Shaken by the growth in support among urban voters for the DA and the Economic Freedom Fighters, the ANC is piling on the pressure to ensure that its municipal flag-bearers up their game ahead of next year's local government elections. This was exemplified by the left-field appointment in May of soccer supremo Danny Jordaan as executive mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.After years of mismanagement, infighting and neglect by the ruling party and recent inroads by the DA, the metro that includes Port Elizabeth was beginning to resemble a marginal seat, with support for the ANC falling to below 50% in last year's general election, from 67% in 2006.Jordaan promptly unveiled a budget which slashed unnecessary expenditure by officials and turned a large deficit into a surplus.In another apparent attempt to appease disenchanted voters, the ANC in Mpumalanga has, in recent months, recalled four mayors deemed to be failing to perform.Then, yesterday, President Jacob Zuma announced that he had ordered the Special Investigating Unit to investigate serious allegations of maladministration in East London, where the Buffalo City municipality is accused of misusing ratepayers' money.Expect several important heads to roll in the scandal-prone metro, whose municipal manager was placed on precautionary suspension earlier this month.It also emerged yesterday that another ANC mayor had been recalled, this time in Zeerust, North West.Factional battles may be playing a role in some of the shake-ups but, according to ANC insiders, instructions from the top are that clean, effective governance must be prioritised to keep potential voters on board.It is unfortunate that it takes the real possibility of serious reversals at the polls to spur the ANC into action, but if the end result is better service delivery, then so be it...