Local government is where politics gets real — your water, roads, rates, rubbish and electricity. But how much do we actually understand about the people and systems running our municipalities?
In a podcast brought to you by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, journalist Nickolaus Bauer cuts through the jargon, political noise and municipal mythology in South Africa’s Easy Elections Guide: Local Government 2026.
In this episode, he takes us to one of the more politically stable South African metros — Buffalo City, which has been under outright ANC rule since its creation in 2011. Despite this continuity, it is bedevilled by the same service delivery and growth challenges other cities in the country face. Will the opposition be able to mobilise grievance to eat into the ANC’s majority?