The frequency of service-delivery protests has increased by 96% since 2010, and they appear to occur most often in areas ''with high levels of fruitless and wasteful government expenditure", according to the Institute of Race Relations. The institute noted that 18% of the 176 large-scale protests recorded by Municipal IQ last year were in Eastern Cape and 21% in Gauteng, where avoidable costs of R768-million and R508-million respectively were racked up in the 2012-2013 financial year.If there is a direct correlation between the rate of protests and the squandering of public money then the release next week of the auditor-general's 2013-2014 report on our municipalities' finances will be particularly instructive, given that the municipal elections are barely a year away.Anecdotal evidence suggests that the number of protests increases in the run-up to elections, so we could be in for a turbulent 12 months, especially in the areas worst affected by official neglect.The forthcoming polls promise to be incredibly closely contested in some cities, with the ANC facing the possibility of being dislodged by opposition coalitions in metros such as Nelson Mandela Bay, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane - perhaps even Johannesburg.Ruling party leaders, shaken by the growth in support among urban voters for the DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters, have been pulling out all the stops to ensure that their flag-bearers at local level up their game.The appointment of soccer supremo Danny Jordaan as executive mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, where support for the ANC has been dented by infighting and poor service delivery, is a case in point.Expect ruling party interventions in other problem metros such as Buffalo City, which has been beset by big corruption scandals.Voters can only benefit if municipal officials feel the political heat and start doing the jobs that they are paid so handsomely to do...