Cities don't fail all at once.

On 4 November, South Africans will vote in local government elections that will help determine the future of our cities. Before the campaign slogans, before the promises and before the ballots are cast, we have just one question:

Can South African cities be fixed? Not in theory. In practice.

One broken streetlight, one abandoned building, one wrong contract signed in a backroom. Nobody notices – until everybody feels it. And increasingly, that's where South Africa's future is being decided.

National politics may dominate the headlines, but cities are where residents experience government every day. They're where infrastructure either works or doesn't. Where investment arrives or leaves. Where public spaces thrive or decay. Where opportunity is created, or lost.

That's why The Gathering 2026 is going local.