Where the facts about the PA come from

The PA is on the IEC list in 202 of 257 councils, in all 9 provinces. These include all 8 metros.

Give residents a three-month break from paying municipal rates. Pay neighbourhood watch members a salary from the council budget. Use council by-laws to deal with people in the country illegally who run businesses. Open council books and check pipes, roads and staff qualifications in the first 100 days.

Water: The PA promises to keep water money for water and to pay bulk water suppliers first. It promises to check reservoirs and pump stations and replace faulty meters. It also promises leak teams that work 24 hours a day. In its own words: “Ring-fence water revenue, pay bulk suppliers first, audit reservoirs and pump stations, replace faulty meters and establish 24-hour leak teams.”

Electricity and power cuts: The PA promises to protect the money people pay for electricity. It promises to pay Eskom first and to repair substations. In its own words: “Electricity receipts would be protected, Eskom paid first and substations repaired.”

Rubbish: The PA promises a fixed weekly day for rubbish collection. It promises to publish missed collections. It also promises more recycling and composting. In its own words: “Guarantee a weekly refuse collection day, publish missed collections and expand recycling and composting.”

Toilets and sewage: The PA promises to end the remaining bucket toilets and repair wastewater works. It promises to look after communal toilets. It also promises sewer teams that respond 24 hours a day. In its own words: “End remaining bucket toilets, repair wastewater works, maintain communal toilets and run 24-hour sewer-response teams.”

Roads: The PA promises cleaning before the rainy season. This is because it links potholes to blocked stormwater drains. It promises to track repairs. It also promises back-up power for busy traffic lights. And it promises better taxi ranks. In its own words: “The PA connects potholes to blocked stormwater drains. It promises pre-rainy-season cleaning, tracked repairs, back-up power for busy traffic lights and better taxi ranks.”

Building houses: The PA promises that when good council land is released for building, it must include affordable or social housing. Municipal land is land the council owns. Social housing is rental housing for people on low incomes. In its own words: “Require affordable or social housing when well-located municipal land is released for development.”

Informal settlements: The PA promises to upgrade informal settlements. An informal settlement is an area where people built homes without official plans or full services. Daily Maverick says the same section also covers title deed backlogs, and a title deed is the paper that shows who owns a home. In its own words: “upgrade informal settlements”

Title deeds: The PA promises to transfer council houses to long-standing tenants who qualify. This includes people who have lived in them for 20 years. The council would pay the legal costs of the transfer. In its own words: “Transfer qualifying council houses to long-standing tenants, including those occupying them for 20 years, with the municipality paying conveyancing costs.”

Crime: The PA promises to use the municipal budget to pay neighbourhood watch members a salary. A neighbourhood watch is a group of residents who watch their area to help stop crime. The PA leader, Gayton McKenzie, said some communities rely on these groups because the police cannot fight crime there. In its own words: “using the municipal budget to ensure that neighbourhood watch groups earn a salary”

Business and growth: The PA promises by-laws, which are council rules, for areas it governs. They would deal with people in the country illegally who run businesses. In its own words: “the party will ensure that municipal by-laws deal with illegal immigrants who operate businesses in the areas it governs”

Corruption: The PA promises to open the council's books in its first 100 days. It also promises to check the council's pipes, roads and other works, and staff qualifications. It promises to publish how long repairs take. In its own words: “Its first-100-days plan would open municipal books, audit infrastructure and qualifications and publish service repair times.”

Wasteful spending: The PA promises a limit of R450 000 on new cars for mayors. It promises a police check of the threat before public money pays for bodyguards. In its own words: “A R450,000 cap on replacement mayoral cars, police threat assessments before public funding of bodyguards”

Coalitions: The PA promises to ask for coalition agreements to be made public. It also wants funded portfolios and a way to settle disputes. A portfolio is an area of council work, such as housing. In its own words: “It wants published coalition agreements, funded portfolios and a dispute process.”

Budgets: The PA promises a three-month break from paying municipal rates. Rates are the charges property owners pay the council. The PA leader, Gayton McKenzie, said the break would let people 'catch up and have a breather'. In its own words: “there will be a three-month payment holiday where all our people will not pay rates for three months”

City of Johannesburg: Part of the group of parties that runs the council. The PA is part of the ANC-led coalition. Daily Maverick names its members as the ANC, EFF, PA, IFP and smaller parties. PA deputy president Kenny Kunene is the mayoral committee member for Transport. That makes him the councillor on the mayor's team who runs transport. In July 2025 the Hawks raided the Sandton home of a businessman accused of murder and organised crime. Kunene was at the house but was not arrested. He said he was there for a media interview. The PA suspended him while it looked into the matter. It later cleared him, and he was reinstated in October 2025. Daily Maverick says the PA won 8 of 270 seats in 2021. It says the PA now holds 11 seats after by-elections (votes to fill empty seats).

