LGE 2026 Manifestos: Jobs, local economy and small business promises, and the council’s share of them

What we did: we took the manifesto data for the twelve parties as at 22 October 2026 and counted every promise that the comparison page places under “Jobs, local economy and small business”, by the verdict on each. Sources are listed at the end.

We also keep Integrity Watch, a public register of documents that were corrected, withdrawn, refunded or punished after someone found made-up material in them.

This folio is about a different kind of check. It asks which of the jobs, local economy and small business promises in election manifestos sit within a council’s powers.

The 2026 local elections in short #

The vote. South Africans vote in local government elections on 4 November 2026. They choose the councillors who run 257 municipalities: 8 metropolitan (big-city), 44 district and 205 local. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) certified 136,790 candidates for 10,526 council seats. On 15 October 2026 the Constitutional Court directed the IEC to take the steps needed to put 181 ANC candidates on the ballot in six municipalities, so the final count will change. On 16 October 2026 the IEC said 32 other parties in the same position would get the same relief.

How many parties. 732 political parties are registered with the IEC at various levels. The IEC says 546 of them nominated candidates for this election.

What a council does. South Africa has three spheres of government: national, provincial and local. Part B of Schedules 4 and 5 of the Constitution list the matters a municipality may administer: 38 in all, among them drinking water and domestic waste-water and sewage systems, electricity and gas reticulation (the local networks), refuse removal, municipal roads and street trading. Jobs, schools, hospitals, welfare, the courts and immigration are not on those lists. A council can still lobby, partner with or press the government that holds the power.

What a manifesto is. A manifesto is a party’s published list of promises, so that voters can read them and decide.

What Ukweli did. Ukweli has analysed twelve party manifestos for this election. It found 2,419 promises and quoted each in the party’s own words, with its page. It checked each promise it could assess against the Constitution’s lists of what a council does. Where a sentence is too short or vague to test, or Ukweli’s checks did not settle it, the card says “Could not be assessed by Ukweli”. Where a sentence promises several things that fall under different powers or spheres of government, the card says “Mixes different powers”. Both labels describe Ukweli’s check, not the party.

Who is in. The twelve parties are shown below. Ukweli analyses any 2026 local government manifesto it can obtain from the party’s own publication. That is a rule about documents, never a judgement about a party. Parties have reported 19 manifesto launches; for the other seven, Ukweli cannot reach a readable document online. Many other parties contest the election, and this folio does not cover them.

Each party’s assessment is one click away.

ACDPRead the assessment →ActionSARead the assessment →AMMRead the assessment →ANCRead the assessment →BOSARead the assessment →DARead the assessment →EFFRead the assessment →FF PlusRead the assessment →GOODRead the assessment →IFPRead the assessment →SACPRead the assessment →UDMRead the assessment →

Each button opens that party’s assessment on ukweli.io in a new tab, so this page stays open. Party logos belong to the parties and are shown for identification only. Ukweli is not affiliated with any party.

What Ukweli does not do. It does not score, grade, rank or endorse any party. It does not say whether a promise will be kept or whether it is affordable. A promise outside a council’s powers is not a false promise.

Figures in this section as at 22 October 2026. They come from the IEC, the Constitution’s schedules and Ukweli’s manifesto pages (sources at the end), and they move when a manifesto is added or the IEC publishes a new figure. Errors: hello@ukweli.io.

Who is responsible for jobs, the local economy and small business? #

South Africa has three spheres of government: national, provincial and local. Folio 08 explains why jobs are not named on the Constitution’s lists of municipal matters, and names the trading, market and tourism items that are. This folio also uses three other items, all in Part B of Schedule 5: “municipal abattoirs”, “licensing and control of undertakings that sell food to the public” and “billboards and the display of advertisements in public places”.

A council also runs its own spending, staff and paperwork. In Ukweli’s table the promises about this cite several rules. Two are public administration (section 195) and a council’s right to govern the local government affairs of its community (section 151(3)). Two more are the objects of local government (section 152(1)) and a council’s incidental powers (section 156(5)). The rest are a council employing its own staff (section 160(1)), budgets (section 215(1)), and buying goods and services (section 217). On buying, the table quotes the rule that an organ of state which contracts for goods or services “must do so in accordance with a system which is fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective”. Ukweli files promises about the council’s own buying, hiring and paperwork under “How the council runs itself”.

What this folio adds to Folio 08 #

Folio 08 counts the promises about council business on every topic and asks who holds the power. It reads the 169 outside promises about local economic development, jobs and enterprise as a group of their own. This folio does not repeat that reading.

