LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: Manifesto Test, the UDM promises to maintain, maintain, maintain

The United Democratic Movement’s local-election manifesto makes an unusually modest promise: maintain what municipalities already have before pursuing grand new projects.

Led by veteran politician General Bantu Holomisa, the UDM holds 51 council seats, most of them in the Eastern Cape, with some metropolitan representation in Gauteng. Its manifesto begins with a blunt diagnosis of municipal failure, saying collapse usually follows years of poor planning, weak administration, bad appointments, irregular procurement, unpaid creditors, broken billing systems, neglected infrastructure and a lack of accountability.

The party says councils should first establish what infrastructure they own, assess its condition and decide what needs repair most urgently. For water and sanitation, it proposes maintenance, leak detection, preventative work, asset management, rapid responses to infrastructure failures, clear service schedules and public reporting. The assessment describes this as a strong diagnosis grounded in basic municipal responsibilities.

On electricity, the UDM calls for reliable distribution, protection of municipal grids, preventative maintenance and measures against theft and vandalism. It also wants realistic funded budgets, improved revenue collection, stronger billing and regular monitoring of municipal debt and creditors. The plan is described as sensible but lacking detail.

Road and stormwater maintenance form part of the basic-services programme. The party also supports improved public-transport planning, traffic management and spatial planning that links housing with transport, jobs and services. Its road policy treats roads as assets requiring constant care, but the manifesto does not set out an affordable transport proposal.

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Municipal collapse is usually not sudden. It is the result of years of poor planning, weak administration, bad appointments, irregular procurement, unpaid creditors, broken billing systems, neglected infrastructure, and a failure to hold people accountable.