MBOMBELA, Mpumalanga — The Barberton Community Party (BTCP) has officially entered the 2026 Local Government Elections race, announcing its intention to contest across the City of Mbombela with a core mandate to reinstate the former Umjindi Local Municipality. The newly formed political group argues that essential service delivery has severely deteriorated in the region since the 2016 amalgamation of Umjindi with the broader Mbombela municipality.
During its official manifesto launch, the party unveiled its slate of councillor and mayoral candidates, outlining a platform focused on reversing years of infrastructural and social decline. Community members have reported that the area, once considered a regional jewel, is now battling dire road conditions riddled with potholes, persistent water shortages, high crime rates, and rampant illegal mining. Residents also cite widespread poverty, a lack of job opportunities, and missing streetlights as daily realities. Water supply remains highly unpredictable, with some residents reporting intermittent access only between 6:00 AM and 2:00 PM, or experiencing delayed deliveries entirely.
Ayanda Magagula, leader of the Barberton Community Party and its announced mayoral candidate for Mbombela, stated that the community has been suffering for an extended period. Magagula directly attributed the decline to the 2016 merger, describing it as a forceful measure that caused service delivery to deteriorate rapidly.
“Everything was running smoothly under our previous municipal structure,” Magagula said. “When you check the municipality right next to us, it is damaged. There is no one working there. They took services away to Mbombela. When national directives state that services must be brought closer to the people, they are actually taking them farther away.”
Political analyst Khanya Vilakazi noted that smaller political entities can play a crucial role in the democratic process by giving a voice to the voiceless and highlighting localized issues that are frequently overlooked by larger, established political parties.
“Small political parties, in their entirety, do serve a certain purpose in our political system,” Vilakazi explained. “They give a voice to the voiceless, especially small issue-based parties such as the one that has just been formed in Barberton. However, their main gripe is that they want the Umjindi Municipality reinstated. They will not be able to achieve this alone, as it involves a specific couple of wards based in the former municipal area.”
Vilakazi further outlined the procedural hurdles the party will face, noting that the Barberton Community Party will need to push the issue through the current municipal council and subsequently lobby the Municipal Demarcation Board to formally approve the reinstatement.
Ultimately, Vilakazi emphasized that the party’s ability to translate these ambitions into tangible change will depend entirely on the level of support they secure at the ballot box in the upcoming 2026 local government elections.
