Dear disillusioned and undecided Voters of Johannesburg,

Some of you may know me from my work in civil society as the Acting Executive Director of Rivonia Circle. Others from my time as a broadcaster at Power FM, as the host of Power Talk and Power Perspective, and at eNCA hosting On the Spot with Lukhona Mnguni.

Today however, I write this personal letter to you as a fellow resident of Johannesburg, requesting you to work with me and the Rise Mzansi team to bring back the golden shine of eGoli, our City of Gold. First by turning up and voting on both ballots on election day, and thereafter through the model of Collaborative Governance that Joburg will become under our leadership.

I'm a fellow Joburg resident whose water gets cut with everyone else’s because of the lack of investment in water reservoirs and maintenance of the piping system.  A resident whose electricity goes out for hours and more recently days on end in some neighbourhoods because City Power doesn’t have spares and equipment on hand.

I'm a fellow resident who has avoided my fair share of potholes, sees the dirt and rubbish collection crisis around us, sees the lines outside public clinics and hears the reports of insufficient staffing and medication. I see the streetlights on the M1 and other neighbourhoods being out for months on end. Public parks have overgrown grass, with dilapidated playgrounds. I know of the muggings at MTN Taxi rank and the fear of walking in the CBD. I see the cold drink money changing hands at roadblocks. Unroadworthy taxis return to the road with no punishment, risking the lives of commuters. Speeding drivers get away without appropriate fines.    

At RISE Mzansi, we're largely not politicians. We're civil society leaders, professionals, technocrats, entrepreneurs, and competent individuals. We're fellow residents of Jo’burg and we can’t revive the economy and soul of this city alone.  It must be a collaborative partnership, where the boards of City Power, Joburg Water, and other agencies and departments are reconstituted on the basis of skills and merit. Where civil society, academia and oversight committees work hand in hand to exercise oversight over the functioning of the city. From water reservoirs, electricity sub stations, clinics, libraries, roads, parks, fire stations, metro police, etc.

This election is about electing a team of public servants at the very highest levels of our City, to lead a renewal and revival of the City we all love. Our City has declined drastically over the last 16 years.

We need to drive greater transparency in public procurement, ensuring that bid evaluation and adjudication committees have their deliberations fully recorded. These recordings must be published when the successful bidder is announced.

Joburg’s economic revival will take both political will and a sincere partnership with Civil Society, Business and Academia. The promise of a city in which every person could live with dignity, enjoy equality, access quality public services and participate meaningfully in shaping their future is fading fast. This promise could be lost for a generation or more if you as a disillusioned or undecided voter don’t vote on Wednesday, the 4th of November 2026.

Our communities need accountable leadership, functioning municipalities, economic opportunity, honest government and public representatives who put people before personal interests.

With just 150 000 voters turning up for us on election day, 1111 in each of Joburg’s 135 wards, voting for Rise Mzansi on both ballots, we will secure us 300 000 votes towards the PR formula, securing us approximately 44 seats in council. That would be a powerful enough Social-Democratic block in council to determine the future mayor and political will of the next administration. At worst, we'll be in opposition benches exercising oversight alongside our partners in academia, business and civil society.

I invite all disillusioned and undecided voters of Johannesburg, particularly those who share our Social-Democratic values, to join me in building a politics rooted in renewal, integrity, service, justice and accountability. This election is about how we govern collaboratively with civil society, academia and business, whom we serve, and what kind of City we leave to the next generation.

Please sign this letter either anonymously or publicly. Share the link with friends and family and encourage them to turn up on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. And if you have the means, contribute a few hundred rands to share this letter with others, and let us try to reach 150 000 fellow residents before election day.

Reach out to the campaign on: Lukhonaformayor@risemzansi.org

Yours Incoming Mayor in service,

Lukhona Mnguni