Where the facts about the ACDP come from

The ACDP is on the IEC's list in 133 of 257 councils, in all 9 provinces. These include all 8 metros.

Put upkeep and upgrades of water, sewer, road and power networks first in budgets. Fix water leaks, replace old power lines and quickly repair potholes. Prosecute corruption fast and end corrupt, irregular, fruitless and wasteful spending. Clear the housing backlog and replace shacks with permanent homes.

Water: The ACDP promises to use experts from private firms to fix leaks. They would also replace faulty meters and remove illegal water links. This is to give a reliable water supply. In its own words: “employ private sector expertise to repair leaks, replace faulty meters and remove illegal water connections—to provide a reliable water supply”

Electricity and power cuts: The ACDP promises that councils will replace old power lines. They would cut illegal connections. They would also look after their power systems. In its own words: “Ensure that municipalities replace ageing municipal networks, cut illegal connections, and properly maintain municipal power systems”

Rubbish: The ACDP promises to manage waste better by building more plants that turn waste into energy. This means less waste goes to landfill. In its own words: “Improve waste management by building more waste-to-energy plants using autoclave technology. This will reduce landfill dependence”

Toilets and sewage: The ACDP promises to replace shared toilets and bucket toilets with large water and sewer systems that serve a whole area. It says this would restore dignity and safety. It also says sewage treatment plants and land-fill sites must keep pace with new housing, to prevent pollution. In its own words: “replacing communal toilets and the bucket system with bulk water and sanitation infrastructure”

Roads: The ACDP promises to make sure metros and municipalities look after roads. They should fix potholes fast. They should also fix faulty traffic lights and street lights. In its own words: “Ensure that Metros and municipalities properly maintain roads and expeditiously repair potholes, faulty traffic lights and street lights”

Building houses: The ACDP promises to clear the housing backlog. This is the list of people still waiting for a home. It would push for housing that people can afford, and inclusionary housing. Inclusionary housing mixes homes for people with different pay. Communities would own the self-help schemes used to do this. In its own words: “Eradicate the housing backlog by promoting the development of affordable and inclusionary housing through the provision of community-owned self-help schemes”

Informal settlements: The ACDP promises to replace informal settlements. It would put permanent homes ahead of temporary shacks. In its own words: “Eradicate informal settlements by prioritising permanent and modern housing solutions over temporary shacks”

Title deeds: The ACDP promises to speed up the proclamation (official legal approval) of townships. This is so that people who qualify and live in council-owned homes get title deeds sooner. A title deed is the paper that shows who owns a home. In its own words: “Fast-track the proclamation of townships and, in so doing, advance the awarding of title deeds to qualifying residents of municipal-owned housing units”

Crime: The ACDP promises to make police easier to see. It promises more roadblocks and stop-and-search checks. It also promises random drug and alcohol tests on drivers. In its own words: “Protect communities by increasing police visibility and conducting more roadblocks, stop-and-search operations, and random drug and alcohol tests on drivers”

Metro police: The ACDP promises more money for the daily running costs of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Metropolitan Police Departments. Metro police are the police services run by the councils of big cities. In the same section it also lists more police that people can see, and more roadblocks and stop-and-search operations. In its own words: “Strengthen law enforcement by increasing the operational budget of the SAPS and Metropolitan Police Departments to ensure effective policing”

Local jobs: The ACDP promises to encourage businesses to start internships that pay the intern. An internship is a short job where a person learns by doing the work. In the same list, it also promises to encourage skills training and mentoring for people starting businesses, with special emphasis on women and youth. In its own words: “Encourage businesses to roll out paid internships;”

Business and growth: The ACDP promises to widen the main focus of municipalities. It would add a new aim. That is to help small firms do well. In its own words: “Expand the primary administrative focus of municipalities to include the creation of enabling environments for small businesses”

Corruption: The ACDP promises that people accused of corruption will go to court fast. This also goes for people accused of handling council money badly. If found guilty, they will have to pay the money back from their own pockets. In its own words: “speedily prosecuted, and where found guilty, held personally liable to refund the state, in addition to other criminal sanctions”

