Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

29 September 2026

3-minute read

The Minority Front is back in the running in eThekwini for local government elections after not contesting the 2024 national elections.

Shameem Thakur Rajbansi, leader of the Minority Front states that for the past 10 years, the party has had to rely on having only one representative in the province while carrying the workload of all the other councillors. Her aim for being back in the running after her absence for personal reasons is that she feels that she has a chance to train young people across the municipality to be good councillors.

If she leads the province, she is planning to firstly address basic needs – the issues of water and electricity. Decaying infrastructure is a huge problem, especially in the former Indian areas. Rajbansi emphasizes that eThekwini has never ring-fenced the type of budgeting required for “capital infrastructure investment.” She calls people going without water for days “a complete violation of human rights,” and says that this has led to water-tanker businesses flourishing. The procurement of water from alternate sources is dangerous as there is no guarantee of the quality and regularity of that water.

Rajbansi claims that the Minority Front “came back with quite a force” in KZN and terms them a “mighty force”. Referring to eThekwini as a “risky civic,” Rajbansi points out that “we need a wealthy city if we want a healthy city.” She plans to do things differently, prioritise key issues and “put money where it matters.”

Having spent 25 years in the KZN Legislature, Rajbansi states that “the one sore thing” with local government is the fact that the city does not have or employ thinkers and planners who direct money correctly and go out and structure budgets or process grants. From the money that eThekwini receives from the national fiscus, a lot of it is returned or goes to waste, highlighting the lacklustre attitude of those in the finance department and the fact that they are not performing at their job. Furthermore, they are underperforming and under-employing, and Rajbansi points out that they need to “build in-house capacity” with professional people who have the right skills and talents to lead eThekwini to greatness.

Listen to the full interview with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie and Shameem Thakur Rajbansi here.