Where the facts about the FF+ come from

The FF+ is on the IEC list in 201 of 257 councils, in all 9 provinces. This includes all 8 metros.

Make sewage works a top priority and spend grants on key works like roads. Keep tax and tariff increases at or below inflation. Use modern technology to find water leaks and repair them early. Recover money lost to corruption, fraud and irregular contracts.

Water: The FF+ promises to use modern technology to find water leaks and repair them early. It says this would help prevent large-scale water outages, where many people lose water at once. It also says councils should first upgrade the water systems they already have. In its own words: “Modern technology should be employed to detect water leaks, proactively do the necessary repairs”

Electricity and power cuts: The FF+ promises that municipalities would encourage private firms to make electricity. It also says councils should start their own affordable and sustainable projects that make power in other ways. It says residents who switch to renewable electricity should get rebates, which means money back. In its own words: “Municipalities should encourage the private generation of electricity”

Rubbish: The FF+ promises refuse removal that works. It also promises legal landfill sites (dumps) with recycling projects. In its own words: “Ensure functional refuse removal services and lawful landfill sites with recycling projects.”

Toilets and sewage: The FF+ promises to make upgrading and maintaining sewage treatment works a top priority. These works are plants that clean sewage. It says infrastructure grants, which are national government money for infrastructure, should pay to upgrade existing sewage systems. In its own words: “Upgrading and maintaining sewerage treatment works has to be top priority.”

Roads: The FF+ promises to spend funds and grants on key works, including roads, water, sewerage and electricity. It says this must come before spending on things such as sports stadiums. It also says no grant money should go unspent. In its own words: “Funds and conditional grants must be spent on critical infrastructure – sewerage, water, electricity and roads”

Crime: The FF+ promises working streetlights and security cameras where possible. It says a safe area also has no vacant or abandoned council property. It says cameras should guard council property from vandalism, which is damage done on purpose. In its own words: “Such an environment will have working streetlights, security cameras and no vacant or abandoned municipal property.”

Metro police: The FF+ promises to police and enforce by-laws (the council's own rules) consistently. In its own words: “It is essential to consistently police and enforce municipal by-laws.”

Business and growth: The FF+ promises to remove needless red tape on rezoning applications and trading permits. Red tape means rules and paperwork that slow things down. In its own words: “The needless administrative red tape concerning rezoning applications, trading permits, etc. should be done away with.”

Corruption: The FF+ promises to get back money lost to corruption, fraud and irregular contracts. It says municipal public accounts committees, which are council committees that check spending, should thoroughly investigate irregular, fruitless and wasteful spending. Irregular spending is money spent without following the rules that apply. In its own words: “Recover funds lost due to corruption, fraud and irregular contracts.”

Wasteful spending: The FF+ promises to cut the number of senior and middle-management posts. It says it would hire more tradesmen, who are skilled workers such as electricians. It would also revise salaries to match expertise, skills and the value of the post. In its own words: “When in power, the Freedom Front Plus will reduce the number of senior and middle-management positions”

Coalitions: The FF+ promises that all the choices of a coalition government will follow an agreed model. This is a model for how to govern. A coalition is when parties join to run a council. In its own words: “The agreed-upon governance model should direct all future decision-making by the coalition government.”

Budgets: The FF+ promises that tax and tariff increases will not be higher than inflation. Inflation is the general rise in prices. In its own words: “Tax and tariff hikes should not exceed the inflation rate.”

City of Tshwane: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. The FF+ 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. TimesLIVE names the parties in the coalition running the council now as the ANC, ActionSA and the EFF. The FF+ is not named.

City of Ekurhuleni: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. An ANC-led minority coalition (a group of parties with less than half the seats) runs the council. It includes the PA and NFP. The FF+ has 8 seats. It is not named as part of the coalition.

City of Johannesburg: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. Daily Maverick on 28 Jan 2026 and EWN on 27 Feb 2026 name the parties running the council. They name the ANC, EFF, PA, IFP and smaller parties. The FF+ is not named.

City of Cape Town: In opposition. The DA won 135 of 231 seats in 2021, according to the IEC. That is more than half, so it runs the council alone. Geordin Hill-Lewis has been mayor since November 2021. The FF+ won 4 seats.

eThekwini: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. In July 2024 the IFP, ANC, DA and NFP agreed to work together in eThekwini. In September 2024 the DA turned down the ANC's offer of posts and said it would stay in opposition. In October 2026 the IFP's candidate for mayor said the DA still holds three executive committee seats, Daily Maverick reported. The executive committee is the group of councillors who help run the council. News24 lists the ANC, DA, IFP, NFP and EFF on it. The FF+ is not on it.

