It’s hard to see how the ANC can reverse its electoral decline in Joburg without exorcising its internal demons and tackling deteriorating service delivery in Africa’s richest city.
Almost a year ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed shock at the state Joburg was in. But more shocking for long-suffering residents was that the city, especially the city centre, happens to be the place of business for Ramaphosa as ANC leader.
Since then he has deployed a team to assist the city, with a “bomb squad” established to lead an intervention. A similar initiative was instituted in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, though it was accompanied by the sacking of its ineffectual executive mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda.
Ahead of the hosting of the G20 summit and the meetings of the B20, the private sector arm of the intergovernmental forum, more money was spent to spruce up the city’s public infrastructure, such as its pothole-ridden roads.
Yet a few months after the successful hosting of the summit, residents again experienced the same presummit difficulties: unrepaired potholes, electricity “load reduction”, cable theft, crime, malfunctioning traffic lights and a water crisis.
Making matters worse, ANC infighting ensued, with attendant leadership uncertainty. Joburg executive mayor Dada Morero lost his regional party leadership position to councillor Loyiso Masuku, and the latter’s supporters duly demanded Morero be removed from his government job — just months before the local government elections due later this year.
This internal wrangling, a proxy war for access to resources, has not only caused uncertainty but also destabilised the administration of the city. Despite the high-level interventions, including a presidency-led water crisis committee, service delivery remains dire.
The ANC-led council still has no credible plan, even though the service delivery failures have provided campaign material to the opposition on a plate.
Despite the high-level interventions, including a presidency-led water crisis committee, service delivery remains dire.
Former DA federal chair Helen Zille, who is now the party’s mayoral candidate for Joburg, has seized on these delivery gaps. Last Saturday she staged a stunt that drew national attention, paddling an inflatable boat in a huge pothole in a northern suburb of Joburg. The pothole was hastily repaired after this gimmick.
A recent poll by the Social Research Foundation and The Common Sense puts DA support at 39% in Joburg — a gain of 13 percentage points — and the ANC’s at 30%, a decline of about three points compared to 2021.
If elections were held tomorrow, the DA would be the largest party and be in pole position to anchor a new coalition government. With the persistent service delivery challenges and infighting, it’s hard to delink the decline of ANC electoral support from these issues.
The party has yet to name its mayoral candidate, though Herman Mashaba, the former DA mayor of the city who now leads ActionSA, has published a manifesto specifically aimed at keeping Zille out of the mayorship.
The ANC seems consumed with containing internal strife. For example, its disbandment of its KwaZulu-Natal leadership after a dismal electoral performance in 2024 has led to a reshuffle of the provincial task team’s leadership.
The party has a lot on its plate. Apart from propping up unstable coalitions in several provinces and municipalities, it has to carefully manage two key calendar events — the upcoming local government elections and the election of its next national leader and executive committees.
The ANC’s elective provincial conferences have been marred by chaos, court challenges and controversies. In the process, residents’ interests in service delivery have been subordinated to party squabbles.
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