PAC leader Mzwanele Nyhontso said Zille will only bring change in Joburg for white people
Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) leader Mzwanele Nyhontso has warned Johannesburg’s residents not to vote for the DA’s Helen Zille as mayor.
Nyhontso said this in Soweto on Saturday, 29 August 2026, as the PAC launched its manifesto ahead of the local government elections scheduled for 4 November.
Zille will be running for Joburg mayor for the DA. But Nyhontso warned that she’ll only bring change for white people.
He used the DA’s running of the City of Cape Town as an example.
The PAC leader claimed that the lives of black people in the townships around Cape Town have not improved, with many living in shacks and amid violent crime.
“She will never bring change to you. She will bring change to the white people, not to you. You must be careful of [voting for her].
“Don’t play with the idea that Cape Town is well run. We have Cape Town residents, people who come from the streets and they are suffering, thanks to the DA that is running that municipality against our own people,” he said on Saturday.
Nyhontso said many of South Africa’s municipalities are “wallowing in a state of utter hopelessness”.
He blamed incompetence and corruption for this.
“It is a common feature of many municipalities that their administrations are presiding over systematic decay.
“Taps that are running dry. Electricity is erratic at best, but in most cases is hardly available. Street lights that have stayed dark for the longest time,” he said.
The use of land in South Africa was another major aspect of the PAC’s manifesto.
Nyhontso said repossessed land should be used to benefit South Africans in need.
“Without land, you don’t have dignity. And without land, you can’t claim your soul as your own,” he said.
He added that residential land should be used to promote the development of communities by “bringing opportunities for investment, entrepreneurship and employment closer to where the people live”.
He wants land to be used for housing, schools, clinics and small businesses.
The PAC previously announced Thami ka Plaatjie as its mayoral candidate for Johannesburg. Ka Plaatjie rejoined the PAC from the ANC.
Meanwhile, the MK party on Friday named Bongani Baloyi as its mayoral candidate in Johannesburg.
