ANC and DA Campaign for Control of South African Cities

The African National Congress and Democratic Alliance are campaigning for control of major South African cities ahead of local government elections scheduled for November 4, with ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa seeking to grow his party’s support in the Western Cape and DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille outlining proposed priorities for Johannesburg. Ramaphosa campaigned in Cape Town, where the ANC has struggled to win support and last governed the city in 2006. He said the party was intensifying its effort and aimed to increase its support from the 2021 election. He urged voters, including younger people, to turn out, saying a stronger ANC presence in local government could improve services. His claims about the party’s prospects were campaign statements, not election results. Zille presented five priorities for a DA-led Johannesburg government: improving city finances, appointing capable and honest officials, fighting corruption, making municipal services more responsive and restoring law and order. She said a DA government would scrutinize city contracts, beginning with those it considered largest and most suspicious, and open procurement to public scrutiny. She also proposed...