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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga has set an ambitious goal of winning eight local municipalities in the upcoming local government elections, scheduled to take place between November 2026 and January 2027.
Provincial leader Jane Sithole revealed the party’s strategy during an exclusive media engagement at Friends Café on Friday, November 1. “These are local municipalities we believe we can govern outright or through a local government of unity. Our estimation is based on evidence from previous election results and the hard work our councillors are doing in various communities,” said Sithole.
She further clarified that the target of winning eight municipalities is not the limit, as Mpumalanga is home to 17 local municipalities. “We have a presence in every municipality, and we will contest all of them to cement our footprint and make the impact we aim for. People want to see evidence of what we can do. Currently, we do not govern any municipality in Mpumalanga, but the only way we can claim outright victory, like we did in uMngeni Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, is to serve the people. While some may persist with the narrative that the DA only serves white communities, this is far from the truth. We want to serve the poorest villages,” she emphasised.
The DA has made significant strides in national politics, particularly after it entered the National Government of Unity with the African National Congress (ANC) and other political parties. Sithole, who is now the deputy minister of small business development, secured a position in the national cabinet, making her an MP.
She also mentioned that the party would consider a local government of unity in Mpumalanga as a stepping stone to gaining governing power in the province’s local municipalities.
While the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has held several by-elections at local municipalities, the DA has not contested most of these elections. “Contesting by-elections has proven to be expensive. We would only contest in local municipalities where we have a greater chance of victory. It costs a lot of money to contest elections, and for us, it’s not always feasible. Instead, we prefer to save our funds for the local and national elections,” Sithole explained.
The media engagement also provided an opportunity for journalists to interact with the three newly appointed DA members of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature: Annerie Weber, Tebogo Sekaledi, and James Masango. They join Bosman Grobler, the provincial chief whip, Tersia Marshall, and Trudie Grové-Morgan, after the DA retained six seats in the Legislature following the national government elections.
