From hawking on the streets of Limpopo to Harvard Business School and now to City Hall, Rali Mampeule wants to be Johannesburg’s next mayor.
The President of MOVE SA has confirmed he will contest the 4 November 2026 local government elections as the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg, framing his run as a business rescue mission for a broken metro.
“You can’t keep building in a city that’s broken,” Mampeule said.
Mampeule, who founded the South African Housing and Infrastructure Fund (SAHIF) in 2019 and currently serves as its CEO, is no stranger to big promises around housing and infrastructure. His company claims to be tackling South Africa’s housing backlog, and he sits on the boards of MetroFibre Networx, the Global Surgery Foundation and the University of Johannesburg Research Centre.
Now he wants to apply what he calls boardroom principles to a municipality drowning in debt, late payments and cadre deployment.
“I got tired of watching good people fail inside a system that was never built to help them,” he said. “I can build a house. I can fund a project. But I cannot make a city pay its suppliers, fix its roads or hire on merit unless I am the one running it.”
His pitch comes at a time when Johannesburg – the country’s economic hub – is on its knees. Under successive coalition governments since 2016, the City has lurched from one mayor to another, failed to collect billions in revenue, and left small businesses waiting months to be paid for services rendered. Roads are potholed, water cuts are routine, and investor confidence has collapsed.
Mampeule says that is exactly why he is running.
“It is not about one party or one mayor. It is about a habit. We reward who you know instead of what you can do, and ordinary people pay for it every single day,” he said.
In an interview with BizNews, the MOVE SA leader outlined what he calls “fearless” politics: ending cadre deployment, appointing qualified professionals, enforcing performance contracts, and paying suppliers within 30 days.
MOVE SA – which is contesting only in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni – is campaigning on five pillars: good governance and accountability; housing and infrastructure development through public-private partnerships; economic development and job creation; community participation; and fixing the city’s payment system to support SMMEs.
The party is also pushing a business ecosystem play, with proposals like Business Fibre, MOVE Financial Services and MOVE Mobile, aimed at giving township entrepreneurs connectivity and access to finance.
Mampeule’s own backstory is central to his campaign. Raised in Magoebaskloof, Limpopo, he started as a street hawker before building a real estate empire. That journey, which later took him to Harvard, is being sold as proof that he understands both poverty and investment.
“Do not vote for me because I speak well. Vote for me if what I have built matches what I say. And if I fail, you will know where to find me,” he said.
Critics will ask whether a property developer with no municipal experience can fix a R20 billion infrastructure backlog and a deeply politicised administration. Supporters will argue that is precisely the point – that career politicians have had their chance and failed.
Mampeule is not alone in the crowded mayoral race, which will see the ANC, DA, ActionSA, EFF, and Patriotic Alliance all vying for control of a city where no party holds an outright majority. But his entry adds a new dimension: a businessman-candidate promising to run Joburg like a company that must deliver or die.
“This is not complicated,” he said. “People in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni have heard enough speeches. They are asking whether anyone will actually do the work. I intend to.”
On 4 November, Johannesburg voters will decide if they want to move with him.