This folio asks a narrower question: of the jobs, local economy and small business promises filed in this one theme, which sit within a council’s powers, and what do they commit it to? It adds four things that Folio 08 does not. It counts all 356 promises in this theme, party by party. It groups the 97 that sit within a council’s powers by what they commit to. It counts how many of those 97 contain a number. And it counts the procurement promises that are filed under other themes.

The 165 outside promises in this theme are counted in a short section below. For who holds the power over them, read Folio 08.

What the jobs, local economy and small business promises are #

We counted every promise in the twelve manifestos that the comparison page files under “Jobs, local economy and small business”, one of its ten themes. We found 356, and all twelve manifestos have some. Some sentences hold more than one promise, and we count each separately. Each promise sits under one theme only.

That last rule matters here. A word search for “procure” finds 39 promises under other themes, 36 of them under “Running the council”. They are not counted in this folio. A count under this theme says where a promise is filed. It does not say how much a manifesto wrote about jobs.

Ukweli could assess 272 of the 356. The other 84 (23.6%) carry no verdict. Across all 2,419 promises the share with no verdict is 22.9%.

Party by party #

The counts below say how many promises are filed under this theme for each party. They say nothing about how good the promises are or how much of a manifesto is about jobs. Every party has some. 10 of the 12 have at least one within a council’s own powers. FF Plus and GOOD have none filed in that group, and they have 2 and 3 in the group about how the council runs itself. We also searched all 121 FF Plus promises and all 77 GOOD promises, in every theme, for the words trading, market, street trader, trader, tourism, abattoir, stalls, hawker, spaza and vendor. FF Plus has 0 promises with any of them. GOOD has 1, on street traders (file page 9), filed under this theme as “Mixes different powers”. A word search finds only the words searched for.

Inside a council’s own powers #

39 of the 272 assessed promises (14.3%) are on a matter the Constitution lists for municipalities, in Part B of Schedule 4 or Part B of Schedule 5. Across all 1,865 assessed promises on every topic, 392 (21.0%) are in this group. That says nothing about money or capacity. A promise can cite more than one matter. The 39 fall into three groups, by the matters Ukweli cites for them.

• Trading, markets and informal traders (27). They cite street trading (18), trading regulations (13), markets (12), municipal abattoirs or the licensing of food sellers. For example: “Creating more trading spaces.” (DA, file page 45) and “Build a central municipal-owned abattoir, primarily aimed at assisting emerging farmers to sell their livestock.” (EFF, file page 19).
• Tourism (6). They cite local tourism. For example: “Support for tourism, local heritage, cultural assets, and community-based tourism.” (UDM, file page 8).
• Other local matters (6). One each cites planning and building approvals, municipal public transport, local amenities, public places, municipal airports, and billboards.

Some of these matters can sit with a district council instead of a local council. In the Municipal Structures Act, section 84(1)(k) gives a district municipality: “The establishment, conduct and control of fresh produce markets and abattoirs serving the area of a major proportion of the municipalities in the district.” Section 84(1)(m) gives it: “Promotion of local tourism for the area of the district municipality.” So whether a district or a local council holds a given market, abattoir or tourism promise depends on the area it serves. Ukweli has not worked this out for each promise.

The 39 are not all the same kind of promise. Ukweli records what kind of act each sentence commits to:

• Deliverable (23): the sentence commits to making something exist or providing something, and a reader could later check whether it happened. For example: “Creating more trading spaces.” (DA, file page 45).
• Aspiration (9): the sentence states a result the party wants but names no act that would produce it. For example: “Better management of trading spaces, markets, and local business zones.” (UDM, file page 8).
• Process (1): the sentence is about how the work is organised, paid for or overseen, not the result. It is “The impounding of goods will be used only for serious offences to prevent financial ruin for micro-enterprises.” (DA, file page 45).
• Type not settled (6): no kind is shown. Ukweli’s data records the kind as not checked.

An aspiration is not a worse promise than a deliverable. The kind says only whether the sentence names an act that could be checked.

3 of the 39 carry a check in Ukweli’s table that depends on the place. ActionSA (file page 52) and the IFP (file page 9) promise action against businesses that break health, safety and trading rules. For both, the table notes that municipal health services are held by metros and districts, not by local councils. The third is in the DA’s plan for trading areas: “These spaces include parking areas, streets, and pavements to be used at designated hours.” (file page 45). For that one, the table notes that provincial roads are not the council’s, and that a district council holds roads that form part of the district’s road system.

