As South Africa prepares for the November Local Government Elections, Polity is engaging with political parties contesting the elections in a series of interviews to examine their manifestos, policy priorities and plans for local government.

Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane has laid out a stringent, merit-based vision for municipal governance, asserting that the country's collapsing municipalities can only be rescued by technical competence and strict accountability.

Speaking with Polity about the party’s 2026 local election manifesto, Maimane argued that deep financial literacy and structural reform were the primary requirements for fixing local government.

Drawing from his current role in chairing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Appropriations, Maimane emphasised that understanding public finance was crucial to driving programmatic change.

He criticised the track record of politicians currently managing local councils, stating that while they claimed to have experience, it was ultimately an “experience in failing citizens”.

According to Maimane, current leadership had proven expert only at leaving potholes unrepaired and leaving residents without stable access to water and electricity.

In response, BOSA plans to field a fresh cohort of over 800 candidates who are not long-term politicians, but rather professionals drawn from business and local communities.

Central to BOSA’s strategy is the eradication of political patronage and cadre deployment in favour of community-led selections and rigorous academic evaluations.

Maimane admitted that he did not personally know many of the candidates on BOSA’s election lists because they were chosen directly by their respective communities.

To ensure competence, the party used an assessment system that filtered candidates based on academic qualifications and professional background. Maimane said BOSA had successfully attracted doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers.

He asserted that public representatives, including Members of Parliament and Ministers, should hold a basic degree to effectively manage the complexities of governance.

For the upcoming local government elections, BOSA is targeting key metropolitan areas, specifically Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and the City of Cape Town, alongside various municipalities in Limpopo and the North West.

Despite being a relatively new political player at just four years old, Maimane pointed to BOSA's tangible advocacy successes, such as the party’s persistent campaign to lower the fuel levy by R3, as proof of their impact on national and local oversight.

Addressing the inevitable reality of coalition governance, Maimane noted that his doctoral research focused explicitly on municipal governance and coalitions.

He warned that current coalitions failed because they were built around distributing patronage and dividing up MMC positions among unqualified politicians rather than executing a unified strategy.

BOSA's manifesto proposed legally binding coalition agreements anchored by public, time-bound delivery targets. Maimane confirmed that BOSA would absolutely walk away from a coalition if its partners failed to honour these commitments, citing the party's choice to stay out of the Government of National Unity owing to the absence of a tangible, accountable plan.

When positioned as a potential kingmaker in hung councils, Maimane outlined non-negotiable red lines for any political alignment.

BOSA will refuse to cooperate with corrupt individuals or political parties that leverage racial division and identity politics.

Maimane said local government must move past historical fractures to provide "uniform, clean, and ethical” service delivery, ensuring that the quality of infrastructure did not depend on the racial or socioeconomic demographic of a neighbourhood.