By Akani Nkuna
Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane on Wednesday said that poor governance, political instability and the misuse of municipal institutions risked entrenching “local government state capture” after the 4 November elections.
“Local government state capture will make national state capture look like a picnic. It is already such. That is why we need change. We need the voice of citizens who say, ‘actually, we are tired of the drama where everybody gets to be the mayor when they feel like it. We are demanding change,'” he said.
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Maimane was addressing the media in Rosebank, Johannesburg, about BOSA’s preparations for the local elections and to unveil its proposed slate of candidates.
Political parties and independent candidates face a 5pm deadline on Friday to finalise their nominations.
BOSA said it plans to contest 24 municipalities across Gauteng, Limpopo, North West, the Free State and the Western Cape. The party plans to contest all three Gauteng metros, while in the Free State it will contest Mangaung.
Maimane said BOSA will field 794 candidates, with the majority earmarked for the five metros it is contesting.
According to figures released by the party, 122 candidates are earmarked for Johannesburg, 113 for Tshwane, 92 for Cape Town, 83 for Ekurhuleni and 61 for Mangaung. The remaining candidates are expected to contest municipalities elsewhere in the five provinces.
The IEC is expected to publish the final list of candidates who meet the requirements on 16 September.
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Maimane said the municipalities BOSA had chosen to contest were selected strategically, taking into account areas where the party already had support as well as “significant candidates and potential to grow”.
He added that with 70 days to go until the elections, it was not wise to “start from scratch”, with the party instead seeking to build on areas where it had already established a presence.
He said BOSA’s candidate selection and vetting process had placed a strong emphasis on professional experience and skills needed to govern effectively.
The party said its candidates included teachers, engineers, social workers, small business owners, traditional leaders and community activists, rather than only career politicians.
“They (candidates) are South Africans who have lived and worked in the communities they now want to serve. They bring real-world experience, professional skills and a commitment to solving the everyday problems that residents face,” Maimane said.
He said BOSA was positioning itself as an alternative in local government politics and seeking to attract voters beyond the established political landscape dominated by the ANC, DA and EFF.
He said BOSA would officially launch its manifesto on 4 September.
