OPINION: ANC’s Cornubia manifesto puts the spotlight back on delivery

By Sibongile Nyamo

The KwaZulu-Natal ANC’s decision to launch its 2026 Local Government Elections Manifesto in Cornubia was a deliberate political choice.
Cornubia represents development, housing and infrastructure

precisely the areas the ANC says it wants to prioritise. But it also provides an uncomfortable reminder that political promises are ultimately judged not from podiums, but by the conditions people experience every day.

At the manifesto launch, ANC 2nd Deputy Secretary-General Maropene Ramakgopa placed jobs, basic services and infrastructure at the centre of the party’s message.

The figures and commitments are ambitious: more employment opportunities, improved refuse collection, investment in roads, the uMkhomazi Water Scheme, housing and free basic services for qualifying grant beneficiaries.
Veteran ANC leader Mike Mabuyakhulu went further, using Cornubia itself as an example of what the party says can be achieved through government intervention.

His announcement of plans for 36,000 additional houses and approximately 2,000 employment opportunities paints an attractive picture of what the area could become.
But this is where the real political test begins.

The ANC cannot simply campaign on what it intends to build. It must convince voters that it can deliver efficiently, transparently and within reasonable timeframes.
Importantly, Mabuyakhulu himself acknowledged that several municipalities, including uThukela, Mzinyathi, uMkhanyakude and King Cetshwayo, have struggled to meet residents’ expectations. That admission is significant because it recognises the very frustration that opposition parties will undoubtedly place at the centre of their campaigns.
For residents without reliable water, functioning roads, regular refuse collection or adequate housing, another promise of future improvement may not be enough.

The water crisis in eThekwini is perhaps the clearest example. Billions of rands in planned investment sound impressive, but communities ultimately want to know a much simpler thing: When will the water come out of the tap consistently?
The same applies to roads. An allocation of approximately R128 million for strategic roads is important, but residents will judge the ANC on whether those roads are actually repaired, maintained and kept safe — not merely on the amount announced.
The proposed 36,000 houses in Cornubia will also require more than a political announcement. The public will expect clear timelines, transparent beneficiary processes, infrastructure that keeps pace with development and meaningful local economic opportunities.

There is, however, an important opportunity for the ANC here.
The party still has the political machinery, institutional experience and access to government resources to turn some of these commitments into tangible programmes. Its challenge is to demonstrate that resources can be converted into functioning services and sustainable communities.
The 2022 and 2023 floods further underline the urgency of this task. KwaZulu-Natal cannot afford a disaster-management system that only becomes visible after tragedy strikes. Building resilient infrastructure and preparing communities before disasters happen must become a permanent government priority.
The ANC’s manifesto therefore deserves to be judged on both its ambition and its practicality.
There is nothing wrong with promising more jobs, houses, water, better roads, cleaner communities and stronger municipalities. These are exactly the issues voters should expect political parties to address.
But elections are not construction sites where foundations are enough. Residents want to see completed buildings.

As the campaign gathers momentum, the ANC will have to answer a difficult question: What will be different after the election that was not working before it?

Cornubia has demonstrated that development is possible. The challenge for the ANC is to ensure that the same sense of progress reaches communities across KwaZulu-Natal that are still waiting for reliable basic services.
The manifesto has been launched. The promises have been made.
Now comes the harder part — delivery.