LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Manifesto test: IFP offers more financial support for traditional leaders

One of the standout features of the IFP manifesto is the extensive additional support it proposes for traditional leaders across the spectrum. Like other major manifestos, this manifesto promises better infrastructure maintenance, attention to roads, potholes and streetlights.Like other manifestos we have analysed, it is notable for how basic it is and how it symbolises the manifest failures of local government rather than the promise and power of this essential sphere of government to make peoples’ lives better. 1. Turn on the tapsWhat’s your plan to keep the water flowing?The IFP promises a “fix-the-basics” approach: preventative maintenance, repairing leaks and burst pipes, reducing water losses and upgrading water-treatment systems. Water tankers should be an emergency measure, not a permanent substitute. Residents will be able to report faults and track repairs.But: There are no targets for reducing water losses, repair deadlines or infrastructure budgets.2. Keep the lights onHow will you fix electricity, end outages and pay Eskom?The IFP says municipalities will maintain electricity-distribution infrastructure and rebuild technical capacity by employing engineers, project managers and other professionals.But: There is no plan for municipal Eskom debt, electricity theft, ageing grids or alternative energy. Crucially, it doesn’t say how municipalities will pay Eskom.An Inkatha Freedom Party supporter at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 10 March 2024 before the national and provincial elections. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart) 3. Fill the potholesWhat’s your plan for roads, pavements and affordable public transport?The IFP promises to repair roads, bridges and stormwater systems and upgrade rural roads. Residents will be able to report potholes and track repairs. Municipalities will also train residents to repair potholes.But: “Expeditiously” is as close as it gets to a repair deadline. There is no measurable road-maintenance target and virtually nothing on affordable public transport.4. Sort out the s**tHow will you fix sewage, sanitation and crumbling infrastructure?Preventative maintenance is again the answer. The IFP promises to maintain wastewater-treatment systems and prioritise sanitation and other essential infrastructure in municipal budgets and maintenance schedules.But: There are no targets for fixing failing wastewater works or stopping sewage spills, and no timelines or budgets.5. Light up our streetsHow will you keep streetlights working and make neighbourhoods safer?The IFP links broken streetlights to unsafe neighbourhoods and promises to repair streetlights and high-mast lighting. Residents will be able to report broken lights and track progress.But: There is no repair-time commitment and little detail on municipal safety beyond lighting and enforcement.6. Clean up our townsWhat’s your plan for rubbish collection, illegal dumping and cleaner public spaces?The IFP promises regular refuse collection, better management of public spaces and improved waste-disposal facilities. Residents will be able to report collection failures and track responses.But: There is little detail on illegal dumping, recycling, landfill capacity or rebuilding collapsed refuse services.7. Help us hustleHow will you make it easier to work, run a business and create jobs?The IFP promises simpler business permits, online applications, small-business support, designated trading zones, entrepreneurship training and support for farmers and tourism.It also says spaza shops should be reserved for South Africans, with inspections, closures of non-compliant businesses and action against fronting for undocumented foreign nationals.But: There are no job-creation targets, funding amounts or much detail on how municipalities will pay for these programmes.IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban before the 2024 general elections. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart)8. A home for everyoneWhat’s your plan for homelessness, social housing and building integrated communities?The IFP promises to identify land, tackle housing backlogs, redevelop hostels and formalise informal settlements.But: There is little substantial detail on homelessness, social housing or building integrated communities.9. Break the nyaope curseWhat will municipalities do about drugs, addiction and the social problems that come with them?The manifesto offers no substantial municipal strategy for nyaope, drugs or addiction. There is no clear programme for treatment, rehabilitation, prevention or community-based addiction services.10. Give us a city worth living inHow will you improve parks, libraries and recreation – and make local democracy actually work through ward committees and meaningful public participation?The IFP promises investment in libraries, sports facilities, community halls and early-childhood-development centres, as well as free community Wi-Fi.Councillors must remain accessible and report regularly to residents. Budgets, tenders, expenditure reports and performance results will be made publicly accessible.But: There is little on parks and no detailed plan for fixing ward committees or strengthening meaningful public participation.Will you play nicely together?What is the party’s coalition strategy?The manifesto talks extensively about partnership with communities, traditional leaders, business, civil society and other spheres of government.But: It does not set out a coalition strategy, preferred partners, exclusions or red lines.One significant issue falls outside our 10 tests: traditional leadership. The IFP wants constitutional changes to entrench and clarify the powers of traditional leaders and a formal role for traditional and Khoi-San institutions in municipal development and governance.What’s cool?We like the idea of a “sanitary dignity” plan driven by the municipality that would ensure dignified and adequate sanitary supplies for women and girls. The plan to create women’s safety as a part of the municipal budget is potentially interesting.Reality checkIFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa is also the minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs – in charge of local government. We expected a manifesto of much stronger ideas on local government reform. DMThis analysis was created with assistance from an AI programme. It was checked by an editor before and after and made using an original template to allow readers to compare across different parties.