By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) launched its Local Government Elections manifesto on August 8, 2026, at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg.
Led by Federal Leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, the “Working for All” campaign focuses on technical, practical prescriptions to fix failing municipal infrastructure, create local jobs, and restore basic service delivery ahead of the November 4, 2026 polls
Hill-Lewis described various service delivery failures he said were caused by political negligence and hampering the daily lives of citizens.
The Cape Town mayor touted plans to scrap cadre deployment, ensure transparent procurement, and clamp down on corruption and crime to boost local economies.
Hill-Lewis put three guarantees to voters at the heart of his speech, starting with a pledge to ensure municipal jobs go to qualified people.
“Under the DA, municipal jobs will go to people who can actually do the work,” Hill-Lewis, who is also Cape Town mayor, said.
“They will not go to the politically connected and engineers must manage infrastructure.
“Honest professionals must run administrations.
“When people steal or waste your money or fail through negligence, there must be consequences.
“Under the DA, public money is never party money. DA governments have a zero tolerance for corruption.”
The manifesto goes further than Hill-Lewis did in his speech, committing DA-run municipalities to hotlines where residents can report new shacks before they become permanent structures.
That distinction decides whether a municipality can act at all.
Once a shack becomes someone’s home, the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act of 1998, which gives effect to section 26 of the Constitution, bars a municipality from removing the occupier without a court order.
Municipal police will be capacitated to respond promptly against anyone who intends to proceed with a land grab, according to the document.
The party is also backing its private member’s Bill to amend the Act, which was considered by Parliament’s human settlements portfolio committee last year.
The Bill would make it a crime to incite land invasions, tighten the factors courts must consider before ordering alternative accommodation and require them to set a time limit for how long municipalities must provide it.