Garden Route Verkiesingsgids Garden Route Election Guide

Community Safety · explicit commitment

[Cape Town-area statement, not confirmed Garden Route-specific] Mayoral candidate Grant Classen committed the party to "seven non-negotiables" including community policing and crime-free schools.

Electricity · explicit commitment

[Cape Town-area statement] Seven non-negotiables include lower electricity bills for residents.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

[Cape Town-area statement] Seven non-negotiables include creation of new jobs.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Five-pillar "Restorative Process Approach" includes "End of Corruption" and "Restorative Government" as core commitments, alongside "Build a Thriving Economy" and "Justice for All."

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Manifesto, launched under the slogan "It's Time For service, order, safety," promises clean, ethical governance and a "new crop" of leaders focused on accountability to fix ailing municipalities.

Water · general aspiration

[Party policy statement, not confirmed as verbatim 2026 LGE manifesto text] Calls water a constitutional right essential to human dignity, and calls for transparent reporting, consequence management, and prioritising maintenance over vanity projects in water infrastructure spending.

Sanitation & Sewage · background reference

[Parliamentary submission, not confirmed as 2026 LGE manifesto text] Its Budgetary Review and Recommendation Report response raises water-and-sanitation maintenance failures and calls for corrective action.

Electricity · general aspiration

[Parliamentary policy submission, not confirmed as 2026 LGE manifesto text] Calls for greater use of original equipment manufacturers to oversee power-station maintenance, employing more competent staff, and ensuring corrupt employees/criminal syndicates face the full force of the law.

Land & Title Deeds · general aspiration

Award title deeds to qualifying residents of municipal-owned housing units, and make fuller use of under-utilised state land for housing while ensuring supporting infrastructure (e.g. sewage treatment, landfill capacity) keeps pace with new developments.

Jobs & Small Business · general aspiration

[Party statement on unemployment, not confirmed as verbatim LGE manifesto text] Calls for expanding the Employment Tax Incentive for businesses employing more people (particularly youth) and expanding vocational/technical schools aligned with industry, manufacturing and agriculture needs.

Youth · general aspiration

Frames education and skills development as "the single greatest instrument for breaking the cycle of poverty, inequality and unemployment," particularly for young people and women.

Community Safety · general aspiration

2026 LGE manifesto slogan explicitly foregrounds safety ("service, order, safety"), reflecting the party's stated concern with escalating crime levels.

Water · explicit commitment

Promises reliable, quality and affordable municipal water services for all, committing to reduce water losses and expand access to free basic water services for qualifying households.

Sanitation & Sewage · explicit commitment

Commits to reliable, quality and affordable sanitation as part of core municipal services owed to all citizens.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Commits to affordable and constant electricity supply, reducing electricity losses, and expanding free basic electricity access, alongside expanding reliable internet and free WiFi around public buildings.

Roads & Stormwater · explicit commitment

Commits to properly maintained roads as one of the core reliable services municipalities must deliver.

Housing · explicit commitment

Commits to building sustainable and integrated human settlements: implementing informal settlement upgrading projects, expanding serviced sites, strengthening land-use planning and building control, and supporting affordable/social housing.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

Commits to facilitating title-deed transfers for residents of upgraded informal settlements and new housing developments as part of its human settlements programme.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

"Driving investment and job creation" is one of six manifesto action areas; commits to supporting small farmers, artisanal miners and township entrepreneurs with financial, skills and other assistance.

Municipal Finances & Tariffs · explicit commitment

"Sustainable and people-centred municipal finances" is one of the six manifesto action areas, including a fairer tariff system with built-in protections for indigent households.

Corruption & Governance · general aspiration

Commits to "accountable local government and community participation," with the party publicly acknowledging past governance failures at the manifesto launch.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Within the first 100 days, ANC mayors must convene a Community Safety Forum with SAPS, Community Policing Forums, traditional leaders, faith organisations, women's organisations and business; commits to a monitored camera-and-lighting plan for every identified crime hotspot and to strengthening municipal law enforcement.

Transport · explicit commitment

Commits to making roads, pedestrian routes, taxi ranks and transport facilities safer through combatting infrastructure theft and extortion and strengthening enforcement.

Tourism · general aspiration

Identifies opportunities in ecotourism and cultural industries as part of local economic development.

Agriculture & Rural Services · explicit commitment

Commits to targeted financial, skills and market-access support for small farmers as part of inclusive economic growth at municipal level.

Youth · explicit commitment

By 2031, municipalities will work toward a 20% youth-owned-enterprise procurement target, and will establish youth enterprise and digital-skills programmes, with young people's needs reflected in municipal plans, budgets and performance agreements.

