MK Party Sets Its Sights On ANC Strongholds Ahead Of Municipal Elections

South Africa’s political temperature is rising and this time the battleground is local government.

During the heated debate following this year’s State of the Nation Address, the MK Party made it clear that it is no longer content with parliamentary rhetoric. It wants power on the ground. And it wants it soon.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, interim parliamentary whip Des van Rooyen did not mince his words. The party, he said, intends to remove the African National Congress from power in municipalities during the upcoming local government elections.

For voters frustrated with potholes, power cuts and crumbling service delivery, that message is designed to hit home.

A Direct Challenge To Ramaphosa

Van Rooyen used the SONA debate platform to challenge President Cyril Ramaphosa’s assertion that South Africa is “turning the corner” after what he described as five dark years.

Instead, the MK Party blames Ramaphosa’s leadership for the country’s current struggles.

According to Van Rooyen, the deterioration of the economy, currency and energy supply cannot simply be pinned on state capture or the so-called nine wasted years under former president Jacob Zuma. He argued that the real decline began after Zuma was removed from office in 2018.

It is a bold reframing of recent political history and one that is certain to provoke fierce pushback from the ANC benches.

On social media, reactions were split within minutes of the speech. Some users praised the MK Party for “saying what many are thinking” about unemployment and failing infrastructure. Others accused it of rewriting history and deflecting accountability for the damage caused during Zuma’s tenure.

Education And Youth Unemployment In The Spotlight

Van Rooyen also zeroed in on free education, highlighting the annual scenes of students protesting outside university gates, demanding access to registration and accommodation.

For many South Africans, those images have become an uncomfortable February ritual. Each year, campuses erupt as students who have qualified academically find themselves excluded financially.

“Even those young people with qualifications sit at home, excluded from the economy,” he said.

Youth unemployment remains one of the country’s most pressing crises. In townships and rural areas especially, graduates often return home to limited opportunities. The MK Party appears determined to tap into that frustration ahead of the municipal vote.

Government Of National Unity Under Fire

The party also criticised the Government of National Unity, arguing that it has done little to advance the country’s broader interests. Instead, Van Rooyen claimed, it is protecting narrow party-political agendas.

The GNU was formed after last year’s national elections reshaped Parliament and forced political rivals into uneasy cooperation. While some South Africans welcomed it as a step toward stability, others see it as a fragile alliance that prioritises survival over reform.

The MK Party is clearly positioning itself as an outsider alternative, promising decisive action where it claims others have stalled.

The Municipal Battlefield Ahead

Municipal elections in South Africa are rarely about ideology alone. They are about water running from taps, refuse being collected on time and streetlights actually working.

The ANC has already suffered significant losses in metros over the past decade, including Johannesburg and Tshwane, where coalition politics have become the norm.

The MK Party’s vow to “severely punish” the ANC at the polls signals that it believes there is more ground to gain.

Whether voters will trust a party closely associated with former president Jacob Zuma to fix local governance problems remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the fight for municipalities is shaping up to be fierce.

As political parties fan out into communities over the coming months, the real debate will shift from Parliament’s benches to street corners, taxi ranks and community halls across the country.

And that is where elections are truly won or lost.

{Source:EWN}

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