ORLANDO EAST, Soweto, Gauteng — The Al Jama-ah party has officially launched its manifesto for the 2026 Local Government Elections in Orlando East, outlining a comprehensive vision for municipal governance, ethical leadership, and community development.
The launch, held at a communal hall in Soweto, set the stage for the party’s strategic priorities as it prepares for the upcoming November 4 polls. As a current partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Al Jama-ah is focusing heavily on local government revitalization, emphasizing that basic service delivery must be treated as a baseline requirement rather than a political ideology.
Benchmarking the 12 Key Priorities
The newly unveiled manifesto outlines 12 core priorities, which include water and sewer infrastructure, road repairs, basic services, water and energy security, youth development, land tenure rights, financial governance, and ethical leadership.
Party leader Ganief Hendricks explained that these priorities were not chosen arbitrarily but were strictly benchmarked against two major legal and institutional frameworks issued in July. These include Report Number 12 from the Public Protector and a recent Constitutional Court judgment regarding the Tafelberg case in Sea Point.
Hendricks noted that the Public Protector’s report established strict benchmarks for municipal manifesto promises and accused the governing party in the City of Cape Town of human rights abuses, specifically referencing conditions in Khayelitsha and the Cape Flats. Consequently, the Cape Town municipality has been placed under a one-year review to monitor constitutional compliance. Similarly, the Constitutional Court identified a system of corruption in the Tafelberg case, placing the city and provincial government under administration regarding land matters for a year. Hendricks stressed that Al Jama-ah’s 12-point plan is designed to ensure they do not fall into the same category of constitutional non-compliance.
Ashley Mama’s Vision for Johannesburg
On the ground in Soweto, Ashley Mama, Al Jama-ah’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg, highlighted the urgent needs of urban residents. Mama stated that citizens are “crying out for help” and demanding quality leadership and functional infrastructure. He expressed concern over the current state of affairs, noting that some pre-1994 residents are lamenting that the current government is not taking better care of them than the previous regime.
Mama promised a functioning city where public servants are held accountable. He pointed to Al Jama-ah’s previous track record in the city, noting that the party previously provided two young, black mayors who helped stabilize coalitions. He criticized the past instability in the city, referencing an era of “weekend mayors” and rampant looting by politicians and administrators.
Drawing on his own background as a former ANC Youth League leader and a successful businessman who has worked extensively with African royal kingdoms, Mama emphasized his ability to deliver. He argued that while other parties rely on historical relics, Al Jama-ah is focused on a developmental agenda that inspires citizens to work alongside the government to rebuild the city.
Strict Coalition Boundaries and the DA
A major focal point of the manifesto launch was the party’s coalition strategy. Both Mama and Hendricks made it unequivocally clear that while Al Jama-ah is open to partnering with all other political parties, they will absolutely not work with the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Mama explained that this red line is rooted in the party’s pro-Palestine stance, confirming that Al Jama-ah does not accept any funds from Israeli or Zionist movements.
Hendricks expanded on this, citing several ideological and constitutional reasons for excluding the DA. He accused the DA of attempting to revive apartheid-era spatial planning, which he likened to the Group Areas Act, and accused them of violating numerous constitutional clauses regarding service delivery. Furthermore, Hendricks criticized the DA’s position on Israel and its failure to condemn the genocide in Gaza.
“We won’t work with the DA if they continue to want to bring back the Group Areas Act, if they continue to violate a dozen clauses in the constitution… and their position on not condemning the genocide in Gaza,” Hendricks stated. He added that within the GNU, Al Jama-ah frequently finds itself in opposition to the DA on almost every issue, though they operate within the GNU’s consensus-based framework where the President holds the final decision.
A Proven Track Record in Coalitions
Addressing questions about voter trust, Hendricks defended the party’s governance capabilities by pointing to their previous 18-month tenure leading the City of Johannesburg. He reminded the public that a coalition of 10 political parties—including the ANC, EFF, and PAC—had explicitly trusted Al Jama-ah to lead the metro.
When issues arose with their first mayoral candidate, the coalition partners asked Al Jama-ah to provide another, which they did. Hendricks emphasized that Ashley Mama will benefit from the institutional memory and experience of those two previous mayors, ensuring he is not going into the role “cold.”
Looking ahead, Hendricks affirmed that Al Jama-ah will only enter into future coalitions with parties willing to execute their municipal responsibilities strictly according to the Constitution and the benchmarks set by the Public Protector. He views the party’s current role in the national GNU as a prime opportunity to demonstrate that the governance model they successfully applied in Johannesburg can be effectively scaled to govern South Africa as a whole.
