EKURHULENI, Saturday 26 September 2026 — The Afrika Mayibuye Movement has launched its local-government election manifesto in Thembisa, promising to abolish municipal tender systems, expand employment opportunities and make councils take greater responsibility for maintaining public infrastructure if the party wins municipalities in the 4 November elections.
Party president Floyd Shivambu placed jobs, water and service delivery at the centre of the movement’s municipal campaign during Saturday’s launch in Ekurhuleni.
He said Mayibuye-run municipalities would seek to build internal capacity instead of relying extensively on private contractors, including by abolishing the tender system for municipal functions.
The party also used the event to reinforce its backing for Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Themba “Skeem GP” Nzimande, whose candidacy has attracted scrutiny over his criminal past and his experience in municipal government.
Shivambu promises broader municipal role
Shivambu said councils governed by Mayibuye would take an expansive approach to maintaining public assets.
“A Mayibuye municipality is going to look after all the public infrastructure,” he said.
He argued that councils should intervene even where deteriorating infrastructure technically belongs to another sphere of government, citing provincial roads, schools and national government offices as examples.
That approach would face practical limits.
South Africa’s constitutional system allocates responsibilities between national, provincial and local government, meaning a municipality cannot simply assume another sphere’s statutory functions without appropriate legal, financial and intergovernmental arrangements.
The proposal nevertheless signals the governing philosophy Mayibuye intends presenting to voters: councils should not use jurisdictional disputes as a reason for leaving deteriorating public infrastructure unattended.
Tender abolition becomes central policy promise
One of the most consequential commitments made at the launch concerns municipal procurement.
Shivambu said Mayibuye would abolish tender systems in municipalities it controls.
The party’s argument is that municipalities should develop the internal capacity to perform functions currently outsourced to private service providers.
Shivambu has previously advocated insourcing functions such as security and cleaning and has linked reliance on tenders to opportunities for corruption and political patronage.
The proposal would have to operate within national procurement law.
Municipalities are constitutionally required to contract for goods and services through systems that are fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective.
A council could choose to perform more services internally rather than outsourcing them, but it could not simply disregard procurement requirements where external goods or services still need to be purchased.
The practical test would therefore be how much municipal capacity the party could realistically rebuild in-house.
Jobs campaign extends beyond under-35s
Shivambu also said employment programmes under Mayibuye municipalities would not be restricted to people younger than 35.
The party argues that unemployed residents above that age remain economically marginalised despite falling outside many programmes targeted specifically at young people.
SABC News reported from the launch that Shivambu said people older than 35 would be accommodated in employment opportunities created under Mayibuye administrations.
The pledge builds on proposals already outlined by Nzimande in Ekurhuleni.
Earlier this month, the mayoral candidate said the party wanted to expand industries, revive factories, support township enterprises and create employment for residents across age groups.
Municipalities cannot independently solve South Africa’s unemployment crisis, but they can influence local economic activity through procurement, infrastructure, zoning, development approvals, municipal employment and support for township businesses.
Ekurhuleni becomes test case for new party
Holding the manifesto launch in Thembisa gives the event particular significance for the Ekurhuleni contest.
Mayibuye is a comparatively new entrant into electoral politics and does not have an established municipal governing record against which voters can assess its promises.
Ekurhuleni provides one of its most visible tests.
The metro has experienced repeated changes in political leadership and coalition arrangements since no party secured an outright majority in the 2021 local government elections.
Mayibuye is attempting to enter that fragmented field under Nzimande.
The party has also named Prince Nkitsing Mokotedi as its mayoral candidate in Tshwane and Vincent Jones in Emfuleni.
Nzimande again defends readiness to govern
Nzimande used Saturday’s launch to reject criticism that he is primarily a celebrity candidate without sufficient understanding of municipal government.
He said he had the knowledge and commitment necessary to address Ekurhuleni’s service-delivery problems.
The candidate has faced questions since his nomination earlier this month.
During a television interview shortly after being announced, Nzimande struggled to explain some elements of his proposed municipal programme and subsequently apologised to supporters, saying he had failed to communicate the party’s plans clearly.
He later outlined priorities including water supply, refuse collection, road and streetlight repairs, housing, community safety, revenue collection and support for township businesses.
Saturday’s manifesto launch now provides a broader party framework within which those proposals are being presented.
Criminal past remains part of campaign debate
Nzimande’s previous conviction also remains part of the political contest.
He was sentenced in 2013 for his involvement in a cash-in-transit robbery and later rebuilt a public profile through broadcasting, podcasting and community work.
Mayibuye has defended his nomination on the basis of rehabilitation and restorative justice.
Party spokesperson Sidney Baloyi said earlier this month that the movement considered Nzimande’s acknowledgement of his past and subsequent transformation when selecting him.
The Electoral Commission has since certified the final candidate lists for the election.
A previous criminal conviction does not create a permanent prohibition on political participation once the applicable constitutional disqualification period and sentence-related restrictions no longer apply.
The political question of whether Nzimande is suitable to lead Ekurhuleni remains one for voters.
Service delivery at centre of Mayibuye pitch
Saturday’s launch puts Mayibuye into an increasingly crowded competition over municipal performance.
ActionSA launched its own manifesto in Johannesburg earlier in the day, similarly emphasising water, electricity, roads, municipal finances and professional administration.
The Patriotic Alliance is also launching its manifesto in Bloemfontein on Saturday.
The overlap reflects the issues dominating the 2026 campaign.
Water interruptions, electricity reliability, deteriorating roads, waste collection, municipal finances and corruption have become central battlegrounds as parties compete for control of councils.
Mayibuye’s distinctive offer is its proposal to shift substantially more municipal work in-house and reduce dependence on external contractors.
Ekurhuleni result could produce another fragmented council
The electoral impact of the new party will ultimately depend on whether it can convert Shivambu’s national profile and Nzimande’s public recognition into council seats.
Mayibuye does not necessarily need to win Ekurhuleni outright to influence its government.
If no party secures a majority, even a comparatively small bloc could become relevant to the election of the mayor, speaker and other council office-bearers.
That makes the performance of new entrants important in a metro where coalition arithmetic has repeatedly determined who governs.
Mayibuye is presenting itself as an alternative to both the parties that have governed the metro and those that have participated in its shifting coalitions.
The 4 November result will show whether that proposition attracts enough support to give the movement a meaningful role in Ekurhuleni’s next council.
For now, Saturday’s manifesto establishes the programme against which it is asking voters to judge it: more municipal insourcing, broader employment opportunities and an interventionist approach to maintaining public infrastructure.