City of Ekurhuleni: Part of the group of parties that runs the council. The PA is part of the ANC-led minority coalition (one with fewer than half the seats) with the National Freedom Party. This coalition formed after the ANC-EFF arrangement ended in February 2026. Both facts come from Daily Maverick in May 2026.

City of Tshwane: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. The PA won 1 of 214 seats in 2021. In August 2026 TimesLIVE described the governing coalition as the ANC, ActionSA and the EFF. It did not name the PA.

City of Cape Town: In opposition. The DA has a majority. It won 135 of 231 seats in 2021. The PA won 4 seats.

Nelson Mandela Bay: Has seats, but is not in the group that runs the council. The PA won 2 of 120 seats in 2021. In July 2026 Daily Maverick listed the ANC-led coalition as the ANC, EFF, National Alliance, Defenders of the People, PAC and AIC. It said the UDM supports the coalition in votes. The PA is not named.

Mangaung: Our sources do not make this clear. In 2021 the ANC won 51 of 101 seats, which is more than half, so it can run the council alone. The PA won 2 seats. The ANC's Gregory Nthatisi was elected acting mayor in April 2023, OFM reported. None of the sources we checked describes the PA's role in 2026.

eThekwini: Has no seats there. Won no seats in 2021.

Buffalo City: Has no seats there. Won no seats in 2021.

In March 2025 a coalition of the ANC, PA and PBI led Knysna. The PA later withdrew its support. A local paper reported this exit in August 2025. The paper said this was part of a PA decision to leave all its council coalitions in the Western Cape. The ANC, EFF and PBI now govern.

In Theewaterskloof, the PA held the mayor's post after 2021, in a coalition with the ANC, EFF and GOOD. The mayors were Karel Papier, then Mary Liebenberg from 2023. GroundUp reported that the council was "bankrupted within three financial years" while the ANC, PA and GOOD held the political reins. Its 2023/24 audit was qualified, which means the Auditor-General found some numbers it could not trust. Irregular spending, meaning spending that broke the rules, rose to R262 million. In November 2024 the province put the council under financial administration, which means the province steps in to fix the council's money. The DA's Lincoln de Bruyn became mayor in August 2024. He was then removed, but the Western Cape High Court put him back in November 2024. By February 2025 the PA was part of a group of the FF+, ANC, PA and EFF. This group opposed the coalition of the DA, GOOD and SRWP. In late September 2026 a motion from the ANC, PA and EFF removed De Bruyn, IOL reported. In October 2026 the DA said the council had voted to undo his removal, the Daily Voice reported. No source outside the DA confirms who is mayor now. The Auditor-General's 2024-25 report lists Theewaterskloof among councils whose audit outcome got worse over the council term. It also lists the council among three Western Cape councils with going concern uncertainty, a warning that money problems may stop it running services.

In February 2024 a coalition of the PA, ANC and a smaller local party ran Beaufort West. The mayor was from the PA. The DA's Gina Duimpies became mayor in September 2025.

EWN reported in July 2025 that the PA lost the mayor's post in Laingsburg in June 2025. EWN said this happened when the ANC changed sides to back a DA mayor. We found no source on the PA's role since then.

In Matzikama, the PA's Monica Bottom was elected mayor on 29 May 2025. She led an ANC, PA, EFF and GOOD coalition that replaced the DA and FF+. Both facts come from Daily Maverick. In August 2025 the DA won a by-election (a vote to fill one empty seat). Daily Maverick then reported that the DA now had enough votes to take back the mayor's post. We found no later source on who is mayor.

In Prince Albert, News24 reported in April 2022 that a coalition of the KGP, ANC and PA had run the council before. It also reported that the DA then took the deputy mayor and speaker posts. The speaker is the councillor who runs council meetings. We found no 2025-26 source on the PA's role.

Gayton McKenzie was Central Karoo District mayor from April 2022 to May 2023. He governed in a coalition with the ANC and the Karoo Democratic Force. After he resigned, the ANC and PA elected the ANC's Johanna Botha as mayor again in May 2023. The district's website now lists Botha as executive mayor, but it shows no party names. We found no 2025-26 source on the PA's role.

The 2026 Mistra Coalitions Barometer, reported by TimesLIVE, says the PA was a member of 33 governments. It says the PA held the mayor's post nine times, all in governments built around the ANC. The barometer says the PA was never the largest member.

The PA 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 R6 649 900 in April to June 2024 (8 donations).

Gifts over R100 000 from one donor, named in the reports: R6 649 900. Smaller gifts, R100 000 or less from one donor (names not published): None shown. Membership fees and levies: R8 534 249. From the Political Representatives Fund: R6 042 349. From Parliament and provincial legislatures: R29 376 137.

Ashley Sauls, a PA MP, said this in Parliament. It was a member's statement, a short speech any MP can make at the start of a sitting. He spoke about Daniel Perez, a South African-born Israeli soldier who he says died fighting Hamas, a Palestinian armed group. Sauls says the body is still in Gaza. He wants Parliament and the government to use talks with other countries to bring it home. In its own words: “We request the House and the applicable Ministry to advocate for the dignified return of this South African-born captain’s body from Hamas.”

