Opinion: South Africa’s Local Government Elections: 3 decisive issues

By Dr Tendai Shephard Mbanje South Africa approaches the 4 November local government elections carrying a long list of grievances: unemployment above 30%, an unstable coalition era, decaying infrastructure and a public mood that swings between fatigue and fury.

Any of these could fill a manifesto.

But three issues stand out as central to how municipal power will be allocated: the unresolved question of irregular migration and undocumented foreign nationals, the revelations of the Madlanga Commission, and the stubborn failure of service delivery, now inseparable from whether citizens, especially women, are safe in their own neighbourhoods.

Migration: a national failure fought out in the wards Few issues have been as combustible in 2026.

Anti-illegal immigration movements such as March and March set an unofficial 30 June deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave.

By the end of June, it was reported that there were more than 25 000 repatriations and four deaths linked to anti-foreigner hostility; by mid-July, more than 53,000 people had been deported or repatriated in a single month.

In Alexandra, protesters went door to door, handing suspected undocumented people to police.

Such has been experienced across the country.

Then came the law.

On 7 July the Constitutional Court ruled in Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town v Minister of Home Affairs that asylum seekers cannot be barred, detained or deported merely for procedural failings such as irregular entry or missed reporting deadlines.

A Home Affairs directive of 28 September implementing the ruling saw refugee reception offices overwhelmed within days.

On 8 October protests in Soweto and Durban turned violent, with at least 24 vehicles torched.

The directive was withdrawn the next day.

Two facts matter for voters.