Disability Access · explicit commitment

By 2031, municipalities will work toward a 3% procurement target for enterprises owned by persons with disabilities, with disability-inclusive enterprise/supplier development and accessible facilities, trading spaces and procurement opportunities.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Lists job creation as a top priority of its 2026 local government elections manifesto, launched ahead of the 4 November poll.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

2026 manifesto priorities include "Law & Order" and "Peace, Justice, Safety & Security."

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

2026 manifesto lists "building a capable state" as a governance priority.

Housing · explicit commitment

Commits to "sustainable human settlement" as a 2026 manifesto priority — integrated sustainable human settlements supported by reliable basic services and infrastructure.

Agriculture & Rural Services · explicit commitment

2026 manifesto commits to "land, rural development and food security," and to local economic development supporting rural economic development, food security and job creation.

Youth · explicit commitment

2026 manifesto priorities include "skills-based education" and "youth and early childhood development."

Water · background reference

[2021 manifesto — historical, not confirmed as part of the 2026 platform] Committed to ensuring rural communities and small businesses have access to safe drinking water and sanitation as part of eradicating rural poverty.

Roads & Stormwater · background reference

[2021 manifesto — historical, not confirmed as part of the 2026 platform] Committed to giving rural areas access to "world-class infrastructure" including roads, alongside water and sanitation.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

States that landlessness persists as an unhealed wound, with communities confined to informal settlements while vast tracts of land remain in the hands of a few, and commits to redistribution that "restores dignity and unlocks economic potential."

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Defines "economic freedom and emancipation" as total economic sovereignty and the power to own, control and direct economic and natural resources — particularly land, minerals and marine resources — including nationalising key industries and promoting worker rights.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Presents itself as "a revolutionary movement of restoration — a return to ethical leadership, people-centered governance, and transparent development," framing ethical, accountable governance as a founding pillar.

Youth · explicit commitment

Commits to social assistance in healthcare, education and jobs to alleviate suffering, with specific attention to women's economic participation, including access to land, capital and skills development.

Water · explicit commitment

BOSA-led municipalities commit to improving the reliability of water services and maintaining accurate indigent registers so qualifying households receive the free basic services they are entitled to.

Sanitation & Sewage · explicit commitment

Commits to improving the reliability of sanitation services alongside water, electricity and refuse collection.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Commits to protecting essential public services, including electricity supply, from mismanaged planned outages, and prioritises reliable access for households and businesses.

Refuse & Cleanliness · explicit commitment

Commits to improving the reliability of refuse collection as one of its core basic-service delivery pledges.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Proposes municipal incubation funds for youth-led businesses and township enterprises, simpler licensing/trading requirements for small and informal businesses, release of suitable vacant municipal land and buildings for enterprise and skills development, local jobs databases, and protection of informal traders from criminalisation by simplifying municipal permit processes.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

Commits to releasing suitable vacant municipal land and buildings for enterprise development and skills training.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

"Accountability revolution" gives every manifesto commitment a named person responsible, a timeline and a funding mechanism; mayoral and councillor candidates must sign a pledge committing them to pursue the manifesto once elected, and the party pledges "AI governance" tools for oversight.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Commits to strengthening Metro Police, public lighting and community safety infrastructure, and to providing comprehensive safety services from crime prevention and first response through to investigations and by-law enforcement.

Transport · explicit commitment

Pledges free public transport and working toward an integrated public transport system connecting rail, buses, bus rapid transit and taxis.

Youth · explicit commitment

Local economic development plan includes dedicated municipal incubation funds specifically for youth-led businesses.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Core platform is Direct Democracy — referendum, initiative, recall and nullification modelled on Switzerland — intended to give communities direct voting power to ensure government spends money appropriately and remains accountable.

Housing · explicit commitment

Proposes housing be allocated to citizens on a first-come-first-served basis according to need without race forming part of the process, and that title deeds be given to tenants who have lived in state housing for more than 20 years.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Argues that under Cape independence, the Western Cape would run its own police service to reduce crime.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Argues an independent Western Cape could manage its own economy, create jobs, and collect its own taxes to reinvest in the lives of Western Cape residents.

Municipal Finances & Tariffs · explicit commitment

Proposes scrapping existing taxes and replacing them with a Total Economic Activity Levy (TEAL) of 1% on all transactions, with revenue generated in the Cape used for local education, police and healthcare.

Municipal Finances & Tariffs · general aspiration

Describes itself as pushing for stronger financial oversight and transparent procurement processes in Knysna municipal government.