EWN, a news outlet, reported on the PA's view of the war in Gaza. The PA wants a two-state solution, which means Israel and a Palestinian state side by side. It says it is against killing people on both sides. Its deputy president Kenny Kunene said the party cares more about problems at home, like water. The report does not say what the PA wants the government to do.

The PA said this in a statement, Daily News reported. It came after US and Israeli strikes on Iran. The PA says it stands with the US and Israel against Iran's government. It wants that government to fall. The report does not say what the PA wants South Africa's government to do. In its own words: “The Patriotic Alliance stands with the United States and with Israel in confronting the Iranian regime. The regime must fall”

The PA said this after its leader, Gayton McKenzie, met the new US ambassador, Leo Brent Bozell III. An ambassador speaks for his country in another country. Ties between the two countries were tense after Donald Trump became US president again. The PA says the new ambassador brings a chance to repair and build up those ties. It says they matter a lot for South Africa's economy, so the country should use this chance. In its own words: “South Africa must seize this moment”

Gayton McKenzie, the PA leader, said this on a podcast, an online talk show. The US had just cut aid money, including money for HIV and AIDS programmes. McKenzie backed President Ramaphosa for saying South Africa will not be bullied. But he says the two countries need each other, because the US is a big trading partner. He wants the leaders to talk and repair ties, because he says losing US money costs jobs and lives. In its own words: “I do think that we need to address the Americans and try to fix the relationship”

Daily Maverick reported that PA MPs Ashley Sauls and Millicent Mathopa were on a trip to Israel. It said the trip appeared to include a meeting with Israel's president, Isaac Herzog. Sauls said the PA's leader and deputy leader had given their blessing. In its own words: “Saul said that he and fellow PA MP Mathopa were there with the blessing of the PA president, Gayton McKenzie, and his deputy, Kenny Kunene.”

EWN reported that South African Friends of Israel paid for a group of MPs to visit Israel. They met Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, and government officials. Sauls listed the trip in Parliament's register. EWN said Mathopa did not list it at all. In its own words: “The South Africa Friends of Israel sponsored a select group of MPs to travel to Israel, where they met the Israeli President Isaac Herzog and government officials.”

PA spokesperson Steve Motale said the PA's senior leaders also went to Israel in 2023, Daily Maverick reported. We found no other source for this trip, and no record of who paid for it or whom they met. In its own words: “The senior leaders of the PA also had a trip to Israel in 2023, and were equally open and proud of it.”

Ashley Sauls, a PA MP, spoke in Parliament on a bill that moved money to pay for South Africa's case against Israel. The case is at the ICJ, the UN's top court. The bill also held money for other things, such as roads. He said the PA backed it as a partner in the national unity government. He said the PA wants two states. In its own words: “We want to first emphatically state that our position on the war in the Middle East is for a two-state solution. We are calling for a two-state solution.”

J A Basson, a PA MP, spoke in Parliament on a committee's report about its trip to China. She said in Afrikaans that the trip was an important step to strengthen South Africa's ties with China. In its own words: “Dit was ’n belangrike stap om ons verhouding met China te versterk”

Gayton McKenzie, the PA leader and a minister, spoke in Parliament's debate on the US stopping aid to South Africa. He said the two countries need each other, and both lose if they do not work together. In its own words: “America needs South Africa and South Africa needs America, and if we are not working together, we will both lose.”

The Post reported that PA leader Gayton McKenzie said the US was wrong about white South Africans. He said it is not true that white people are "under siege" in South Africa. In its own words: “But the biggest thing America did wrong was to believe this saying ‘White people are under siege’. That is not true.”

Mc Kenzie, Mr. Gayton. Description: Chinese Vase | Value: R4,000.00 | Source: Chinese State Councillor Shen Yiqin

Mc Kenzie, Mr. Gayton. Description: HONOR MAGIC V2 Device | Value: R37,999.00 | Source: HONOR Device Co. Ltd, Shenzhen China

Mc Kenzie, Mr. Gayton. Description: Framed Artwork 99.9% foiled gold | Value: to be appraised | Source: India Cultural Minister in Brazil

Sauls, Mr. Ashley. Source of Sponsorship: South African Friends of Israel | Description and Purpose of the Sponsorship: To cover travel and accommodation costs from South Africa to Israel, in my capacity as a member of my political party: Patriotic Alliance for a fact finding exercise to see for myself and understand the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. | Duration of Sponsorship: Once- Off covering a one week trip from 3- 10 April 2025

Mc Kenzie, Mr. Gayton. Description: Teacup and saucer | Value: R6093.00 | Source: Russian Cultural Ministry

Mc Kenzie, Mr. Gayton. Description: Arabic coffee set (Dallah and spice jars) | Value: R6,000.00 | Source: H.E. Sheikh Salem bin Khalid Al Qassimi, Minister of Culture, UAE