ANC vows to ‘restore’ Johannesburg but offers no detailed turnaround plan, NEC member says

The African National Congress (ANC) says it can fix Johannesburg’s deepening problems but has not set out a detailed turnaround plan, according to party and analyst comments during the lead-up to the 2026 local government elections.

ANC places blame on 2016 coalition change

ANC NEC member Dickson Masemola told a media briefing that many of Johannesburg’s current challenges were inherited when a DA-led coalition took control of the metro in 2016. Masemola is the ANC’s deputy chairperson of the local government intervention task team and also serves as deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs.

Masemola said the party has the policies, capacity and systems required to restore the city and called on voters to give the ANC a clear mandate to govern alone.

“We want to restore this city. But we can only be able to do so if the people of greater Johannesburg give their organisation, the ANC, absolute authority without any hesitation,”

he said.

What the ANC promises to change

Masemola said an ANC victory would enable the party to improve governance, financial management, maintenance and infrastructure delivery. He argued that leadership is central to the city’s problems and characterised coalition dynamics since 2016 as having created “permanent systemic problems.”

He pointed to the ANC’s earlier record in municipal government under former mayors Amos Masondo in Johannesburg and Obed Mlaba in eThekwini as evidence of the party’s past performance.

Analysts question the claim and call for proof of a plan

Independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego rejected Masemola’s assertion that Johannesburg’s decline was the result of the DA-led administration. Mashego said the period under Herman Mashaba was regarded by many residents as a time when the city received greater attention and began rebuilding, and that municipal entities were given targets and workers were insourced during Mashaba’s tenure. Mashego said the city’s decline was linked to the ANC’s response to losing control of the council and that the party had not behaved as a constructive opposition.

Mashego added:

“It’s not true that they inherited these problems.”

Political analyst Solly Rashilo offered a more measured view, saying there was “some truth” in the ANC’s argument that problems predated the current administration but stressing that the sitting government remains accountable for measurable improvements. Rashilo said Johannesburg needs competent leadership, financial discipline, infrastructure investment, administrative stability and accountability, and that

“The ANC must therefore demonstrate why governing alone would produce different results from what residents are currently experiencing.”

Problems voters are being asked to judge

The city’s challenges identified in the briefing include poor service delivery, crime, corruption, electricity and water outages, potholes, hijacked buildings, the growth of informal settlements, non-functioning traffic and street lights, water losses, and poor sanitation.

Election context and candidates

The ANC has not yet announced its mayoral candidates; the party is expected to unveil its candidates after the NEC concludes its selection process and will launch its manifesto on August 23 ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

Veteran politician Frank Chikane has emerged as the frontrunner for the ANC’s Johannesburg mayoral candidacy. If selected, he would face a crowded field that, according to the briefing, includes:

• DA candidate Helen Zille
• ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba
• EFF candidate Tlaleng Mofokeng
• Patriotic Alliance candidate Kenny Kunene
• IFP candidate Mlungisi Mabaso
• Rise Mzansi’s Lukhona Mnguni
• Build One South Africa’s Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster
• Al Jama-ah’s Shireen Ebrahim
• Land Party candidate Ntsiki Mazwai
• African People’s Congress candidate Mo-Afrika Mandla Mokoena

What’s next

The ANC is under pressure to improve its performance in the local government elections and to present a convincing plan for reversing Johannesburg’s decline. Analysts in the briefing said the party must show a credible turnaround strategy, and that demonstrating success in municipalities it currently governs would be one way to build that case.