DA names Kingsol Chabalala as Emfuleni mayoral candidate to challenge ANC mismanagement

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has unveiled Kingsol Chabalala as its mayoral candidate for Emfuleni, tasked with the daunting challenge of turning around a municipality crippled by years of mismanagement, failing services, and mounting public frustration.

The announcement was made on Saturday, February 14, at Bafokeng Primary School in Stretford, Vereeniging. DA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson Fred Nel, DA Federal Council Chairperson and Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille, and other party leaders attended to show their support.

Speaking at the event, Zille pledged to take the “blue army” to victory and restore municipalities abandoned by the ANC. 

She highlighted Emfuleni’s deepening crisis, pointing to aging infrastructure, water shortages, overflowing sewage, and financial mismanagement. She also referenced Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s recent interview, where he admitted government struggles in the municipality, saying: “When you go to that municipality, the infrastructure is aging, water pipes are old, and the sewer is flowing freely. It’s also leadership. I don’t think we’ve provided leadership as well.” 

Zille reiterated that the solution was clear: “We have ideas. We have plans. We have policies. The way to solve this problem is simple: vote DA.”

She pointed to neighbouring municipality Midvaal as a model of success, with 12 clean audits, thriving businesses, and reliable services. Emfuleni, by contrast, remains one of the country’s worst-run municipalities.

Zille warned voters that smaller parties in Emfuleni help the ANC remain in power. “If you like sewage in your streets, if you like to see your businesses and your jobs run away, then vote for a small party that sides with the ANC. If you want change, vote DA,” she said.

Residents in Emfuleni have long struggled with water shortages, sewage spills, rolling power cuts, crumbling infrastructure, irregular refuse removal, and mounting municipal debt to Eskom and Rand Water, issues that have sparked frequent protests. The municipality is currently governed by the African National Congress (ANC).

Chabalala, the DA’s mayoral candidate for Emfuleni, promised to tackle the municipality’s deepening crises and restore hope to residents. Speaking at his nomination event, he said: “For too many years, our people have carried pain. We have watched our municipality collapse, corruption steal from our children’s future, and nepotism close doors for hardworking residents. This is not the Emfuleni we deserve.”

He slammed the ANC for nepotism and mismanagement, stating that qualified youths were passed over for politically connected families.

Chabalala said the DA’s success in Midvaal, with reliable services, sound finances, infrastructure investment, and job creation, can be replicated in Emfuleni. This election, he said, is about hope and reclaiming pride in the municipality.

The Star

masabata.mkwananzi@inl.co.za