Audit results: The ACDP promises that MPACs will give ways to fix adverse findings. These are serious problems that the Auditor-General found. MPACs are municipal public accounts committees. They check how the council spends its money. In its own words: “Ensure that MPACs offer corrective measures for adverse audit findings by the Auditor-General”

Wasteful spending: The ACDP promises to stop corrupt spending, irregular spending, and fruitless and wasteful spending. Irregular spending breaks the spending rules; fruitless and wasteful spending is money spent for no useful result. It says it would make internal audit and the council committees that review financial reports (MPACs) far more effective at checking how money is spent. In its own words: “eradicating corrupt and irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure”

Coalitions: The ACDP promises to support the Local Government Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, 2024. But it will not support each part of it. This bill is also called the Coalition Bill. The manifesto says the bill sets rules for coalitions in hung councils, where no party has more than half the seats. In its own words: “Support, with exceptions, the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill, 2024 (Coalition Bill)”

Budgets: The ACDP promises to put basic services first in council budgets. The top priority would be to look after and upgrade water pipes, sewers, roads and power lines. In its own words: “Give priority in municipal budgets to basic service delivery by prioritising the maintenance and upgrading of water, sewerage, road and electricity infrastructure”

Nelson Mandela Bay: In opposition. The ACDP was in the DA-led coalition that elected DA mayor Retief Odendaal in September 2022. It stayed with the DA when the council voted him out on 26 May 2023. In March 2026, ACDP councillor Lance Grootboom filed a motion of no confidence in ANC mayor Babalwa Lobishe. This is a vote to remove the mayor. The council voted it down on 31 March. In July 2026, Daily Maverick listed the parties in the coalition (the group of parties that run the council). The ACDP is not on that list. The ACDP won 2 of 120 seats in 2021.

City of Tshwane: Part of the group of parties that runs the council. The ACDP was one of the five parties in the DA-led coalition that elected DA mayor Cilliers Brink in March 2023. The council voted Brink out on 26 September 2024. News24 in Sep 2026 and IOL in Feb 2025 both list the ACDP as one of the parties in the coalition now. ActionSA mayor Nasiphi Moya leads that coalition. The ACDP won 2 of 214 seats in 2021. We found no ACDP member who is mayor, deputy mayor or speaker (the councillor who runs council meetings).

City of Johannesburg: In opposition. The ANC formed its coalition in August 2024. At the time, the ANC said the ACDP would not be part of it. In May 2026, The Citizen reported on the opposition's response to Mayor Dada Morero's State of the City speech. It included criticism from ACDP councillor Norman Mkhonza. The ACDP won 3 of 270 seats in 2021.

City of Cape Town: In opposition. The DA won more than half the seats in 2021, with 135 of 231 seats. The ACDP won 6 seats.

Buffalo City: In opposition. The ANC won more than half the seats in 2021, with 61 of 100 seats. The ACDP won 1 seat.

Mangaung: In opposition. The ANC won 51 of 101 seats in 2021, according to the IEC, and the ACDP won 1. That is more than half, so the ANC runs the council alone. Gregory Nthatisi of the ANC is mayor, according to the Free State government's list of November 2025.

City of Ekurhuleni: Our sources do not make this clear. The ACDP won 2 of 224 seats in 2021. We found no report from a major news outlet on its role now.

eThekwini: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. The ACDP won 2 of 222 seats in 2021. In July 2024 the IFP, ANC, DA and NFP agreed to work together in eThekwini. The ACDP is not named in that deal. In September 2024 the DA turned down the ANC's offer of posts and said it would stay in opposition.

In George in the Western Cape, the ACDP is part of a coalition with the DA and FF Plus. This coalition formed in November 2025. The council's website lists ACDP Alderman Johan du Toit as the Mayoral Committee Member (MMC) for Corporate Services. An MMC is a councillor on the mayor's team who runs one area of work.

In uMhlathuze in KwaZulu-Natal, the ACDP holds 1 of 67 seats, IOL reported in March 2026. It is part of the coalition that runs the council there, with the IFP, DA, NFP and FF Plus. We found no ACDP office-bearer (a top post such as mayor or speaker) there.