Nelson Mandela Bay: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. The FF+ 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. An ANC-led coalition runs the council now. The other parties in it are the EFF, National Alliance, Defenders of the People, PAC and AIC. The FF+ is not named.

Buffalo City: In opposition. The ANC runs the council with more than half the seats.

Mangaung: In opposition. The ANC won 51 of 101 seats in 2021, according to the IEC. That is more than half, so it runs the council alone. Its mayor is Gregory Nthatisi. The FF+ has 5 seats.

In November 2025 the FF+ joined a DA-led coalition in George again, together with the ACDP. FF+ councillor Gert van Niekerk became deputy mayor. The FF+ also took the MMC post for planning and the chair of MPAC. An MMC is a member of the mayor's team, and MPAC is the committee that checks council spending. Daily Maverick still called the FF+ the DA's coalition partner in January 2026.

FF+ leader Corné Mulder told TimesLIVE in September 2026 that "six or seven" FF+-DA coalitions from 2021 are still in place. He said they include Mossel Bay, Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas. This is the party leader's own account. None of the other sources we opened confirms it council by council.

In Emfuleni, News24 on 29 May 2026 named the FF+ as one of six parties running the council with the ANC. A local community paper reported that Hassan Mako of the ANC became mayor on 10 June 2026. The FF+ says the "ANC/EFF coalition" passed the 2026/27 budget without FF+ support. No independent source, meaning one not linked to the party, says whether the FF+ is still part of the coalition.

In Oudtshoorn, the council elected Johan Allers of the FF+ as mayor on 1 August 2024. This was in a government of local unity with the ANC. News24 reported in February 2026 that the council removed him in a vote of no confidence, by 11 votes to 6. The council's website now lists Councillor Jan van der Ross as Executive Mayor. A local paper, the Oudtshoorn Courant, described FF+ councillors as opposition in the council in August 2026. We found no major source that gives van der Ross's party or the current coalition.

In Theewaterskloof, FF+ councillor Tienie Zimmerman was elected mayor in September 2024, with support from the ANC. In November 2024 a court ruled that his election was not valid. It put the DA mayor back in office. By June 2025 the DA, GOOD and SRWP ran the council, without the FF+.

The FF+ 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 R769 600 in January to March 2024 (3 donations).

Gifts over R100 000 from one donor, named in the reports: None shown. Smaller gifts, R100 000 or less from one donor (names not published): R451 420. Membership fees and levies: R2 941 678. From the Political Representatives Fund: R21 942 558. From Parliament and provincial legislatures: R39 010 761.

Corné Mulder, the FF Plus leader, said this in a party statement. South Africa's foreign affairs department, DIRCO, had ordered Ariel Seidman, a diplomat at Israel's embassy, to leave. The FF Plus says this will upset the United States, which is Israel's close partner. It says this puts jobs and trade at risk while the US still decides on AGOA, a trade deal. It wants the other parties in the national unity government to be asked before such steps. In its own words: “Given the fragile relations between South Africa and the United States (US), DIRCO’s action against Israel – the US’s major ally – is wilful and provocative.”

Corné Mulder, the FF Plus leader, said this in a party statement. It came after Israel and Hamas agreed to a peace deal with a ceasefire in Gaza. South Africa has had no ambassador in Israel since it pulled out in 2023. The FF Plus wants South Africa to open a full embassy in Israel again and help with the peace process. It says this would also please the United States while the two countries talk about trade. In its own words: “It is time for South Africa to demonstrate its sincere commitment to facilitating lasting peace in the Middle East, which can only be achieved through normalising diplomatic relations with Israel.”

Corné Mulder, the FF Plus leader, said this in a debate in Parliament. MPs were discussing calls to free Cilia Flores Maduro, a Venezuelan MP arrested after a US military operation. Mulder says South Africa should judge every country by the same rules, Russia included. He says it also did not condemn Hamas's attack on Israel or Iran's killing of protesters. He wants South Africa to act on what is best for it now, not on old loyalties. In its own words: “Where was international law when Russia invaded Ukraine? Why did we keep silent?”

The FF Plus said this in a party statement blaming the ANC. South Africa held navy training at sea in Simon's Town with Iran, Russia and China, though Iran later pulled out. The FF Plus says the US saw this as South Africa growing closer to its rivals. It says South Africa now risks higher US taxes on its goods. It wants trade with the US and other big partners restored and made better. In its own words: “This step was not neutral diplomacy, but a deliberate geopolitical signal that further alienated the country from its second-largest trading partner, the United States of America (US).”