Corruption & Governance · general aspiration

Positions itself as a non-ideological civic movement (not a traditional party) built around stability, competence and equal representation, backed by a network of professionals including engineers, business leaders and retired municipal officials.

Roads & Stormwater · general aspiration

Commits to infrastructure maintenance as a core focus area for Knysna, alongside financial oversight and procurement transparency.

Housing · explicit commitment

Will speed up title-deed delivery for previously built and new state-subsidised housing by cutting red tape and using a smart electronic system coordinated with the Deeds Office.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

DA-led municipalities will work with national/provincial government and other public land custodians to release well-located, unutilised state-owned land for mixed-use and affordable housing, and will capacitate municipal police to prevent illegal land grabs and occupations.

Water · explicit commitment

Ring-fences water revenue for water infrastructure, fixes leaks, upgrades wastewater systems, and brings in private investment and technical expertise to get water flowing.

Sanitation & Sewage · explicit commitment

As part of its water-infrastructure plan, commits to upgrading failing wastewater/sewage treatment systems in DA-governed municipalities.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Will reinvest electricity revenue into municipal grids, enable municipalities to buy and sell power, and support households/businesses that feed surplus electricity back into the grid.

Roads & Stormwater · explicit commitment

Pledges to fix potholes and better-maintain roads, intersections, traffic lights and signage, using public-private partnerships before problems become bigger and more expensive.

Refuse & Cleanliness · explicit commitment

Will restore waste collection, proposing public-private partnerships for refuse and recycling and private contractors to maintain waste fleets.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Will create jobs and grow local economies by cutting red tape, supporting small businesses and informal traders, and helping SMEs access funding through microfinance and alternative financing.

Municipal Finances & Tariffs · explicit commitment

Commits councils to cost-reflective tariffs and structurally funded budgets to secure long-term infrastructure investment, and will explore a single standardised municipal financial software system to cut costs and reduce reliance on consultants.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Will end cadre deployment and corruption by appointing competent people on merit, enforcing consequences for poor performance, and making procurement more transparent.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Wants private-sector companies to take a lead role in providing basic municipal services such as water and electricity where local government struggles to deliver.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Proposes a "plural policing model" combining municipal police, neighbourhood watches, community patrols and privately funded capacity backed by drones and other technology, alongside devolving specific policing management/governance functions to competent local and provincial government.

Transport · explicit commitment

Local economic plan includes improving public transport alongside cutting red tape and unlocking investment.

Environment & Climate · general aspiration

2026 Environmental Policy ("Rescuing South Africa") commits to protecting water sources, improving air quality, preserving biodiversity, strengthening environmental law enforcement and promoting sustainable resource management.

Tourism · general aspiration

Environmental policy frames rivers, oceans, wildlife and landscapes as anchoring industries "from agriculture and tourism to clean energy and conservation."

Agriculture & Rural Services · general aspiration

Links sustainable natural-resource management to enabling agriculture as one of the industries anchored by a healthy environment.

Water · explicit commitment

An EFF "people's municipality" will guarantee reliable and affordable water and provide it free to SASSA grant recipients, unemployed people and elderly residents, including those in informal settlements, backyard dwellings and rural communities.

Sanitation & Sewage · explicit commitment

Pledges "there must never be a yard with a shack" — every household should have a proper house with a flushing toilet inside, not outside — and commits to free sanitation for qualifying poor households, via new Municipality Human Settlements Agencies responsible for housing and sanitation infrastructure.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Commits to guaranteeing reliable electricity and providing it free to SASSA recipients, unemployed people and the elderly, citing its record extending free electricity in Ekurhuleni as evidence of what EFF-influenced councils can deliver.

Refuse & Cleanliness · explicit commitment

Pledges free refuse removal for qualifying poor households as part of its expanded free basic services package.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

EFF-run councils will scrap the tender system in favour of insourcing essential municipal services (cleaning, security, accounting, auditing), giving insourced workers permanent job security with medical aid, pensions and sick leave; also commits at least 80% of municipal procurement to local SMMEs, cooperatives and township enterprises.

Housing · explicit commitment

Commits to time-bound plans to clear housing backlogs, serviced sites for qualifying households, upgrading/formalising informal settlements, expanding affordable rental housing, completing abandoned housing projects and accelerating title-deed delivery.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

EFF municipalities will use expropriation powers on abandoned land, run land audits to identify unused land and hijacked buildings, end the sale of municipally-owned land, and redistribute such land to Black communities.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Every EFF councillor must sign a declaration pledging not to do business with the municipality or participate in tenders, and to reside in their ward for their full term, with violations triggering immediate recall.

