Corné Mulder at BNC#8: Ballots, not bullets - The urgent fight to fix SA’s broken municipalities

A fiery critique of South Africa’s failing municipalities, this speech exposes collapsing service delivery, poor governance, and entrenched political dysfunction. It argues that meaningful reform hinges on voter action and coalition politics, urging citizens to reject apathy and drive peaceful regime change through the ballot. The message is clear: accountability, cooperation, and active participation are essential to rebuilding the country’s future..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..Watch here.Listen here.Summarised transcript of key note speech.Alec Hogg Okay, we have our final speaker for today at the NdB Liberty Indaba. He is the leader of the Freedom Front Plus, a regular at BizNews events, and the longest-serving Member of Parliament in South Africa. If anyone knows politics, it’s him.Corné Mulder100 of South Africa's 257 municipalities are dysfunctional - that’s 59%. Only 41 received clean audits last year, just 16%, and 130 don’t even employ engineers. At any given time, 30–40 municipalities are under intervention.Local government is supposed to deliver services for the taxes we pay, but we see constant failure - roads, traffic, water. In Johannesburg, for example, the water isn’t a shortage issue; it’s a distribution problem. South Africa is unique - sometimes unemployed people direct traffic because official staff don’t act.Infrastructure can be fixed, and there’s strong interest from American private enterprise to invest. But politically, the solution is simple: South Africa needs regime change. Not violence, but at all levels of government, especially local councils dominated by the ANC. The ballot, not the bullet, is the tool.Local elections will likely be on 4 November. Coalition governments will be the reality; no single party will likely achieve a majority. Coalitions force compromise and require agreement on a coalition manifesto, not just positions. Past coalitions failed because they focused on positions rather than shared policy goals.Some people say, “don’t waste your vote,” especially for smaller parties - but that’s false. South Africa uses proportional representation. Every vote counts toward council representation. The only real way to waste a vote is by not registering, not voting, or voting for a party that doesn’t align with your values.Most South Africans, across all communities, hold Christian, conservative, family-oriented values. But there’s a disconnect between these values and a liberal constitution enforced by a “woke” government. Values like respect for tradition, individual responsibility, limited government, property rights, law and order, patriotism, and zero tolerance for corruption are widely shared but often ignored in policy.I witnessed the spirit of unity in 1994 at Mandela’s inauguration. The Interim Constitution’s postamble emphasised national unity and reconciliation, aiming to transcend past divisions and promote peaceful coexistence. Today, after 30 years under the ANC, we’ve drifted from those ideals, with inefficient, rights-based legislation replacing practical governance.The ANC cannot self-correct. To move South Africa forward, regime change is necessary, and it must be peaceful - through active participation in elections. Over the next eight months, everyone should become an activist: register voters, educate citizens, and ensure we achieve a meaningful change at the November local elections, setting the stage for final regime change in 2029.Thank you.

Corné Mulder at BNC#8: Ballots, not bullets - The urgent fight to fix SA’s broken municipalities

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