Where the facts about the BOSA come from

BOSA is on the IEC list in 30 councils. Most of them are in Gauteng and Limpopo. They include 5 metros: Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Cape Town and Mangaung.

Publish how fast councils will fix power, water, sewage and road faults. Set up local jobs databases and a unit to speed up small-business permits. Give every Metro Police officer a body camera, and expand CCTV in hotspots. Fire officials guilty of corruption or misconduct instead of moving them.

Water: BOSA promises that in councils it leads, schools, clinics and hospitals would be protected from planned water cuts. It says it would also fix the failing infrastructure that makes planned water cuts necessary. BOSA calls this protection a "non-negotiable governance principle", which means it is not open to bargaining. In its own words: “BOSA-led municipalities will treat the protection of essential public institutions from planned water cuts as a non-negotiable governance principle”

Electricity and power cuts: BOSA promises service charters (public service standards) for wards and councils. These would show how fast the council will fix faults. This is for faults with power, water and sewage. In its own words: “service charters with published turnaround and response times for water outages, burst pipes and leaks, sanitation faults, and electricity faults”

Rubbish: BOSA promises to keep indigent registers up to date. These are lists of poor homes. This is so that homes that qualify get free basic water, power and refuse removal. In its own words: “so that households entitled to free basic water, electricity and refuse removal are correctly identified and actually receive what they are owed”

Toilets and sewage: BOSA promises local ways to treat dirty water. These would be for firms and for communities. It also promises training to run them. In its own words: “Creating localised wastewater treatment options for businesses and communities, along with the necessary training and capacity building.”

Roads: BOSA promises to publish time targets for fixing potholes and traffic lights. It also promises to report in public on whether it meets them. In its own words: “Publishing clear turnaround-time targets for road maintenance, including pothole repairs and traffic signal faults, and reporting publicly against them.”

Building houses: BOSA promises to use publicly owned land for housing near jobs and transport. It would release, reuse or build on every usable plot within 24 months. This would follow a land audit (a check of all this land) in its first 90 days. In its own words: “prioritising housing close to jobs, transport routes and economic opportunity rather than being left vacant or sold off, with every viable parcel released, repurposed, or developed within 24 months.”

Informal settlements: BOSA promises to set aside a minimum share of the budget for pipes, roads and power lines. This share would go to three kinds of areas. These are informal settlements, townships and rural areas. It would be used to upgrade them. In its own words: “Ring-fencing a minimum percentage of infrastructure budgets for informal settlement, township, and rural upgrading.”

Title deeds: BOSA promises a council housing task team. It would clear the backlog of title deeds and find residents still waiting for RDP houses. In its own words: “a Municipal Housing Delivery Unit Task Team to clear title-deed backlogs, identify residents still waiting on RDP houses”

Crime: BOSA promises more CCTV cameras and monitoring. This would be in crime hotspots and at transport hubs. It would also be in the parts of town for business and industry. In its own words: “Expanding CCTV and intelligent monitoring in identified crime hotspots, transport interchanges, business districts, and industrial areas”

Metro police: BOSA promises body cameras for Metro Police. Each officer would wear one. In its own words: “Introducing body-worn cameras for Metro Police officers, so that honest officers are protected”

Local jobs: BOSA promises local jobs databases. These would link residents who have no work to jobs at local firms. In its own words: “Establishing local jobs databases, allowing municipalities to work with local businesses to connect unemployed residents with accessible, local opportunities.”

Business and growth: BOSA promises a Red-Tape Reduction Unit in each council. It would speed up permits and licences for small businesses. In its own words: “Establishing a Red-Tape Reduction Unit within the municipality, with a mandate to fast-track approvals, permits and licences for small businesses”

Corruption: BOSA promises to fire officials found guilty of corruption or misconduct. It says it would not move them to other posts. In its own words: “for officials found guilty of corruption or misconduct, with instant dismissal and not reshuffling between departments or spheres of government.”

Coalitions: BOSA promises binding coalition agreements, which the parties must follow. They would set shared goals and ways to settle disputes. They would also require performance checks every three months. In its own words: “Implementing binding Coalition Agreement Frameworks when councils are led by coalitions, defining shared delivery goals, dispute-resolution procedures, and mandatory quarterly performance assessments”

Budgets: BOSA promises public meetings and budget meetings four times a year. At these, communities would have a say in how the budget is spent. In its own words: “Holding regular quarterly public forums and participatory budget meetings between local municipalities, departments, ward councillors and communities”

BOSA has never run a council and has no council seats. 2026 is its first local election.

In April 2026 the People's Prosperity Movement (PPM) agreed to join BOSA. Its leader is Chad Louw, a former mayor of Oudtshoorn.

In October 2025, BOSA, GOOD and Rise Mzansi planned one joint party, Unite for Change. They dropped the plan in April 2026. Each party now stands on its own.

The BOSA told the IEC about 2 donations worth R217 276, from July 2025 to June 2026.

Gifts over R100 000 from one donor, named in the reports: R13 037 873. Smaller gifts, R100 000 or less from one donor (names not published): R955 860. Membership fees and levies: None shown. From the Political Representatives Fund: R1 550 507. From Parliament and provincial legislatures: R9 128 493.

January to March 2026. The IEC said: “BOSA declared an in-kind donation valued at R113 794.60 from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC. Although below the disclosure threshold, cumulative donations from the same donor triggered the reporting requirement. The donation related to governance and political development support activities.”

October to December 2025. The IEC said: “BOSA declared a single in-kind donation valued at R 103 481.00 from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC. The donation was allocated towards the costs of a workshop aimed at promoting good governance, public conduct, ethics and accountability.”

