Why the ANC wants another chance to fix failing municipalities

Experience, an action-oriented approach and accountability. These are some of the key reasons the ANC believes it deserves another opportunity to address failing municipalities ahead of the local government elections.

The party recently launched its local government election manifesto, where party leaders acknowledged past service delivery failures and asked voters for another chance to prove themselves.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula outlined why he believes the party deserves renewed trust from voters.

“We have experience,” Mbalula said. “We are action-oriented. We admit to our mistakes, and we are fixing them as we speak. Some have been dire and costly, but those weaknesses are being corrected.”

Mbalula insisted the party has a practical strategy to revive failing local administrations. “We have a plan that is not based on fiction but on reality. We are talking about restoring water and electricity, fixing potholes, managing budgets, building more houses for our people and constructing proper infrastructure.”

He said the party plans to address rapid urbanisation and upgrade informal settlements as more people move to major cities.

“These targets are not thumbsucked. We believe they are doable.

“We are working on them even within the constraints of coalition governance, where we lead in several municipalities and metros.”

While several ANC-run and coalition-managed municipalities face severe service delivery failures, persistent financial mismanagement and infrastructure collapse, Mbalula argued that coalition arrangements have often worsened the issues.

“When municipalities fell into the hands of coalitions, we had to govern with partners over whom we have no control,” he said. “While that does not excuse our weaknesses, it deprives us of the total power needed to govern effectively.”

He cited the Emfuleni municipality as an area where performance degraded under coalition management.

“Emfuleni has been a disappointment for us. Once it fell into coalition hands, things became worse, which led to a change in leadership. We are a majority party that performed better when governing alone, but once coalition politics took over, the situation deteriorated further.”

Mbalula contended the ANC has delivered strong results in areas where it holds a clear majority.

“We demonstrated what we could achieve in Johannesburg before it fell into coalition hands. The ANC performed well. We fixed potholes and governed consistently when operating on our own.”

Addressing long-term goals, Mbalula said the party’s commitments extend well beyond election day.

“Our work will not end after the elections,” he said. “The public has a right to demand results, and we must deliver on the promises we make. Where we fall short, we must admit it and account for it, but we should not exaggerate or mislead our people.”