The FF Plus said this in a party statement after a debate in Parliament. The Uyghurs are a minority people in north-west China. The FF Plus says China puts them in camps, forces them to work and limits their religion. It wants South Africa to use BRICS, a group that includes both countries, to press China to stop. It also wants the Uyghurs to be free to choose how they are governed. In its own words: “Government was requested to use its position in Brics to encourage China to take steps to put a stop to the human rights abuses and uphold the Uyghurs’ right to self-determination.”

The FF Plus said this in a party statement. South Africa's government told Taiwan to move its office from Pretoria to Johannesburg and run it as a trade office. The FF Plus says the ANC did this because China pushed for it. It says the ANC did not ask its partners in the national unity government first. The FF Plus wants the decision changed, because it says trade with Taiwan brings many jobs. In its own words: “the FF Plus will insist that the matter be reconsidered”

The FF Plus said this in a party statement. The FF Plus says the United States has set five conditions before relations with South Africa return to normal. It says it passed them to the government after a visit to Washington in 2025. They include treating farm attacks as a top crime and paying fair prices when land is taken. Another is that US companies need not follow BEE, South Africa's black economic empowerment rules. The FF Plus backs all five and, after a new US warning, wants the government to act now. In its own words: “The US’s request is reasonable. It merely asks that everyone in the country should be treated the same, that their property should be safeguarded and that they should have access to the same opportunities.”

The FF Plus said this in a party statement about AGOA. AGOA is a US trade law that gives African countries easier access to American buyers. The FF Plus says staying in AGOA is vital for South African jobs and exports. It blames the ANC's military work with China, Russia and Iran for putting this at risk. It wants South Africa to lean towards Western countries and put trade first in how it deals with the world. In its own words: “It is time to drastically review and amend our current foreign policy, and implement a responsible, West-oriented foreign policy that prioritises free trade, market access and pragmatism over dogma.”

The FF Plus said this in a party statement. The United States had carried out a military operation in Venezuela and arrested its president, Nicolás Maduro. The FF Plus supports this and says Maduro lost the 2024 election but stayed in power by force. It says the ANC does not speak for all South Africans on Venezuela. It says the ANC alone chose to ask the UN Security Council to meet, not the whole government. In its own words: “The Freedom Front Plus welcomes the actions of the United States against the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.”

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

FF Plus MP Corné Mulder told Parliament that cutting ties with Israel would end any South African role in peace efforts. In its own words: “It would be a short-sight decision by the South African government. It is opportunistic from the EFF, and we will see on Tuesday if the South African government does the right thing and continue with diplomatic attempts to solve this problem.”

The FF Plus condemned Hamas's attack on Israel. It said it supports the state of Israel and its right to defend itself. It sent its sympathy through Israel's ambassador. In its own words: “The FF Plus emphasizes its support for the state of Israel and recognizes Israel’s right to defend itself and its citizens with all means at its disposal.”

FF Plus councillors in Ekurhuleni would not stand for a moment of silence for "the people of Palestine". The party said Israel's people deserved the same. In its own words: “The FF Plus stands in solidarity with the people of Israel in their fight against the terrorist group Hamas, and will not be forced to unilaterally choose sides in council chambers.”

The FF Plus said the government should have spent the money for its ICJ case against Israel on problems at home. It said the court's January 2024 order showed Israel is not committing genocide. That is the party's own reading of the order. In its own words: “The ICJ’s ruling has made it clear that Israel is not committing Palestinian genocide in Gaza.”

The FF Plus said its party group was starting a visit to the US to meet White House officials. The first stop was the Hudson Institute, a think tank in Washington. In its own words: “The Freedom Front Plus’s (VF Plus) bilateral visit to the US to engage with White House officials and other stakeholders begins today with a discussion at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC.”

IOL reported that FF Plus leader Corné Mulder backed AfriForum and Solidarity's lobbying trip to Washington. These are Afrikaner groups, not parties. In its own words: “In an interview with eNCA, FF Plus leader Corné Mulder defended AfriForum and Solidarity’s move to the US, saying “Yes, we endorse them.””

The Citizen reported that the FF Plus welcomed Trump's order on Afrikaners. But its leader, Pieter Groenewald, said Afrikaners should stay and not seek asylum, which means protection, in the US. In its own words: “Groenewald said the executive order was a recognition of Afrikaners’ dire circumstances and was welcomed, but the party was convinced that Afrikaners have an important role to play in South Africa and should not seek asylum in the US or anywhere else.”

