ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba on Saturday unveiled Dereleen James as the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Cape Town, with James vowing to tackle drug and substance abuse, crime and poor service delivery across the metro.

Addressing party members and supporters at Voorspoed Primary School in Hanover Park, James said many of Cape Town’s challenges, particularly on the Cape Flats, required decisive leadership and community mobilisation.

She said women had a critical role to play in confronting crime, gangsterism and substance abuse.

“I stand for the many mothers and families on the Cape Flats. This province has not accidentally become known as the Mother City. It is going to take women to take a stand against criminality,” she said.

“I need women to stand up and take their rightful place. We are going to take back these streets. For too long, people have been stripped of

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The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Saturday announced incumbent Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis as its mayoral candidate for the upcoming local government elections, backing him for a second term at the helm of South Africa’s second-largest metro.

Speaking at the party’s campaign launch in Hanover Park, Hill-Lewis outlined a five-point plan centred on stronger policing, job creation, affordable housing, reliable municipal services and cleaner public spaces.

He said the city had made significant progress during his first term but warned against complacency.

“As much as we’ve done, there is always much more to do. We cannot be complacent, we must keep moving Cape Town forward,” Hill-Lewis told supporters.

The mayor acknowledged that rapid population growth in Cape Town had increased pressure on housing, transport and municipal services, saying the city needed “bold, practical action” to meet rising demand.

He pledged to intensify efforts to improve living conditions

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ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Xolani Khumalo, says South Africa is facing a severe illegal immigration crisis and accused government of failing to act decisively, leaving communities under pressure and public services overstretched.

In an exclusive interview with Inside Metros, Khumalo defended growing calls for undocumented foreign nationals to leave the country, arguing that the issue is about enforcing immigration laws rather than xenophobia.

“I can confirm that illegal immigration is a really serious problem in such a way that this illegal immigration contributes very vastly into the criminal activities that we are having in this country,” Khumalo said.

He argued that undocumented migrants are difficult to identify and trace when crimes are committed.

“You cannot have people in your country and not know who they are and not know how to find them should anything happen. Let’s say they commit a crime and the person doesn’t

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The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party marched through Durban on Wednesday in protest against what it described as persistent service delivery failures, deteriorating infrastructure and proposed tariff increases by the eThekwini Municipality.

Addressing supporters during the march, MK Party Secretary-General Sibonelo Nomvalo said residents were frustrated by poor governance and allegations of corruption within the municipality.

“We are marching on behalf of our people. The demands we are raising come directly from communities across eThekwini,” he said.

“Corruption is deep-seated in the municipality and we are in possession of evidence. We are not being creative. We are talking about issues for which we can produce evidence.”

His remarks come after Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) held a hearing with the municipality on 13 May following findings by the Auditor-General (AG) that flagged major procurement irregularities, including R311.76 million in irregular expenditure.

The AG also reported that

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The ANC has criticised the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) after Ekurhuleni’s proposed R71 billion budget for the 2026/27 financial year was rejected by the city council.

During an extraordinary council meeting at the OR Tambo Government Precinct in Germiston on Thursday, the budget failed to secure the required support, with 96 councillors voting in favour and 105 against.

The rejection means Finance MMC and ANC regional secretary Jongizizwe Dlabathi must return with a revised budget for consideration at a future council sitting.

Following the vote, the ANC accused the EFF of aligning with the DA and FF Plus to block what it described as a pro-poor budget aimed at accelerating service delivery and improving residents’ lives.

Dlabathi said the budget complied with all legislative requirements and was developed through extensive public consultation involving residents, stakeholders and organised labour.

“The people of Ekurhuleni

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Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has handed the Ditsobotla Local Municipality its revised Financial Recovery Plan (FRP), which is meant to tackle a R2.1 billion cash shortfall, creditor payment days of more than 3,000 days and bloated staff costs of 720 workers, when the municipality is said to require just over half that number, or about 450 employees.

The handover was witnessed by North West Finance MEC Kenetswe Mosenogi, Ditsobotla mayor Molefe Morutse and National Cabinet Representative, effectively the municipal administrator, Kopung Ralikontsane.

Ditsobotla is in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality in North West and is anchored in the town of Lichtenburg, with surrounding towns including Coligny and Biesiesvlei. The municipality is mainly an agricultural hub, but it has also lost dairy producer Clover due to poor infrastructure and services.

Ralikontsane was appointed last September when the municipality was placed under an intervention through section 139(7) of

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The Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) has flagged procurement failures at the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), saying appointment processes for service providers are largely uncompetitive and unfair, while poor record-keeping and governance weaknesses continue to undermine accountability and service delivery.

Briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), AGSA official Fhumulani Rabonda said most municipal projects were characterised by unjustified deviations linked to poor planning, which proved costly and highlighted systemic procurement failures.

“[Disciplinary boards] have not been effective in ensuring that they are up to date with all investigations and disciplinary cases. This is due to slow response from management, slow submission of information and the backlog they need to deal with,” he said on Tuesday.

“The key area resulting in procurement failures has to do with the processes themselves. The processes we embark on to appoint service providers have been found to be uncompetitive and

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Western Cape police have dismissed social media claims that 19-year-old Nhlamulo Sambo was killed because he spoke Xitsonga in a predominantly isiXhosa-speaking community or that his death was linked to anti-illegal immigration protests in Mossel Bay.

The clarification follows an online appeal by Sambo’s mother, Patricia Sambo, who alleged that her son had been murdered because he spoke Xitsonga. In a video circulating on social media, she also sought financial assistance to transport his body from Mossel Bay to Limpopo for burial.

Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile told the SABCNEWS that preliminary investigations indicated Sambo’s death was unrelated to the recent unrest in the area.

According to Patekile, Sambo and a 15-year-old companion were allegedly found inside a shack attempting to remove items when the owner returned.

“The deceased and a 15-year-old were found in an empty shack while the owner was away. As they

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The speaker of the uMshwathi Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal has been asked to launch an investigation into Deputy Mayor Nokuthula Mdunge over allegations that she helped create a senior municipal post which she later applied for and secured.

Speaker Sbo Mbatha-Ntuli received a joint motion from Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) councillors Thandaza Nxumalo and Mzwandile Majozi, who argued that the municipality risked legal embarrassment if it failed to act.

The councillors alleged that Mdunge, a member of the African National Congress (ANC), participated in a process to amend the municipality’s organogram, resulting in the creation of the position of Manager for Intergovernmental Relations (IGR), carrying a monthly salary of about R52,000.

Mdunge later applied for the position, was shortlisted despite objections, and was subsequently appointed, according to the motion.

The allegations have intensified scrutiny of the scandal-plagued municipality, with Majozi previously writing to the provincial Department of

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The ANC’s Regional Executive Committee (REC) in Ekurhuleni has nominated Jongizizwe Dlabathi, the MMC for finance and strategy and regional secretary, as its mayoral candidate, Inside Metros can reveal.

Dlabathi was selected at an REC meeting held last week, securing 20 votes, ahead of regional chair and incumbent mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, who received 13 votes.

Other nominees included Nomadlozi Nkosi, MMC for metro operations, who received 14 votes, and councillor Pelisa Nkunjana, who previously served as council chief whip.

Xhakaza is understood to be resisting the move, while it remains unclear whether the nomination has been formally communicated to the ANC’s provincial or national leadership.

Xhakaza declined to comment and referred enquiries to Dlabathi, who did not respond. ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu also did not respond to requests for comment.

The nomination places the Ekurhuleni REC at odds with the ANC national leadership.

ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula

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