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 looks at Limpopo — a city that’s shown improving financial administration at the same time that service delivery is failing; a place that aims to become a “smart city” and eventually a metro, but where water regularly doesn’t come out of the taps. Will voter disaffection turn the city towards political fragmentation, or will the ANC retain a firm grip on power?