8.76% electricity increase alongside an 11% water hike.

Cape Town also introduced tariff increases but paired them with R8.3 billion in rates and tariff relief for qualifying households in its 2026/27 budget.

Joburg votes up for grabs in November

Control of Johannesburg is expected to be one of the most contested battles of the November elections, and the PA is betting that the cost of municipal services will be a deciding issue for many residents.

Kunene's debt relief promise is aimed squarely at lower-income households, those who own modest properties and are caught between rising bills and limited income. For the PA, this gap between what residents owe and what they can realistically afford represents both a policy problem and a political opportunity.

As campaigning intensifies across the city in the months ahead, municipal affordability is shaping up to be a central theme for parties competing to win over Johannesburg's voters.

PA cries foul over SAPS recruitment

Previously, Briefly News reported that the Patriotic Alliance kept the nation's attention after criticising the SAPS's recruitment intake. Party president Gayton McKenzie allegedly posted that the SAPS recruits black people only after seeing a pictures of the recruits widely circulated on social media. The South African Police Service released a breakdown of applications received during its latest recruitment drive, revealing that fewer than 6,000 of the 1,049,998 total applications came from non-African candidates.