On August 8, the Democratic Alliance unveiled its manifesto for the 4 November local government elections with much fanfare. It did not wait much after the proclamation of the election date before it announced its promises to the electorate.
What should we make of the DA promises in this winter of shrinking public purse, growing difficulties, struggling municipalities and dashed hopes?
As we brave the harsh cold snap that has brought snowfall in parts of South Africa, we witness a summer of local government election season. Politicians discover innovative ideas to sell to voters. The winter of disappointment over the failure of many municipalities including major metros to deliver basic services to the people has gripped the country for a long time. The season of big ideas, major undertakings and lofty plans seeks to transcend this.
The DA’s response in a manifesto hinges on three major promises. The first is what it calls a government we can trust. This is a clean government led and staffed by competent professionals. On this basis, the DA undertakes to ensure that municipal business will go to those who can do the job. Transparency, financial prudence, and good governance are pillars of this trustworthy government.
But this echoes the DA’s message since the early 2000s. Given its mixed record in turning it into reality where it governs, it is a message that is a subject of debate. Some signs of efficiency where it governs are undeniable, but the same places also suffer failures that see poverty levels, exclusion and inequality remaining high or growing.
Secondly, the DA promises efficient provision of public services. This means water provision and reliable energy supply. It means timely collection of refuse and fixed infrastructure. It hopes to achieve this partly by ensuring that the budget is used for what it is approved for. It also hangs this promise on allowing private companies to take over service provision under strict supervision.
Again, this promise hangs on the view that the DA has proven itself where it governs. But when you have such socio-economic disparities in Cape Town where the DA has governed for over 15 years, its claims become contestable.
The idea of private sector involvement in service delivery is nothing new, as every municipality almost relies completely on private companies for all services. What the DA hopes will be a game changer is “strict” supervision of companies. This is a matter of sound governance and public management.
Thirdly, the DA promises to build an enabling community environment by improving local policing, by servicing spaces where informal traders ply their trade, and by making it easier to get permits within the municipal area. This is about easing regulatory burdens and ensuring access to essential capabilities within the municipal area. It is hoped that this will attract more business and investment in local economies.
This the DA calls ‘Working for All’, as its leader Mr Geordin Hill-Lewis announced on Saturday. In line with its longstanding strategy of harnessing its control of municipalities to talk up its success, the DA leader concluded, “And we know this can be done. The DA governments are already doing it.”
For him, a vote for the DA is a vote for taps that run, streetlights that shine, safer communities and honest, capable government.
The DA excels in catchy and concise communication. It knows how to simplify its offerings. It understands that the targeted voter is a simple person worried about local dynamics, not big ideas and plans. It keeps its messaging simple and easy to remember.
It is not completely a surprise that its only major scandal this year relates to allegedly unethical dealings of Resolve Communication, a communications firm owned by its former leader and its current advisor, Tony Leon. Communication is a major focus of the DA’s political strategy even during elections.
The DA has made the same promises in the past, but this did not lead to significant growth in its electoral support. It did not grow much even with the charismatic likes of Helen Zille and Mmusi Maimane.
Even the widely recognisable John Steenhuisen was of limited positive effect. Now, the new leader is even less recognisable outside Cape Town. He does not seem to have the charisma needed to compensate for the no-charisma candidates it often picks for non-metro mayorships.
The DA’s message of competence faces its first hurdle in the selection of councillor and mayoral candidates. Finding qualifying candidates is easier than finding competently appealing persons to put their hands up. Its electoral strategy requires a good pool of candidates with both the right CV and the enchanting personalities, the holistically competent political actors to epitomise the DA message in action.
The DA’s conduct in the cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane gave it a lot of negative publicity. Its aggressive marketing will have to cross the hurdle, a sort of cognitive hurdle in people’s mind and hearts, very hard to dislodge during a competitive electoral season.
Pulling Helen Zille out of retirement to prop up its Johannesburg campaign as a mayoral candidate sounds like an act of desperation, or an admission that letting go of newer local talent like Herman Mashaba or Mpho Phalatse aborted the leadership transition the party needed in Johannesburg.
* Siphamandla Zondi is professor of politics at the University of Johannesburg. He volunteers in the Devoted Citizen NGO, which is committed to effective local government.
**The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Media Group.