Hung Councils Leave South Africans at Coalition's Mercy

In Knysna, a September 2025 inspection found only 11 of 67 sewer pump stations fully functional, while raw sewage flowed into streets, homes and waterways. The Western Cape government said only 56 of 136 needed pumps worked; crews had removed 50 entirely. Residents head toward the November 4 local elections with basic services in crisis and no party holding a council majority.

“Guys, you do not have a water problem; you have a water management problem,” consultants told the Greater Knysna Business Chamber, according to its chairperson, Jan van der Westhuizen. He said the municipality was “really in trouble,” with a lack of vision and planning predating the current government, while conditions have deteriorated in recent years.

The cost of the municipal machinery

Knysna has 49 reservoirs, 55 pump stations and nine water-treatment facilities requiring upgrades, and the municipality lacks technicians. In January, Akkerkloof Dam fell to around 15% capacity, leaving the municipality with 10 to 15 days of water. Oakhill School cancelled its 2026 Waterfront Chukka Festival after tests found the marina water unsafe for recreation. The festival usually draws about 1,600 players from 70 schools and thousands of visitors; accommodation businesses reported significant cancellations.

The water and sewage failures sit alongside unstable leadership and a procurement probe. Knysna has had 10 acting municipal managers since 2021. Municipal manager Lulamile Mapholoba went on precautionary suspension in February 2026 pending a disciplinary hearing; one charge concerned a municipal security tender. The procurement process for a R68 million, three-year physical security services contract faced alleged systemic failures, prompting President Cyril Ramaphosa to authorise a Special Investigating Unit probe.

Ron Weissenberg of the Accountability Group said Knysna had problems with people, processes and policies, including management appointments and layers of bureaucracy and oversight that paralysed the system. The group pursued legal challenges over governance and services, including an unsuccessful application to dissolve the council and appoint an administrator under Section 139. The National Council of Provinces rejected that application, leaving the council responsible for recovery while provincial and national governments continued support.

Civil society groups are privately funding repairs to water and sewage infrastructure, potholes, basic maintenance and other upkeep, the Western Cape government said. Weissenberg called this “the lowest point at which the municipality structure has been at least over the last 32 years.” Van der Westhuizen said the revolving door among municipal managers had weakened consistency and stability, but added: “Realistically, I don't see any other way other than a coalition.”

Ballots don't settle who governs

Knysna has had no party with an outright majority since the 2021 local government elections. The DA won eight seats in the 21-member council and initially governed with the Knysna Independent Movement and the Patriotic Alliance. In August 2022, the PA switched to an alternative coalition involving the ANC, EFF and smaller parties, enabling former ANC councillor Aubrey Tsengwa to become mayor. Tsengwa left office in February 2025 and Thando Matika, also of the ANC, replaced him. The current council includes eight DA seats, seven ANC seats, two each for KIM and PA, and one each for the EFF and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners. The ANC, EFF, PA and KIM govern together.

The ANC said it had ended Matika’s membership after he declined to serve on a party list and campaigned for another organisation, conduct the party considered misconduct under rule 25 of its constitution. Matika and ward three councillor Lukhanyiso Nohana planned to contest the elections under the SACP banner. The ANC said it had agreed to recall them from their duties as ANC councillors, and it dissolved Matika’s mayoral committee. Seven days before the polls, the town had no mayor. Municipality spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhoudt said the municipality couldn’t confirm when a new mayor would be elected.

Johannesburg faces its own round of coalition bargaining: no single party is expected to win an outright majority. Parties will negotiate within 40 days after the elections, with national party leaders likely to play a prominent role in major municipal talks. The MK Party, EFF, ActionSA, PA and others could become kingmakers and seek concessions. Political analyst Richard Calland said a possible ANC-DA coalition would depend on ANC national leadership and could prove psychologically difficult for the ANC as a junior partner. A DA-led coalition with ActionSA, PA, Freedom Front Plus and others would have to overcome differences, including personal animosity between DA and ActionSA leaders.

Plural votes, narrow room to manoeuvre

Mistra’s 2026 coalitions barometer analysed 80 municipalities that became hung at some point between 2021 and 2026. They experienced 175 unique administrations or changes in coalition configurations. Eddie M Rakabe, head of the political economy faculty at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflections, argued that a change in administration isn’t necessarily a coalition collapse or municipal dysfunction. He said reforms should set an objective threshold for institutional failure rather than regulate coalition bargaining or configurations.

Rakabe said proportional representation under Section 157 reflects voters’ political preferences and supports democratic inclusion, particularly given South Africa’s history of restricted suffrage for the black majority. With 546 political parties and 136,790 candidates contesting the local elections, bargaining and aggregation of mandates are part of how councils are formed. Elected representatives, he argued, should remain free to change coalition partners.

Coalition partners still bargain inside a framework that limits their policy discretion. The Municipal Structures Act allows either a mayor-led or executive committee-led structure, while constitutional, legislative and fiscal safeguards set council boundaries. Section 156 defines services councils oversee, particularly basic services; national transfers carry specified purposes and accountability requirements. Negotiations may shape appointments, budgets, procurement priorities, committee leadership and executive positions, but councils operate within those limits. Section 139 provides for intervention when municipalities fail to meet executive obligations.

Knysna’s water and sewage repairs are under way, Bezuidenhoudt said, with investigations and contractors across affected catchments. He said council had committed approximately R630 million over five years to environmental compliance, rehabilitation and improvements to critical waste-treatment and sewerage infrastructure. The ballot will rearrange who holds the seats. The pumps, pipes and public money remain inside the same municipal apparatus.