Agriculture & Rural Services · explicit commitment

Proposes making abandoned/unused municipal land available for young people to engage in agriculture and other productive activities.

Youth · general aspiration

2026 local manifesto places strong emphasis on youth empowerment and job creation, including through land access for youth-led agriculture and free basic services for unemployed young people.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

"It is Our Time" plan is built on devolving decision-making closer to communities, merit-based appointments regardless of race, and stable coalition government under the theme "your community first." Rules out post-election coalitions with the EFF, MK Party and PAC.

Municipal Finances & Tariffs · explicit commitment

Commits to stopping tariff hikes above inflation, cutting needless expenditure instead of raising rates, and implementing a standardised rates system, uniform service tariffs and smart meters for accurate billing.

Roads & Stormwater · explicit commitment

Commits municipalities to spending at least 8% of the book value of property, plant and equipment on maintenance annually, and to spending infrastructure grants in full, to repair and expand infrastructure including roads.

Water · explicit commitment

Commits to redirecting municipal resources (cut from bloated salary/management budgets) toward appointing competent, merit-based technical staff who can directly fix leaking pipes and water infrastructure.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Commits to redirecting resources toward competent, merit-based personnel to restore electricity infrastructure and reliability.

Refuse & Cleanliness · explicit commitment

Commits to functional refuse removal and lawful landfill sites with recycling as part of its municipal turnaround plan.

Environment & Climate · explicit commitment

Commits to an environmentally friendly policy framework that effectively enforces pollution legislation, retains parks/green areas in spatial development plans, promotes recycling, and offers tax rebates for alternative/renewable energy use.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

Commits to protecting property rights, ensuring municipal spatial planning, land use and rates policy safeguard property owners' lawful interests and property values, and opposes expropriation without compensation.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Calls for farm attacks to be declared a priority crime with dedicated resources for a rural safety plan involving private rural safety networks alongside SAPS, community policing forums and municipal/metro police, to curb farm attacks and livestock theft.

Agriculture & Rural Services · explicit commitment

Commits to protecting the agricultural sector and private initiative under the banner "freedom to build and grow," recognising farmers and farmworkers as producing food for South Africans despite crime, drought and limited government support.

Water · general aspiration

Founded (1999, Virginia, Free State) with a stated vision to provide its members and communities with the basic needs of water, housing, electricity, food security and land.

Housing · general aspiration

Founding vision explicitly includes housing as one of the basic needs the party was formed to secure for its members.

Electricity · general aspiration

Founding vision explicitly includes electricity access as one of the basic needs the party was formed to secure for its members.

Agriculture & Rural Services · general aspiration

Founding vision explicitly includes food security and access to land among the basic needs the party was formed to address.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Describes itself as an independent, grassroots, non-political, civic-orientated association of ratepayers and residents, committed to depoliticising local government so councillors focus on service delivery rather than party politics.

Municipal Finances & Tariffs · explicit commitment

States that service delivery to residents is its main priority, and that its independent councillors exist to ensure communities "get what they pay for" from municipal rates and taxes.

Community Safety · general aspiration

States its priorities include protecting residents' rights and dignity, organising to make suburbs safe, and ensuring municipal bylaws are properly enforced.

Agriculture & Rural Services · explicit commitment

Commits to improving access to roads, communications and markets, and to promoting subsidised agricultural and fisheries activities within impoverished communities as part of addressing food security.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Commits to identifying and eradicating discriminatory laws or laws that generate inequalities among people or regions, and to eradicating institutional structures that create social barriers based on sex, age, ethnicity or social status.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

2024 manifesto ("Blueprint for a Brighter Future") included policies on unemployment and youth empowerment, and the right to work for a living wage.

Electricity · explicit commitment

2024 manifesto included a specific policy area on energy efficiency, among 13 listed policies covering race, education, health, energy and unemployment.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Has adopted a hardline anti-gang, anti-crime stance explicitly modelled on El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, saying it would "arrest all the gang members ruling the streets and the mafia ruling the state enterprises," jailing first and charging later.

Housing · explicit commitment

Pledges to speed up the transfer of title deeds to qualifying residents in municipal housing, framing home ownership as key to building wealth and lasting economic security for families.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

Property ownership and accelerated title-deed transfer are placed at the centre of its 2026 local government campaign, alongside a pledge that municipalities play a far greater role enforcing by-laws and regulating local business.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Deputy President Kenny Kunene says the party is focused on delivering basic services, creating job opportunities (prioritised for South Africans), and fighting irregular migration.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Argues municipalities must take a far greater enforcement role over by-laws and regulation of local business activity, tying this to its anti-illegal-immigration platform; states businesses that hire undocumented workers would be penalised.

