Elections 2026
How is your municipality doing?
We are doing in depth reports on municipalities across the country ahead of the 2026 local elections.
Joburg’s financial woes laid bare in scathing letter from finance minister Godongwana
Mayor Dada Morero insists there is “no cause for concern”
By Seth Thorne
News | 7 May 2026
Why we should change how Cape Town elects ward committees
Movement for CARE demands public voting rights ahead of local government elections
By Nick Fabré
Opinion | 5 May 2026
Mpumalanga’s Emakhazeni fails to bill residents as its towns crumble
The municipality ran up a deficit of R21-million in the 2024/25 financial year
Feature | 7 April 2026
Sharpeville forgotten by government
Memorials honouring the victims of the 1960 massacre are falling into ruin, but local activists are stepping up to improve the township
By Seth Thorne
Feature | 21 March 2026
Cederberg municipality battles to keep up with sprawling informal settlements
Almost one in five residents of Clanwilliam and Citrusdal live in informal settlements with limited access to water, sanitation, and refuse removal
By Liezl Human
Feature | 20 March 2026
What Cape Town is spending on homes, roads and the N2 wall
The municipality’s plans have been hotly debated
Chart by The Outlier. Text by GroundUp Staff and Peter Luhanga.
Charts | 20 March 2026
Constitutional Court slams government over treatment of disaster victims
Judge says the authorities were “appallingly uncaring” towards Qumbu residents who lost their homes in a storm in 2022
Law | 18 March 2026
Central Karoo lags behind Western Cape’s progress
Teenage pregnancy, low birth weights, and high neonatal mortality plague the areas around Beaufort West and Laingsburg
News | 6 March 2026
What Cape Town can still do to address its housing crisis
With a backlog of 600,000 housing units and the state only providing 2,500 a year, there is a role for the private sector to play
Explainer | 25 February 2026