The content is highly shareable and highly effective. It puts the service delivery failures of Johannesburg — power cuts, water shedding, collapsing roads, R89bn in debt — at the centre of the story, with her as the protagonist who is willing to get her hands dirty.
However, her content creation is characterised by lethal risks, from swimming in seemingly contaminated water to drag racing.
Public health experts have warned about exposure to sewage-contaminated water, and road safety experts have questioned the wisdom of high-speed stunts for a 74-year-old candidate.
It is yet to be seen if all her efforts will yield positive results, or whether voters will see it as gimmickry rather than governance.
Having observed the risks involved on her campaign trail, it seems Zille may have outclassed her political peers in appealing to the electorate.
While other parties are present on the ground — the ANC's Gwede Mantashe has been visible in various parts of the country, and the president has criss-crossed townships — none have produced a single candidate with the same cut-through.
In an election where national figures are being parachuted into local races — Zille for Johannesburg, Godrich Gardee for Mbombela — she has understood that local government is no longer a junior league.
It is now the strategic battleground for national influence ahead of 2029.
This election occurs in the midst of much despondency in the country.
Unemployment remains above 32%, municipal debt is crippling service delivery, and coalition governments in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni have collapsed repeatedly since 2021.
That is why no party is guaranteed an outright majority in many of the metros.
Voters are fatigued, angry, and spoiled for choice, with 60 parties registered in Johannesburg alone.
The waterborne disease outbreak in Tshwane is another headache for the parties leading that metropolitan municipality.
More than 200 cases of diarrhoeal disease linked to water contamination have been reported in Hammanskraal and surrounding areas in the past month.
The timing of such an occurrence is too bad for political parties, especially those in charge. It allows opponents to point to a single tap and say: this is the failure of the state.
For the incumbent administration, it becomes impossible to campaign on a record of improvement when clinics are filling up.
All political parties campaigning in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg have dismally failed to exploit the revelations of the Madlanga Commission, which has thus far exposed shenanigans that had become assured, especially at Ekurhuleni.
The commission has heard testimony of tender rigging, protection rackets, and criminal infiltration of municipal supply chains.
That should be campaign gold.
Yet perhaps all or some of the parties avoided the topic in their campaigns because some of the horror stories may have happened under their watch, when they were part of coalitions or had members implicated.
These elections will come and go on November 4.
South African politicians, however, need to learn one thing: to halt politics post-election and focus on service delivery.
Since 1994, SA politics has had a trend of not separating electioneering and governance.
The losers do not allow winners to implement their manifestos.
Once they lose the election, courtrooms become an arena for unending debates about policy and the constitutionality of laws passed.
Johannesburg has had seven mayors in five years because of that.
Voters do not need more spinning.
They need water that is safe, lights that stay on, and potholes that are filled.
November will tell us if indeed Zille has been heard.
Sizwe Kupelo is a government spokesperson and former journalist. He writes in his personal capacity.