Youth · general aspiration

[Position paper submitted to the Youth Parliament, not confirmed as verbatim 2026 LGE manifesto text] Proposes targeted national service for unemployed youth combining military and civil service, providing soft skills and technical training.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Commits to "clean, honest governance," with financials, policies and leadership open to public scrutiny, as a core accountability commitment.

Water · explicit commitment

Campaign messaging commits to ensuring "every community has clean water, safe streets, dignified jobs, and real leadership."

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Pledges "safe streets" for every community as part of the same commitment.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Pledges "dignified jobs" for every community as part of its Re-Imagine campaign commitments.

Water · explicit commitment

Commits to ward-by-ward audits of water and sanitation infrastructure, public maintenance plans, rapid-response teams for leaks and sewer spills, and properly staffed municipal technical units, emphasising preventative maintenance over emergency response.

Sanitation & Sewage · explicit commitment

Commits to eradicating the bucket system, calling it "a humiliation" more than 30 years into democracy.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Promises "fair, pro-poor tariffs," protection of lifeline electricity services, and an end to punitive disconnections of poor households, noting electricity has become six times more expensive in real terms since 2007.

Roads & Stormwater · explicit commitment

Commits to proper maintenance of roads in townships and villages, treating municipal roads as essential public infrastructure rather than an afterthought.

Refuse & Cleanliness · general aspiration

Municipal decent-work plans explicitly include recycling as a form of useful public employment.

Housing · explicit commitment

Promises well-located social and affordable housing, with municipal power used to dismantle apartheid spatial planning rather than reproduce it.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

Commits to auditing municipal land and protecting it from capture, then using it for housing, food production, cooperatives and community facilities.

Agriculture & Rural Services · past performance claim

Has run a "People's Red Caravan" campaign establishing farms, sinking boreholes and delivering rural infrastructure, and commits to identifying suitable municipal land to develop into farms for local food production.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Commits to municipal decent-work plans covering infrastructure maintenance, food production, recycling, care work and local production, recognition of informal workers, and municipal procurement prioritising local producers, workers and cooperatives over tendering.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Commits to municipalities "free from tender corruption and capture," with fully transparent budgets and appointment processes, regular independent lifestyle audits of councillors and officials, whistleblower protection, and councillors who report to ward assemblies and face recall if they betray residents.

Community Safety · explicit commitment

Proposes community safety forums, street and section committees, repaired streetlights and safe routes, survivor-centred gender-based-violence services, and action against criminal syndicates.

Transport · explicit commitment

Promises "integrated, affordable, safe and reliable public transport under public and community control," including cooperative transport initiatives.

Youth · explicit commitment

Commits to dedicated youth councils having meaningful representation in local development decisions, alongside trade unions and cooperatives.

Land & Title Deeds · explicit commitment

An April 2026 media statement demanded an immediate halt to land sales to foreign entities and the restoration of property rights to what it called the "Aboriginal custodians" of Cape Town.

Community Safety · general aspiration

States every individual has the right to live and to protection of their physical and spiritual existence, and must be provided with personal liberty and safety, as a foundational party principle.

Corruption & Governance · general aspiration

States its national pledge is to be "truthful and trustworthy" and to fight corruption and racism while upholding the Constitution and Bill of Rights — general national framing, not Garden Route-specific.

Housing · explicit commitment

[Cape Town-specific, included for reference only] Mayoral candidate Brett Herron pledged to stop the sale of City-owned land from his first day in office if elected Cape Town mayor, arguing public land should first be used to tackle the housing crisis.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Proposes changing the constitution to abolish political parties, allowing only individuals to stand for office, each paying their own election deposit and collecting required signatures; and would allow voters to remove a representative from public office (except the President) for negligence in their duties.

Electricity · explicit commitment

Committed to significantly reducing excessively high electricity tariffs.

Water · explicit commitment

Committed to significantly reducing excessively high water and municipal service tariffs.

Housing · explicit commitment

Committed to changing the situation of informal settlers by building well-established, developed residential neighbourhoods and houses.

Corruption & Governance · explicit commitment

Committed to a transparent, publicly-observable tender system with local businesses given priority, and to a corruption-free municipality run by effective, qualified officials.

Jobs & Small Business · explicit commitment

Committed to building partnerships between white, brown and black-owned businesses to stimulate local economic growth, and to job creation across all races.

Transport · explicit commitment

Committed to rolling out the GO GEORGE public transport service to all areas, with a 50% ticket discount for pensioners, students and schoolchildren.