Afrika Mayibuye Movement leader Floyd Shivambu has promised to eradicate Soweto residents’ historical electricity debt if his party wins control of the City of Johannesburg in the upcoming local government elections.
Shivambu made the commitment while addressing supporters in Soweto, arguing that residents should not continue carrying electricity debt accumulated during the apartheid-era rent and service-payment boycotts.
According to reports by The Citizen and Briefly News, the debt owed by Soweto residents to Eskom is estimated to be between R3 billion and R10 billion.
“The first thing that we will put in the City of Johannesburg is to eradicate the historical debt of all the Soweto residents in relation to electricity,” Shivambu said.
Shivambu questions why Soweto residents should still pay historical debt
Shivambu argued that the historical debt was partly linked to resistance against apartheid, when communities participated in rent and service-payment boycotts as a form of protest against the apartheid government.
He questioned the fairness of expecting residents to settle debts that accumulated during that period.
“The rent boycotts were legitimate instruments to fight against the illegitimate government of apartheid. To now come back later and say the people of Soweto must pay money for utilising an instrument of protest is not sensible, that is why we are saying we are going to eradicate the debt,” he said.
The pledge is one of Afrika Mayibuye’s key campaign commitments as it seeks to win control of Johannesburg.
However, implementing the proposal could present administrative and financial challenges because some Soweto households receive electricity directly from Eskom rather than through the City of Johannesburg. This means a municipal administration would not necessarily have direct authority to cancel all outstanding debt owed to the national power utility. (The Citizen)
Promises employment opportunities for residents
Shivambu also promised that an Afrika Mayibuye-led municipality would create employment opportunities for residents, arguing that access to jobs should not be limited by age.
He criticised employment programmes that focus primarily on people between the ages of 18 and 35, saying people above that age should also have opportunities to work.
“Jobs are going to be given to everyone as long as you are able to work, you are capable of working, you will be employed by a Mayibuye-run municipality. There won’t be any limitation,” he said.
The movement has also pledged to prioritise service delivery, infrastructure maintenance and employment creation should it gain control of municipalities.
Broader debt relief pledge
At the launch of the party’s 2026 local government election manifesto in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, on 26 September, Shivambu outlined a broader debt-relief proposal targeting poor and child-headed households.
He said municipal debt owed by these households would be written off through lawful municipal processes, while pensioners and low-income households would receive the largest rebates permitted by law.
He also promised that Mayibuye-led municipalities would take responsibility for addressing infrastructure and service-delivery problems, including broken schools, clinics, roads and police stations, even where these facilities fall under another sphere of government.
“No Mayibuye municipality will say that broken facility is not our problem,” Shivambu said in his prepared address at the manifesto launch. (Sunday Tribune)
Johannesburg mayoral candidate remains undisclosed
During his engagements in Soweto, Shivambu also spoke about Afrika Mayibuye’s plans for the City of Johannesburg, but did not reveal the identity of the movement’s mayoral candidate.
He said the individual was completing other commitments and was expected to join the campaign trail once those commitments had been concluded.
Shivambu maintained that the candidate had emerged through the party’s internal processes.
He also expressed confidence that Afrika Mayibuye would secure control of Johannesburg in the upcoming elections.
The local government elections are scheduled for 4 November 2026, with political parties making their final appeals to voters ahead of election day.
