Ramaphosa urges capable councils and peaceful voting ahead of elections
In his Monday newsletter, the President links Wednesday’s vote to municipal services and accountability, while pointing to reforms launched last month.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged voters to choose capable municipal leaders and called for an election free of violence and intimidation in a message published on Monday, two days before South Africa’s local government poll.
Writing in his 2 November presidential newsletter, Ramaphosa linked Wednesday’s vote to the quality of water, sanitation, electricity and other services. He argued that dependable infrastructure and affordable services also matter for investment and local economic activity.
His appeal comes as voters prepare to elect councils across eight metropolitan, 44 district and 205 local municipalities. Ramaphosa said the contest involved 546 parties and nearly 137,000 candidates.
He said municipalities should appoint people for their competence and qualifications, and hold officials accountable for misuse of public money, manipulated procurement and neglected duties.
Reform proposals predate this week’s vote
The President’s message referred to the revised White Paper on Local Government launched on 22 October. It did not announce a new law taking effect on Monday.
The framework proposes matching municipal responsibilities more closely to their capacity, stronger regulation of water and electricity providers, and protecting revenue from those services for infrastructure maintenance.
At the launch, government said parts of the programme would need legislative changes, new financing arrangements and potentially constitutional amendments. The distinction matters for incoming councils: a policy commitment does not mean the proposed changes have already been implemented.
Parliament’s cooperative governance committee said on 23 October that the transition should form part of the induction of newly elected councillors and be reflected in municipal planning and budgets. It said implementation would require clear responsibilities, timelines and measures of progress.