ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula has shifted blame for Johannesburg’s deterioration onto coalition governance, stating that the city’s decline began only after the ANC lost control.
Mbalula’s comments, made during a media briefing at Luthuli House on Thursday, follow criticism from President Cyril Ramaphosa about the city’s poor condition, especially with Johannesburg set to host the significant G20 Summit later this year.
Johannesburg, along with other major metros, has seen significant infrastructure and service delivery issues over several years, predominantly during periods of ANC governance. However, Mbalula insists that the instability and rapid deterioration began specifically under coalition governments.
“The city was stable when Parks Tau was mayor. The problems started when Johannesburg fell into the hands of coalition governments. We moved from one unstable coalition to another, which has impacted service delivery significantly,” Mbalula stated.
Mbalula, who recently made similar claims on social media, argued that the city’s frequent mayoral changes and coalition politics were primarily responsible for the decline.
However, former Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse disagreed, challenging Mbalula’s assertion. Phalatse said the city’s longstanding issues resulted from decades of mismanagement by ANC-led administrations, emphasizing that the short periods of coalition rule were insufficient to reverse years of maladministration.
Addressing these concerns, Mbalula referenced Durban (eThekwini), where an ANC-deployed task force successfully tackled infrastructure issues, suggesting a similar approach would benefit Johannesburg.
President Ramaphosa recently introduced a working group involving multiple governmental levels and stakeholders to help stabilize Johannesburg’s finances, operations, and infrastructure, aiming to restore economic growth and improve service delivery in the metro.
