Lesufi outlines plan to fix troubled municipalities ahead of 2026 polls

By Thapelo Molefe

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has outlined an ambitious plan to rescue the province’s struggling municipalities, announcing new interventions to address governance failures, eliminate potholes, restore traffic lights and tackle the mushrooming of informal settlements ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

Delivering his 2026 State of the Province Address, Lesufi acknowledged that local government remains the weakest link in the delivery chain despite being “the backbone of service delivery.”

“Let us face it; local government is the backbone of service delivery, and yet this is exactly where we are most challenged as government,” Lesufi said.

The address comes as coalition politics continues to destabilise several municipalities, with Ekurhuleni facing fresh governance turmoil and a motion of no confidence tabled against the Sedibeng executive mayor Lerato Maloka.

Lesufi addressed the political instability head-on, acknowledging that “developments in Ekurhuleni over the last few days have brought coalition governance into