The ACDP told the IEC about no donations above the disclosure limit, from July 2025 to June 2026. Checked 20 October 2026.

Before this, it last declared R240 000 in April to June 2024 (2 donations).

Gifts over R100 000 from one donor, named in the reports: R240 000. Smaller gifts, R100 000 or less from one donor (names not published): R371 132. Membership fees and levies: R1 626 611. From the Political Representatives Fund: R10 154 018. From Parliament and provincial legislatures: R14 576 279.

Kenneth Meshoe, an ACDP MP, said this in a speech in Parliament. He spoke after the United States attacked Iran. He says Iran's leaders call for harm to America and Israel, and the ACDP is against this. He asks the United Nations to seek a ban on such talk from Iran. He wants South Africa to deal with other countries by what helps it today, not by history. In its own words: “We strongly condemn Iran’s calls for death and destruction that clearly seek to incite violence and destruction upon other countries.”

Wayne Thring, the ACDP deputy president, said this in a party statement. The government had ordered Israel's top diplomat in South Africa to leave within 72 hours. The ACDP says this followed a meeting between Israeli officials and an Eastern Cape king about help after floods. The ACDP is against the move and asks why Iran's ambassador was not sent home. It says the step will strain South Africa's relations with the US and its trade partners. In its own words: “The ACDP is shocked that the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) and the ANC-led government have declared the Israeli Chargé d’affaires, Ariel Seidman, persona non grata”

Steve Swart, an ACDP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament. MPs were voting on extra money for HIV and Aids care after US funding stopped. He means the government claims to take no side, yet stayed quiet when Russia invaded Ukraine. He says the ANC leans towards Russia and China, which sets it against the US. He asks the other parties in the unity government to question these choices. In its own words: “Whilst the government tries to present its foreign policy in a neutral nonaligned tone, its actions do not match its words, including failing to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine”

Kenneth Meshoe, an ACDP MP, said this in a debate on how much money the foreign affairs department gets. He says the government judges some countries more harshly than others. South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' top court. He says the government did not act the same way over Ukraine. The ACDP opposes spending tax money on such court cases and would not support the budget. In its own words: “This government has, on the one hand, claimed neutrality on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, yet on the other hand, has rushed to take legal action against Israel at the International Court of Justice”

Steve Swart, an ACDP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament. He pointed out that South Africa was hosting navy exercises with China, Iran, Russia and the UAE. He says China is a growing danger to Japan and to Taiwan, an island near China. He says South Africa is silent about this and about how China treats Christians and Uyghur Muslims. He wants South Africa to rethink its foreign policy. In its own words: “China is expanding its military at an unbelievable pace, threatening Japan and rehearsing for a possible invasion of Taiwan”

Wayne Thring, an ACDP MP, said this in a debate on the foreign affairs budget. Uyghurs are a Muslim people who live in Xinjiang, a region of China. He says the department takes no side on China's treatment of them, or on Russia and Ukraine. Yet he says it sides with Hamas, the armed group fighting Israel. He wants the department to use one standard for every country. In its own words: “The ACDP cautions that DIRCO should not adopt a hypocritical foreign policy position, having a non-aligned position on China’s abuse of Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang”

Kenneth Meshoe, an ACDP MP, said this in a debate on the foreign affairs budget. The US had cut some HIV and Aids aid and sent South Africa's ambassador home. Washington is the US capital, and Tehran is the capital of Iran. He means fixing relations with the US matters more to South Africa than getting close to Iran. He wants foreign policy to serve South Africans first. In its own words: “We have more urgent – and beneficial – work to do, repairing relations with Washington, than cozying up to Tehran, no matter how many promises may be owed to them.”

Kenneth Meshoe, an ACDP MP, said this in a debate in Parliament about US aid. US President Trump had stopped aid to South Africa over its land laws. The ACDP says the US based this on wrong information about the Expropriation Act. He wants South Africa's leaders to sit down with US leaders and talk calmly. He hopes this brings back investment and the aid programmes that were stopped. In its own words: “The ACDP urges government to engage in bilateral talks with the US administration in the hope that our soft approach would send a clear message that South Africa is ready for business”

All four ACDP MPs present voted against asking the government to close Israel's embassy and cut ties. The motion passed, 248 votes to 91.

ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe told Parliament the party rejects closing Israel's embassy. In its own words: “The ACDP rejects the EFF’s call to government to close the Israeli Embassy in South Africa and suspend all diplomatic relations with Israel. The EFF is ignorant of the fact that South Africa needs Israel much more than Israel needs South Africa.”

The ACDP condemned Hamas's attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. It backed Israel's right to defend itself. In its own words: “The ACDP stands unequivocally in support of Israel and the Jewish people at this critical time.”

The ACDP said it does not support South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. It said it does not believe the government "will be able to prove" that Israel has the "genocidal intent" the Genocide Convention requires. In its own words: “The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) does not support the South African government’s court case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (the ICJ) in The Hague, to be heard later this week.”

EWN reported that the ACDP and the DA did not support South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. In its own words: “The Democratic Alliance (DA) and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) are not throwing their weight behind South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.”

The ACDP opposed a spending bill that held more than R95 million for the ICJ case. The ACDP said the bill also held a R5.1 billion bail-out for SANRAL, the roads agency. In its own words: “Yet, today in addition to the unacceptable SANRAL bail-out of R5.1bn, we are expected to approve more than R95 million to fund lawfare against Israel at the ICJ.”

The ACDP said it was "appalled" that the ANC met Hamas leaders. In its own words: “The ACDP is appalled to hear of the invited visit and meeting between the ANC and Hamas yesterday.”

The ACDP said South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) invited it on a "peace mission" to Israel, and it took part. In its own words: “The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) was extended an invitation by the South African Friends of Israel (SAFI) to participate in a peace mission to Israel.”

EWN reported that ACDP chief whip Steve Swart went on an April 2025 Israel trip paid for by South African Friends of Israel. Leader Kenneth Meshoe approved it. The group met Israel's President Isaac Herzog. Meshoe said the ACDP feels for innocent Palestinians, but does not back the ICJ case. In its own words: “The ACDP's parliamentary whip, Steve Swart, and former MP, Marie Sukers, were among at least 10 MPs, mostly from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and also from the Patriotic Alliance (PA), who were on the trip last week sponsored by the group the South African Friends of Israel.”

ACDP MP Wayne Thring told Parliament that ties with the US and EU are strained. He said this is because South Africa lines up with Russia, China and Iran. In its own words: “South Africa's foreign policy stance has strained relations with key trade partners such as the United States and the European Union, largely due to our alignment with Russia, China and Iran.”

In the debate on the US aid cut, the ACDP said South Africa should be grateful for the aid it got from the US. In its own words: “it nevertheless, highlights the enormous debt of gratitude we should have for the aid we have received from the US.”

Meshoe, Reverend Kenneth Raselabe, Joseph. Name of Sponsor: SAFI South African Friends of Israel | Description of Journey: Visit Biblical Holy Sites in Israel | Purpose of Travel: Tour of the Holy land with a church group

Swart, Mr. Steven Nicholas. Name of Sponsor: Dr Henok Ghebrehiwok | Description of Journey: Travel to Israel (flight, accommodation and ground transport) | Purpose of Travel: Attend prayer conference, visit and pray at holy sites in the Holy Land.

Swart, Mr. Steven Nicholas. Name of Sponsor: South African Friends of Israel | Description of Journey: Travel to Israel (flight, accommodation and ground transport) | Purpose of Travel: Participate in a fact- finding mission, visit and pray at holy sites in the Holy Land.

Thring, Reverend Wayne Maxim. Name of Sponsor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (ROC) | Description of Journey: Ground transport, air travel and accommodation (Taiwan) | Purpose of Travel: Informal visit meeting with Ministries and Dignitaries (Taiwan)

Thring, Reverend Wayne Maxim. Description: Taiwan Tea | Value: R300 approximate | Source: Taiwan

Thring, Reverend Wayne Maxim. Name of Sponsor: All Nations Convocation Jerusalem | Description of Journey: Air travel, ground transport, accommodation | Purpose of Travel: Praying for the nations