The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) announced its mayoral candidate for Johannesburg at an event in Soweto over the weekend.

The party is putting forward Councillor Mlungisi Mabaso.

Mabaso sits on the city’s mayoral committee and is responsible for human settlements, having been appointed to this position by then-mayor Kabelo Gwamanda in 2024.

Speaking at the announcement, IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said that the Ulundi-born Mabaso was “young, vibrant, energetic, and the youngest [member of the mayoral committee] in the municipality.” Mabaso is 35, and is nicknamed “the last-born” as a result of it.

Hlabisa located the campaign in the familiar theme of municipal decline, adding that illegal immigration was a contributor to it.

“The IFP has heard the call of the people of the City of Gold that has lost its shine,” Hlabisa said. “This city was once glorious, but now it is decaying, overwhelmed by crime, overrun by undocumented migrants, burdened by failing infrastructure, marred by financial distress, and suffering daily service delivery failures that weigh on hard-working families. The November election is a decisive moment for our cities, our children, and our future.”

Hlabisa added that Mabaso had been exemplary in working with citizens.

Mabaso struck a workmanlike tone. “We will tackle non-compliance issues in procurement processes, maladministration, and departments working in isolation. Our focus will be on coordinating these systems so that what entities do complements what other departments and entities are doing as well.”

Declaring himself “a servant of the people and an IFP volunteer”, Mabaso said that the IFP’s plan for the city would emphasise economic recovery, the maintenance of law and order, the rehabilitation of infrastructure such as water and roads, housing, getting the city’s finances in order, and promoting smart billing. He pledged to tackle corruption, to protect whistleblowers, and to use the city’s resources to invest in infrastructure for the future.

The IFP is a relatively small party in Johannesburg, having taken just under 2.4% of the total vote in 2021, enough for seven seats out of 270.

It has been willing to cooperate with both the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) and has been able to create some apparently contradictory relations. While working with the alliance around the ANC in Johannesburg, the IFP was a part of the so-called “Moonshot Pact” of opposition parties prior to the 2024 national election. It is represented in the Government of National Unity, and is in alliance with both the ANC and DA in KwaZulu-Natal.

The state of South African local governments has become a rising concern for the country. Johannesburg, the country’s commercial capital, is widely viewed as misgoverned. The DA has made an energetic play for the city, with its mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, engaged in high-profile campaigning, much of which emphasises the failings of the city. The DA’s reliance on her personal brand may signal the tone for the campaign. ActionSA looks set to run its leader (and former Johannesburg mayor) Herman Mashaba. The ANC has not yet announced a candidate.

It remains to be seen how the IFP will navigate its indictment of the state of the city with its involvement in its current leadership.