The Democratic Alliance's Johannesburg caucus has accused the ANC of creating a crisis of failing infrastructure and service delivery in the city while attempting to distance itself from responsibility by calling for investigations as if it were in opposition.
ANC cannot distance itself from the crisis it created
In a statement issued on 31 August 2026 by DA Johannesburg Caucus Leader Cllr Belinda Kayser-Echeconjou, the party said the ANC-led administration's recent calls for probes into infrastructure failures amount to “nothing more than a distraction from its failure to run the city” and a “political smokescreen to avoid accountability.”
Kayser-Echeconjou emphasised that the ANC cannot wash its hands of the problems because it remains the governing party. “The ANC appears to have forgotten that it is the ANC-led coalition that governs the City of Johannesburg,” she said. All 13 municipal entities are 100% owned by the City of Johannesburg Municipality, and Executive Mayor Cllr Dada Morero, an ANC mayor, serves as the city's shareholder representative across those entities.
Budget cuts and ongoing service delivery failures
She pointed to specific budget decisions under the ANC-led administration, stating that it had removed approximately R850 million from City Power repairs and maintenance, as well as millions from City Power security. Residents, she said, continue to suffer repeated vandalism of infrastructure alongside prolonged electricity outages, failing water systems, sewage spills, potholes, poor refuse collection and overall deteriorating municipal services.
“The political leadership of the City therefore cannot wash its hands of the repeated failures of entities such as City Power and Joburg Water,” the statement read. “For years, Johannesburg residents have endured [these failures]. The ANC now calls for investigations into infrastructure failures as though it is an outside observer. It is not. It is in government and has shareholder representation across all 13 entities, which have failed the residents of Johannesburg.”
Investigations must not become a political smokescreen
The DA said it has already called for multiple credible, independent and transparent investigations into possible negligence, vandalism, theft or criminal conduct. However, it insisted such probes must not become a means of deflecting political responsibility. The ANC-led administration, the statement argued, has long held the authority to ensure proper governance of municipal entities, hold boards and executives accountable, and protect critical infrastructure – yet residents continue to pay the price for political interference, poor governance and boards packed with ANC cadres.
Kayser-Echeconjou posed a direct challenge: “The question the ANC must answer is simple: If you are governing Johannesburg, who exactly are you calling to investigate?”
DA's alternative and the choice facing residents
Looking ahead to the 4 November 2026 elections, the DA reiterated its manifesto commitment to a high-performance institutional culture in which senior management would be held accountable against measurable outcomes, with consequences for corruption or underperformance and recognition for excellence. The party claimed a proven track record of service delivery and infrastructure investment, contrasting this with what it described as the ANC's failure to govern Johannesburg effectively even when it held an outright majority since 1996 and its failure to invest adequately in infrastructure.
“The ANC cannot govern Johannesburg, oversee its entities and then attempt to position itself as the opposition when those entities fail,” Kayser-Echeconjou said. “The ANC-led administration must take responsibility for the mess it created in Johannesburg and for the appointments it made to the boards and management of these entities.”