At least 148 local government officials have been murdered in South Africa since 2018 — and the attacks have ramped up in the past four years. The deaths — predominantly linked to corruption, with those targeted often whistleblowers — need “urgent attention”, warns the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu). It says corruption and violence in municipalities are closely connected to the collapse of service delivery. Mbuyiseni Ndlozi is in conversation with SAMWU General Secretary, Dumisane Magagula and Local Governance Expert, Prof. Alex Van Den Heever.