October to December 2025. In the IEC's statement, this is about BOSA's in-kind donation of R 103 481.00 from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC. The IEC said: “Although the value falls below the R 200 000 reporting threshold, previous donations from the same donor resulted in the cumulative amount exceeding the threshold during the third quarter, giving rise to the necessity for a declaration.”

July to September 2025. The IEC said: “BOSA received a single in-kind foreign donation from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung NPC. The contribution supported governance, ethics and accountability training, including accommodation, meals, transport and presentation fees. This donation has not been published as it falls below the declarable donation threshold of R 200 000.”

Mmusi Maimane, the BOSA leader, said this in a debate in Parliament after the US attacked Iran. He had asked for the debate. He means South Africa should defend human rights in every country, not only in some. He says South Africans should not stand with leaders who abuse human rights. He also wants a trade deal with the US and an ambassador there, a person who speaks for South Africa. In its own words: “We must be consistent, whether in Syria, whether in Iran, whether in Yemen, or in any other parts.”

BOSA said this in a letter asking the Speaker for an urgent debate in Parliament. The Speaker runs the National Assembly. BOSA asked after the US attacked Iran. It means South Africa should say clearly where it stands, and respect each country's right to run itself. It also wants help for South Africans stuck in the region, and a plan for higher fuel prices. In its own words: “South Africa must articulate a clear and principled foreign policy position grounded in respect for sovereignty, international law, and constitutional values.”

BOSA said this in a statement after the US put a 30% tax, called a tariff, on most South African goods. BOSA says thousands of jobs in car making, farming and mining are at risk. It blames years of government choices about other countries. It means South Africa should deal with others by what helps its people now, not old feelings or political beliefs. It wants a new ambassador in the US and direct talks with US lawmakers. In its own words: “What is clear is that South Africa urgently needs a foreign policy rooted in clear principles and strategic interests instead of nostalgia and ideology.”

BOSA said this in a statement after US President Donald Trump announced a 30% tax on South African goods. BOSA wants President Ramaphosa to quickly name an ambassador to the US, a person who speaks for South Africa there. It means no other country should be able to give South Africa orders. It says over 500 000 US jobs depend on trade with South Africa, so South Africa has power in talks. In its own words: “We reject any approach by foreign countries that seeks to treat South Africa as a client state.”

BOSA said this in a statement about a new law in Zimbabwe, the country on South Africa's northern border. The law changes Zimbabwe's constitution. BOSA says it ends direct votes for the president and makes terms seven years instead of five. BOSA says this helps the ruling party, ZANU-PF, keep power. It wants the South African government, the African Union and SADC, a group of southern African countries, to speak out. In its own words: “South Africa cannot remain silent in the face of authoritarianism.”

EWN reported that BOSA leader Mmusi Maimane called for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. He wants both sides back at the table to work towards two states. In its own words: “We have called for a ceasefire because I think, now, we need to find ourselves back at the negotiation table and ensure that as difficult as it is.”

The Special Appropriation Bill was a bill for extra state spending. In the debate on it, BOSA MP Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster said some of the money would likely pay for ICJ cases. She said money was going abroad while learners and hungry people at home went without. In its own words: “It is predicted that some of these special appropriations are likely to be funding the International Court of Justice, ICJ, court cases and sending soldiers to the DRC.”

In a debate on the US aid cut, BOSA said South Africa should want a world with many centres of power. It said no single country should dictate to South Africa. In its own words: “South Africa has to remain steadfast in a pursuit of a just multipolar world where no single power, no power, not the US, not Russia and not China, dictate the terms of our own sovereignty as a country.”

BOSA told the IEC about 4 donations from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, from April 2024 to March 2026. All of them were goods or services, not money. In August 2024, the IEC said BOSA received a donation "from a German foundation known as Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC". The IEC counted it as a foreign donation. The Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, or KAS, is a German foundation. The IEC calls it "a German foundation known as Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC". It pays for workshops and training for two South African parties, the IFP and BOSA. KAS also runs a scholarship with SAIIA, the South African Institute of International Affairs, a think tank. In 2017 a DA MP told a Parliament committee that all German foundations' money for South African parties "came from the Bundestag", Germany's parliament. That is in notes of the meeting by PMG, a group that publishes Parliament's records. So a German foundation pays for some of BOSA's workshops and training. The same foundation also gives this kind of help to the IFP. The law lets foreign bodies give only for training or policy work. The IEC said this money paid for a workshop on good governance, ethics and accountability, and for political development support.

South African parties may not take money from foreign governments. They may take money from foreign organisations only to train members or develop policy. This is limited to R5 million a year.

Hlazo-Webster, Ms. Nobuntu Lindumusa. Name of Sponsor: New Africa foundation | Description of Journey: Study Trip - Economic Development (China) | Purpose of Travel: Study Trip - Economic Development (China)

Maimane, Doctor Mmusi Aloysias. Name of Sponsor: new Africa Foundation | Description of Journey: Accomodation local | Purpose of Travel: Accomodtion and ground logistics in China

Maimane, Doctor Mmusi Aloysias. Source of Sponsorship: travelto China | Description and Purpose of the Sponsorship: Travel To China, New Africa Foundation | Duration of Sponsorship: travel and accomodation in China

Maimane, Doctor Mmusi Aloysias. Name of Sponsor: ADAFP | Description of Journey: International conference | Purpose of Travel: Conference speaking in Liberia

Maimane, Doctor Mmusi Aloysias. Name of Sponsor: Tansatlantic INstitute | Description of Journey: travel to Morocco and accomodation | Purpose of Travel: Conference 3000

Maimane, Mr. Mmusi Aloysias. Name of Sponsor: Salzburg global | Description of Journey: International conference | Purpose of Travel: Conference speaking