Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

08 October 2026

2-minute read

As political parties ramp up their financial outlay pre-elections, analysts warn that the astronomical costs of modern campaigning can create reliance on donors whose deep-pocketed lifestyles can easily translate into political leverage.

With thousands of candidates contesting thousands of municipal seats, political analyst Dr Ongama Mtimka stated that there are significant logistics to running a high-impact campaign. At the signing of the code of conduct where political parties gathered alongside the IEC, he said that he was grappling with the concept of loyalties in representative democracies.

Dr Mtimka pointed out the reality of councillors who assume office rarely making good on their promises to voters and those who funded their campaigns. He referenced the age-old idea mentioned to by Plato of whether it truly is possible to get representatives who mean well and “can act in the best interests of the offices that they hold and the constituencies that put them in power.” The Machiavellian take, on the other hand, outlines that rulers come into office based on their own nefarious agendas and those who fund them. Receiving money and resources from different groups in society like businesses, organised labour, the underworld, and crowdfunding are not without their implications, Dr Mtimka added.

Citing the proverb from isiXhosa that states that power is limited and that no individual entity can protect themselves from vulnerabilities of every kind, Dr Mtimka’s instructive thinking is that individuals “should be striving to be good for the sake of good itself,” and meet what is required of them.

Listen to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Dr Ongama Mtimka here.