Led by another sphere, council has a role #

Two promises (0.7%) are here. Across all 1,865 assessed promises on every topic, 189 (10.1%) are. One is the ANC’s “reducing licensing backlogs” (file page 28). Ukweli’s table links it to vehicle licensing and driving licence testing centres. It records that a council acts as a registering authority only if it is appointed as one. In the Act, section 3(1) says the Shareholders Committee “shall, in consultation with the relevant MEC and by notice in the Gazette, appoint a registering authority for the area and on the conditions it determines from time to time”. An MEC is a provincial Member of the Executive Council. The other is a BOSA promise on file page 17 about enforcing rules for businesses. The table links it to business licensing. It records that a council licenses businesses only if the province designates it as a licensing authority. In the Act, section 2(1)(a) says an Administrator “may by notice in the Official Gazette designate a local authority, or appoint any person or body, as a licensing authority”. The BOSA promise is also one of the 16 in Folio 09.

How the council runs itself #

58 promises (21.3%) are about the council’s own machinery: whom it buys from, whom it hires, how fast it approves and what rules it sets. Across all 1,865 assessed promises on every topic, 740 (39.7%) are in this group. 25 of the 58 cite the Constitution’s rule on contracting for goods or services, quoted above. We sorted the 58 by a word search made for this folio, and each promise is counted once:

• Buying locally and from small firms (21). For example: “Mayibuye will commit supply chains to buying local goods and hitting clear local-content targets.” (AMM, file page 17).
• Red tape, approvals, permits and by-laws (14). For example: “Review bylaws to reduce barriers for small business development.” (ACDP, file page 7) and “DO AWAY WITH NEEDLESS ADMINISTRATIVE RED TAPE.” (FF Plus, file page 24).
• Hiring, training and job schemes run by the council (13). For example: “Mayibuye will establish municipal youth employment and internship programmes linked to real municipal skills requirements.” (AMM, file page 19).
• Business support and planning (10). For example: “Every municipality will set clear local economic priorities and measurable annual targets through its Local Economic Development Plan.” (ANC, file page 28).

By kind, the 58 are 21 deliverables, 15 processes, 7 aspirations and 15 where the kind is not settled. Seven of the 97 promises that sit within a council’s powers contain a number. Six set a percentage and one sets a deadline of 100 days. Ukweli has not checked whether a given percentage target is allowed under the national buying rules.

Outside a council’s powers #

165 promises (60.7%) are outside a council’s powers, as Ukweli’s check placed them. By subject in Ukweli’s table, 141 are local economic development, jobs and enterprise, and 16 are agriculture and fisheries. The other 8 are spread over five subjects: schools 2, mineral resources and social and labour plans 2, local government funding and the national fiscal framework 2, land reform 1, and immigration and border control 1. Of Folio 08’s 169 jobs promises across all themes, 141 are filed under this theme.

We do not read these 165 any further. An outside promise is not a false one, and it does not mean another sphere holds the power. Folio 08 takes that question apart.

A party’s own conduct #

Eight promises (2.9%) are filed as a party’s own conduct: ACDP 1, ActionSA 2, AMM 2 and BOSA 3. Across all 1,865 assessed promises on every topic, 216 (11.6%) are. These are not something a council does. For example: “Our approach will be red carpet, not red tape.” (ActionSA, file page 47).

The promises with no verdict #

84 of the 356 (23.6%) carry no verdict. Across all 2,419 promises the share is 22.9%, so this theme is a little higher. The reasons:

Take “Mayibuye will establish municipal youth employment programmes, apprenticeships, internships, artisan training, digital skills programmes, entrepreneurship support, and pathways into permanent employment.” (AMM, file page 19). Ukweli’s checks agreed that the sentence joins matters that fall under different powers. One verdict would be wrong for part of it. We do not guess. The card says so.

Our view #

This is the folio’s own view. It is kept apart from the counts above.

On jobs, the promises that sit within a council’s powers are mostly about what it controls directly: whom it buys from, whom it hires, which stalls it opens and how fast it approves. A voter can ask about these after the election, because they are things the council itself does. 7 of the 97 name a number. A promise with a number or a date is easier to check at the end of the term. The rest of the theme is for Folio 08.

Questions to put to any candidate #

1. What share of the council’s yearly buying will go to local firms, under which rule, and where will the figure be published each year?
2. Which sites will open for traders, how many stalls will there be, and what will a permit cost and how long will it take?
3. Which approvals will be quicker, by how many days, and who will report the result?
4. How many places will the council’s job and training schemes offer, for how long, at what pay, and how will people be chosen?
5. Which of your jobs promises need the province or national government, and what have you already asked them for?

Promises counted in two folios #

Each promise is filed under one theme only. So none of these 356 is counted in the Safety folio (Folio 10), the water folio (Folio 11), the electricity folio (Folio 12) or the waste folio (Folio 13). Folio 09 picks its 16 promises by word searches for immigration, not by theme, and four of them are filed here: two from the ANC (file pages 28 and 35) and two from BOSA (file page 17). The 264 assessed promises here that are not about a party’s own conduct are among the 1,649 promises about council business that Folio 08 counts across every topic. Each folio stands alone.