Chris Pappas has been announced as the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) mayoral candidate for uMngeni Local Municipality ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
Image: Tumi Pakkies Independent Newspapers
Chris Pappas has officially been announced as the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) mayoral candidate for the uMngeni Local Municipality ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
The announcement was made on Saturday, with Pappas, the current mayor of uMngeni, accepting the nomination and pledging to continue the work his administration has undertaken since the DA took control of the municipality in 2021.
“Today is more than the launch of a mayoral candidate. Today is a celebration of what we have achieved together and a commitment to do more,” Pappas said.
Reflecting on the DA’s narrow victory in the 2021 local government elections, when the party secured control of the municipality by just 42 votes, Pappas said residents had chosen “hope over decline”, “action over excuses” and “good governance over corruption”.
He said the DA-led administration had concentrated on five key priorities since taking office: establishing a transparent and responsive government, growing the local economy, protecting the environment, creating safer communities and investing in infrastructure.
Pappas also pointed to several achievements during his tenure, including settling an R11 million loan, completing unfinished projects valued at R6 million and introducing a range of community engagement initiatives.
These initiatives include a WhatsApp communication line, a toll-free call centre and outreach programmes aimed at improving interaction between residents and the municipality.
As the DA prepares for the 2026 local government elections, Pappas said the party intended to build on the progress it believes has been achieved over the past five years.
Pappas said the municipality had also focused on economic growth, claiming that youth unemployment had declined by seven percent, while initiatives such as the reopening of the Ithala Centre had contributed to job creation.
He said the municipality had invested in infrastructure, increasing its roads maintenance budget from R11 million to R42 million and purchasing equipment to improve service delivery.
"When we promised infrastructure investment, we increased the roads maintenance budget from R11 million to R42 million. We purchased bulldozers, excavators, trucks, TLBs and other equipment," Pappas said.
He also highlighted efforts to improve safety, saying the municipality had installed more than 3,000 streetlights, increased the traffic department’s staff complement and introduced CCTV cameras and a new control room.
Pappas said the DA inherited a municipality that had suffered years of neglect, but argued that the administration had rebuilt trust among residents.
"We inherited a municipality that had been neglected for years. The foundations were broken. The finances were broken. The systems were broken. Communities had lost faith," he said.
However, he acknowledged that challenges remained and said the municipality still had work to do.
"No one can rebuild decades of neglect in just five years. We have never claimed to have fixed everything and never claimed that we could.
''There are still potholes to patch. Streetlights to replace. Trees to trim. There is still much more work ahead," Pappas said.
He said the 2026 local government elections would be about whether residents wanted to protect the progress made under DA leadership.
"Today we do not ask you to trust our promises. We ask you to judge our record," Pappas said.
Pappas also criticised the ANC, saying residents had an opportunity to support the DA in more wards and experience what he described as the difference made by DA-led governance.
"The people of uMngeni have seen what a DA-led municipality can achieve. Now it is time for every community to experience the same difference," he said.
He warned that the municipality’s progress could be reversed if voters changed direction, saying investment, job creation, and service delivery depended on protecting the gains made.
"Our work is not finished. There are still roads to rebuild. Communities to uplift. Investment to attract. Jobs to create," Pappas said.
The DA took control of uMngeni Local Municipality after the 2021 local government elections, making it one of the party’s key municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.
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