If I consider the results of wards won in by-elections since the 2021 Local Government elections, it seems to me that the ANC performance is declining, but not collapsing, and that of the DA stagnating, but declining in areas required to maintain the party's governance control over the Western Cape, and its competitiveness in the Northern Cape.

A total of 987,075 votes were casted during local government by-elections over the period since the 2021 Local Government elections, until the end of May 2026. Of these votes, 36,8% was in favour of the ANC, 24,61% for the DA, 4,18% for the MKP, 8,91% for the EFF, 6,4% for the EFF, 8,67% for the IFP, 1,53% for the FF+ and 9,91% for other (including independents).

I have done an assessment of risk exposure of South African municipalities, based on the results of the results of the 2025/25 audits conducted at municipalities by the Office of the Auditor-General. I have included data about 256 district, local and metropolitan municipalities. Among these, 39 obtained a clean audit outcome, 116 an unqualified audit outcome, 86 qualified with matters, 5 adverse, 8 disclaimers and 2 did not submit their annual reports.

According to the statistics reported by Statistics South Africa, the national unemployment rate was 33,6% in the second quarter, 2026. This represents a growth of 0,9%, quarter-on-quarter, compared with the period January to March 2026, and a growth of 0,4% on a year-to-year basis, compared with the period April-June 2025.

The point I want to make is this: The popular believe and perception in South Africa that the United States of Anmerica is on the brink of collapse as a dominant world power is highly unlikely to materialise any time soon. The United States’ policies and framework for driving sustained economic propensity is sound. That, and, even more importantly, compared with the United States, South Africa has chosen the losing path, the road to poverty. Neither is that of Europe...