ActionSA’s fixer: Zwakele Mncwango’s 10-point plan for eThekwini
Zwakele Mncwango is ActionSA’s mayoral candidate for the eThekwini Metro in the 2026 local government elections and the party’s provincial chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
Born in Nongoma in northern KZN, he is a qualified electrical engineer and holds a Master’s in Business Administration.
He entered politics in 2002, rising through the ranks of the Democratic Alliance (DA), where he led the party in eThekwini and served as its KZN premier candidate.
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He later left the DA to join ActionSA, bringing with him experience as a member of the KZN legislature from 2018 to 2022 and as leader of the opposition in the provincial legislature from 2018 to 2019.
He currently leads ActionSA’s caucus in the eThekwini municipality and is a prominent critic of service delivery failures, particularly sewage pollution.
Mncwango’s campaign is built around a 10-point plan to fix eThekwini.
His first five commitments, which he describes as “not bargaining chips” but “conditions for governing”:
- Restore basic services
- Insource essential municipal services
- Restore financial discipline and end corruption
- Restore law and order, and
- Build a growing, clean and responsive city.
In this episode of The Ballot Sheet, Mncwango gives more details on this plan and more.
On water, he promises to repair major leaks within 48 hours and invest in preventative maintenance.
He has pledged to conduct lifestyle audits on all councillors and protect whistleblowers.
On transport, he would convene a stakeholder summit within 30 days to identify delays in the failed Go!Durban project and would not commit further funding until a full audit is conducted.
He also plans a specialised Metro Police Unit dedicated to illegal immigration, drugs, illegal businesses and hijacked buildings, and has made tackling hijacked buildings a personal priority.
His core message is simple: “I place residents before politics. Every rand saved from corruption is invested back into the community.”
You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.
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