Zille reveals DA's bold rescue plan to ‘get Joburg working’ at manifesto launch

‘If Joburg fails, South Africa fails. And if we keep Joburg working, we can get South Africa working,” was the rallying cry of Helen Zille, the DA’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, during the party’s manifesto launch on Saturday, 7 March, at Johannesburg’s City Hall.

The 1,400-seat venue was filled to capacity with supporters in blue shirts emblazoned with “Believe in Joburg” at the front and “Helen Zille 4 Mayor” at the back. There was much fanfare, including live performances and professionally edited videos of Johannesburg in dire straits, as Zille announced the party’s five pledges to rescue the City marked by unstable leadership and poor service delivery.

The party has begun its election campaign with bang, set on winning an outright majority to avoid what it calls “coalitions of chaos” that have led to 11 Johannesburg mayors in the past 10 years.

This year’s local government elections could mark a turning point for Johannesburg, which was flagged by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address for its collapsing infrastructure, financial mismanagement and electricity and water interruptions.

Zille unveiled the party’s bold plan to turn the city around within the next five years by focusing on water, infrastructure maintenance, jobs and restoring law and order.

Water, electricity and roads

Water has become one of the most important issues facing the City, with failing infrastructure, high use and leaks contributing to areas enduring water interruptions for days or even weeks at a time. The DA argues that Johannesburg has a maintenance backlog of up to R300-billion – that means less than 10 cents to every rand that the City collects in revenues is spent on maintenance.

The first pledge is to ensure essential services are delivered to residents. This includes ring-fencing revenues collected from water and electricity tariffs to ensure they are spent on maintaining those services. The party also proposes partnering with the private sector to build infrastructure.

The second pledge is to provide roads that work. This includes ensuring that 95% of traffic lights are working at any given time and fixing potholes timeously, aiming for a turnaround time of 72 hours to repair them. Further, the party wants to strengthen by-law enforcement by using modern, tamper-proof technology to monitor intersections.

“Right now, drivers are sitting in chaos. And that chaos costs you money. It delays workers on their way to work. It slows the entire economy. It damages cars and even kills our loved ones on the road,” Zille said.

Attracting 200,000 new jobs to Johannesburg

The third, and perhaps boldest, pledge is that by closing the gap between government and basic service provision, it will be able to attract 200,000 jobs.

Zille pointed to the relationship between infrastructure maintenance and investor confidence, arguing that Johannesburg has lost tens of thousands of jobs as unreliable water and electricity supply has made the city an unattractive option for investors. In particular, she pointed to the industrial suburb of Selby where businesses have not had water in eight months, halting operations and putting up to 4,000 jobs at risk.

“Failing governments destroys jobs. In the last three months of last year, Joburg lost 49,000 jobs. At the same time, one metro run by the DA, which is Cape Town, gained 69,000 jobs,” she said.

Tackling crime and corruption with better governance

The fourth pledge is to take a tough approach to crime, including reclaiming hijacked buildings, stopping illegal land grabs and tackling corruption. The DA has committed to a zero-tolerance approach to illegal immigration and to cleaning up public spaces to restore order.

The fifth pledge is to improve governance in the city by hiring qualified professionals and punishing poor performers. The DA also aims to tackle the City’s billing crisis by introducing new, modern technology-backed systems.

The party is the first to publish its election manifesto, and it has its work cut out for it. The DA won 26.14% of the vote in the 2021 local government elections and is aiming for 51% this year.

In an article published by The Conversation, professor of sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Roger Southall, argued that appointing Zille as mayoral candidate is a political gamble that might be worth the risk given her name recognition.

“The DA is risking much in putting Zille forward for mayor in Johannesburg. It knows she antagonises as many voters as she attracts and that she never fails to provoke controversy. But the party clearly sees her as well worth the gamble. She has name recognition far and wide. She will draw attention. She is guaranteed to provoke debate. She will ensure that the party’s existing voters turn out in droves while large swathes of the ANC’s supporters may stay at home,” he wrote.

While election date has yet to be announced, the DA anticipates that it will be held in November. Major political parties including the ANC and EFF have yet to announce their mayoral candidates. ActionSA has announced Herman Mashaba as its Johannesburg candidate, and the Patriotic Alliance has named Kenny Kunene. DM