The FF Plus told the IEC about 1 donation from the Taipei Liaison Office in Cape Town, in July to September 2023. It was goods or services, not money. The IEC said it was "a foreign government entity or agency referred to as the Taipei Liaison Office in Cape Town". It is Taiwan's office in Cape Town. It works for Taiwan's foreign ministry. The gift was 30 wheelchairs and 2 000 kg of rice. So this gift came from Taiwan's government. The law bans party gifts from foreign governments. The IEC said it seemed to come from a banned donor, and started steps to fix it. The IEC also said the gift was not for training or policy work, the only uses the law allows. We found no later IEC decision on it.

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.

Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town (Taiwan). This is Taiwan's office in Cape Town. Taiwan's Taipei Liaison Office says its Cape Town office mainly issues visas and looks after Taiwanese people living there. The Taipei Liaison Office works for Taiwan's foreign ministry. That ministry publishes its website and gives it a ministry email address. So these gifts to FF Plus MPs, mostly whisky, came from Taiwan's government through its office. The FF Plus wants the order for Taiwan's office to leave Pretoria reconsidered. South Africa's foreign minister said the move follows the One-China Policy, the Cape Argus reported.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (ROC) (Taiwan). It is Taiwan's foreign ministry, the part of Taiwan's government that deals with other countries. Taiwan is also called the Republic of China. Taiwan's office in South Africa works for this ministry. The ministry publishes the office's website. So Taiwan's government paid for FF Plus MPs, including leader Corné Mulder, to visit Taiwan from 9 to 15 November 2025. The MPs called it an informal visit to meet ministry staff and other important people. Taiwan's government or its offices also paid for trips or gifts for MPs of the DA, ActionSA and ACDP. We found none for ANC MPs.

C5 Capital Ltd (United Kingdom). C5 Capital is a London firm that invests in growing businesses. It says it invests in defence, cybersecurity, nuclear energy and space technology, and it was founded in 2014. Daily Maverick reported in 2018 that C5 was founded by André Pienaar, a South African. We found no public record of who owns it now. So a London investment firm paid for FF Plus leader Corné Mulder to meet important people in Washington and New York in 2025. It also paid for his trip to a London summit in June 2026. One of these trips was to Washington from 20 to 30 June 2025. The FF Plus says its party group was in Washington then, meeting White House officials. No other party's MPs list C5.

Boshoff, Doctor Wynand Johannes. Name of Sponsor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (ROC) | Description of Journey: 9 TO 15 November 2025 Ministerial oversight visit | Purpose of Travel: Informal visit to meet with Ministerial personnel and dignitaries

Boshoff, Doctor Wynand Johannes. Description: Whiskey | Value: R1500 | Source: Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town

Breedt, Ms. Tamarin (NCOP). Name of Sponsor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (ROC) | Description of Journey: 9 to 15 November 2025. Ministerial oversight visit. | Purpose of Travel: Informal visit to meet with various Ministerial personnel and dignitaries.

Breedt, Ms. Tamarin (NCOP). Description: Whiskey | Value: R1500 | Source: Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town

Mulder, Doctor Cornelius Petrus. Name of Sponsor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan (ROC) | Description of Journey: Ministerial oversight visit from 9 to 15 November 2025 | Purpose of Travel: Informal visit to meet with ministerial personnel and dignitaries.

Mulder, Doctor Cornelius Petrus. Description: Whiskey | Value: R700 | Source: Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town

Van Staden, Mr. Philippus Adriaan. Description: Whiskey | Value: R1500 | Source: Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town

Wessels, Mr. Wouter Wynand. Description: Koco Bin Baby Gift set | Value: R1700 | Source: Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town

Wessels, Mr. Wouter Wynand. Description: Whiskey | Value: R700 | Source: Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town

Mulder, Doctor Cornelius Petrus. Name of Sponsor: C5 Capital Ltd | Description of Journey: 28 September to 2 October 2025 | Purpose of Travel: Travel to Washington and New York to meet with dignitaries.

Mulder, Doctor Cornelius Petrus. Name of Sponsor: C5 Capital Ltd | Description of Journey: 20 June to 30 June 2025 | Purpose of Travel: Visit to Washington DC to meet dignitaries

Mulder, Doctor Cornelius Petrus. Name of Sponsor: C5 Capital Ltd | Description of Journey: ARC summit in UK From 22 to 26 June 2026 | Purpose of Travel: Attend ARC summit in London

Breedt, Ms. Tamarin (NCOP). Name of the Company or Partnership: Board member of the UNPO Stichtung | Type of Business Activity: NPO

Breedt, Ms. Tamarin (NCOP). Name of the Company or Partnership: Board member of the UNPO Stichtung | Type of Business Activity: NPO