Abantu Batho Congress is a KwaZulu-Natal-based party founded on 8 January 2020 by businessman and former ANC/NFP uMvoti mayor Philani Mavundla, describing itself as an Afrocentric, Pan-Africanist and 'womanist' revolutionary movement focused on jobs, ending outsourcing and clean municipal finances. It has also voiced Zulu-nationalist positions (including support for an independent Zulu state in 2024) and frames its mission as economic transformation and the upliftment of the previously disadvantaged.
In the 2021 local elections the ABC won 25 council seats across 15 municipalities, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal (23) and Limpopo (2).
A match on these questions is not agreement with a party's whole programme. Here are other policies we did not ask you about.
Other recorded policies from Abantu Batho Congress
Proposed municipal ICT rollout with daily data for job seekers and teenage coding classes.
Its 2021 manifesto proposed an adopt-an-engineer scheme for skilled municipal engineering teams.
Selected policies, not a full manifesto or ballot list. National policies are context, not powers a council can exercise on its own. Local plans can also need other agencies. Read dates and sources before deciding.
Contest the 2026 local elections in partnership with another party 'under a different umbrella' of smaller parties aimed at taking over strategic KZN municipalities, with core values and policy positions unchanged.
The Witness. ABC drops election bombshell: New political alliance coming (7 Aug 2026)'Economic transformation, effective service delivery and the upliftment of the previously disadvantaged' as the basis for choosing coalition partners.
The Witness. ABC drops election bombshell (7 Aug 2026)End outsourcing of municipal labour functions and audit all outsourced services (2021 manifesto, point 1: Jobs).
SABC News. Abantu Batho Congress: LGE 2021 ManifestoFix roads and streetlights, build more clinics, adopt a water-saving strategy and enforce financial governance and revenue/expenditure laws (2021 manifesto points 5-8).
SABC News. Abantu Batho Congress: LGE 2021 ManifestoTop municipal jobs, like the city manager and the head of finance, should be filled by an independent panel. Political parties should have no say in who gets them.
The law should stop the municipality from raising rates and service charges (water, electricity, refuse) by more than inflation each year.
Poor households should get more free water and electricity, even if better-off households pay more to cover it.
The municipality should cut off water and electricity to anyone who does not pay their bill, including businesses and government departments.
Note: 2026-09-19 refresh: The Witness, 7 August 2026, reports an intention to contest in partnership with an unnamed party 'under a different umbrella'; this does not establish that ABC will appear on the November ballot in its own name. The KwaZulu-Natal focus is historical/campaign context, not a verified list of 2026 municipalities. No subsequent partner announcement, readable IEC party entry, or 2026 manifesto was verified. The party website did not return fetch results. The 2021 SABC manifesto summary reopened successfully and remains the latest verified written programme. Q17 retains its older score and date; its text allows an outsourcing audit and exceptions, rather than unconditional insourcing. Q8 is a retained low-confidence transformation inference, not an explicit procurement-preference policy. Leadership-dispute context was rechecked in https://africannewsagency.com/leadership-turmoil-threatens-abantu-batho-congress-ahead-of-local-government-elections/ (2 January 2026); the later Witness report still identifies Mavundla as president.
Parties and readers can challenge any score with a source. A person reviews every submission; accepted changes appear in the public changelog with the date and source.
Party positions were checked in September 2026 against manifestos, party statements and news reports. Spotted a mistake? Tell us. Changelog →
Answer the same statements and see your match with ABC, and with every other party.
Start the quizNo bodyguards or protection services for councillors or senior managers in ABC-represented municipalities (2021 manifesto launch).
SABC News. Abantu Batho Congress: LGE 2021 ManifestoWhere the municipality is failing at electricity, water or rubbish removal, it should pay private companies to run those services.
The municipality should cancel what poor households still owe on old water and electricity bills.
Every home should be put on prepaid electricity and water meters, including homes that now pay a monthly bill.
The municipality should buy electricity from private producers and from homes with solar panels, instead of only from Eskom.
When the municipality hands out contracts, it should stop giving black-owned businesses preference and choose only on price and ability to do the job.
"Mavundla prioritises economic transformation and upliftment of previously disadvantaged people. Retained weak inference towards preference; no explicit procurement rule is stated."
Security guards, cleaners and other contract workers should become permanent municipal employees, even if that costs more than using private companies.
"2021 manifesto says 'End outsourcing', with outsourced labour audited and assessed for scarce or rare functions. Older policy; exceptions remain possible."
Before giving anyone a house, a trading permit or a business licence, the municipality should check that they are in the country legally.
Only spaza shops and street traders with a licence should be allowed to trade. Those without one should be shut down.
Only South African citizens and permanent residents should be allowed to own or run spaza shops and street stalls.
When people occupy land or buildings illegally, they should be removed straight away, even if they have nowhere else to go.
The municipality should take over hijacked and abandoned buildings in the city centre and turn them into affordable housing.
Metro police should get more officers and the power to investigate crimes, not only handle traffic and by-laws.
The municipality should limit the hours taverns and bottle stores may sell alcohol, and close those next to schools and homes.
Renaming streets and public places after people from all of South Africa's history should carry on, even when it costs money and some residents object.