My Vote Counts tool puts municipal service delivery under the spotlight

My Vote Counts has unveiled a new tool designed to assist South African voters in evaluating political parties and councillors based on municipal service delivery, accountability, and community needs ahead of the upcoming local government elections scheduled for November 4. This comes in the wake of the Municipal People’s Analysis of Manifestos (M-PAM), which has highlighted that despite post-apartheid reforms, access to basic services remains unequal across the nation.

The report underscores that voters must use their ballots to penalize or reward political parties according to their performance in delivering services, emphasizing that abstaining from voting diminishes the power of citizens to enforce accountability. The M-PAM tool aims to shift the focus from political rhetoric to a more rigorous assessment of party promises against constitutional mandates and community needs.

With municipalities currently facing challenges such as service delivery failures, local government rot, and unrealistic political promises, the tool arrives at a critical juncture. The Auditor-General's report for the 2024/25 financial year revealed that the sixth municipal administration, ending with the 2026 elections, largely failed to deliver the necessary governance improvements, resulting in unreliable service delivery, decaying infrastructure, and environmental hazards.

Residents and businesses are now compelled to address these issues through their voting decisions. The analysis emphasizes that citizens need to consider whether the political parties they voted for have adhered to the Batho Pele standard, which emphasizes the importance of listening and responding to community needs. The report highlights that the performance of local government in South Africa is driven by political choices and willpower rather than insufficient funding or awareness of community needs.

In Gauteng, a pothole in Douglasdale was fixed promptly after a mayoral candidate staged a publicity swim in it. Meanwhile, in the Western Cape, the Cape Town metropolitan area has prioritized a multimillion-rand highway security wall over providing basic sanitation and housing for residents of informal settlements. In the Eastern Cape, provincial chairpersons have openly admitted to service-delivery failures, leading to collapsing road infrastructure and inconsistent water supply.

These situations illustrate that local service delivery is fundamentally determined by political will. Political analyst Professor Theo Neethling cautions that voters often base their decisions on factors beyond manifestos, including party loyalty, political identity, local interests, and dissatisfaction with incumbents. He stresses that the true value of the M-PAM tool lies in its potential to redirect the conversation from political promises to accountability for actual service delivery.

Another political analyst, Zakhele Ndlovu, suggests that the tool may not motivate disillusioned citizens to vote, as many voters lack the information and mechanisms to make informed decisions. They tend to vote based on emotions, identity, and loyalty rather than critically analyzing the available data.