ANC deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane. (Ntswe Mokoena)
ANC deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane said the Johannesburg municipality is in crisis because the ANC has not been in charge of it for the past 10 years.
Mokonyane was speaking to the Mail & Guardian during a door-to-door campaign led by the ANC Women’s League in Orlando, Soweto, to commemorate the sixth anniversary of Winnie Mandela’s death.
“We are in this mess here in Johannesburg precisely because the ANC has not been in power for 10 years,” Mokonyane said.
She accused opposition parties of “taking away the allocation of free water and electricity services”.
Mokonyane added that this is why they were out in their numbers to encourage people to vote “having learned with the last local government elections where our people didn’t come out and vote.
“Not coming out to vote can be a setback to resolving electricity, housing, water unemployment, peace and stability.”
Gauteng has been struggling to provide basic service delivery, with some communities going for months without water or electricity, under various political parties.
The Johannesburg metro has been under the leadership of the Government of Local Unity, which is headed by the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters, since 2023.
According to the latest polls, the ANC is unlikely to retain its outright majority in Gauteng which would result in a coalition government.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has been accused by opposition parties of electioneering and ensuring that the ANC wins a majority by using Nasi Ispani, a job initiative, to woo voters to vote for the party.
Lesufi has gone as far as promising residents of Gauteng that he would cancel the debt of defaulting Eskom customers.
In a bid to ensure Gauteng residents have electricity, Lesufi said the provincial government would fix transformers, a task which normally falls to municipalities and Eskom.
Mokonyane told the M&G that energy security is the responsibility of all three spheres of government — local, provincial and national.
“Energy security becomes a responsibility of everyone. It can’t be just for the national and that is why we are supporting the initiative of Gauteng working together with City Power to resolve these kinds of things,” she said.
Mokonyane said they were satisfied with what the minister of water and sanitation Senzo Mchunu was doing to resolve the water crisis.
ANC Women’s League president Sisisi Tolashe said the party did not doubt that ANC was going to win Gauteng. She said the people of the province wanted to vote for the ANC.
“The Gauteng government is doing its best to see that the complaints of our people in Gauteng are being addressed daily,” she said.
“Premier Panyaza is doing what is expected of him, as well as his cabinet. He is making sure he resolves difficulties that exist in Gauteng.”