The prospect of Helen Zille entering the race for Joburg executive mayor signals a huge shift for the better in the DA’s posture towards Gauteng and its crucial metros.
Gauteng has for the past decade been the ANC’s single biggest governance vulnerability. Of the three Gauteng metros to be hotly contested in the local government elections — set for 2026 or early 2027 — Joburg is where the ANC’s standing is weakest. It has really been up for grabs for opposition parties, but none has risen to the occasion — until now, perhaps. The prospect of Zille being selected by the DA should galvanise other parties.
Zille, chair of the DA’s federal council, is still considering making herself available. On Sunday she told the FM: “I don’t want to get ahead of things. If I decide to run, a very tough internal selection process lies ahead. If I am successful, I will have to do an in-depth study of the state of the city to really understand how to sequence the many priorities.
“On the basis of my current information, I would say they are: stabilising the finances; ring-fencing revenue for utilities; and ensuring that people appointed to positions can do the job required of them.”
If she does get the job, it won’t be easy. Zille, who was mayor of Cape Town from 2006 to 2009, believes it would take at least two terms to effect a proper turnaround. “Joburg is in a far, far worse state [than Cape Town was in 2006]. Incomparable, actually. The tragedy of Joburg is the consequence of 30 years of bad governance. We managed to win Cape Town in time to turn things around over a few years. Joburg is quite different.”
Zille knows Joburg, having been educated at St Mary’s in Waverley and Wits University. She was a journalist for several years with the Rand Daily Mail newspaper.
Until now, the DA has hardly given the impression of prioritising the city or any metro in the province, says Social Research Foundation chair Frans Cronje.
“Who is the leader of the DA in Joburg? Very few people can tell you. So why would you think that the party is growing? What is it growing towards? And then in an effort to address the shortcoming, you get Zille — which is good for her, at the age of 74. But it does say something.”
Cronje has a point. The DA’s caucus leader in the city, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, has no profile in the townships and has limited herself to areas housing the party’s key constituency, the northern suburbs. Even there, she is not well known.
“So the DA doesn’t grow, because it is not present or impressive,” says Cronje. “If you wish to grow politically … you inculcate the realistic belief in voters that by voting for you, their lives will get better. That’s it.”
Zille’s potential entry into the race has been received with glee or revulsion, depending on what side of the political fence you are on. But her achievements in Cape Town and as premier of the Western Cape (2009-2019) are irrefutable, when objectively looking at concrete metrics such as auditor-general reports, city and provincial employment levels and the handling of the debilitating drought of 2016-2018.
By contrast, the ANC has shown no imagination and no ambition in Joburg over the years.
Under Parks Tau’s mayorship (2011-2016), revenue for utilities was wrongly channelled into the main budget. The result was that maintenance of critical infrastructure fell away, culminating in the water, power and sanitation crises the city faces today.
If you wish to grow politically … you inculcate the realistic belief in voters that by voting for you, their lives will get better
— Frans Cronje
When mayor Dada Morero took office for a second time in 2024 (he was also mayor for 25 days in 2022), he boldly urged residents not to expect too much from his administration. He has delivered on this promise; the city’s administration has continued its sharp decline.
President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his dismay at the state of the city in a visit earlier this year, but Morero is still in his post. Now, he would like to convince residents that his newly appointed “bomb squad” of ANC veterans will turn things around ahead of the G20 summit in November.
It’s an insult to the intelligence of Joburg residents. Morero had to wait for a dressing-down by Ramaphosa to rouse himself. Ratepayers were simply not important enough for him to intervene when he took over.
Morero is facing an internal challenge in the ANC and, regardless of what Zille does, is unlikely to be the face of the ANC’s election campaign. There is a strong internal ANC push for Loyiso Masuku as mayor, but she has accomplished little as MMC for group corporate and shared services, a strategic post she has held since 2023 — a squandered opportunity.
The city’s administration is bloated and ineffective. Operation Vulindlela, Ramaphosa’s signature reform project located in the presidency, recently turned its attention to the country’s metros. It found that staff costs have surged by 84% over the past decade. At the same time, spending on infrastructure and maintenance declined by 31%. Rates and utility costs increased by 101% and 91% respectively, far above inflation. This indicates residents are simply not getting bang for their buck in the country’s large cities, which house 46% of the population and should be centres of economic growth and development.
“If Zille gets the nod internally, it will raise the bar,” an ANC insider tells the FM. “Though she does come with some baggage, her track record in delivering is there. The problem with us [the ANC] is that we follow the internal process with its flawed democracy and end up with disappointing cadres in key posts.”
If Zille decides to go for the top job in Joburg, all parties — including the DA — will have to up their game markedly in the elections. Perhaps for the first time in our democratic politics, a politician could be elected to a key position because of their track record and ability to get things done.
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