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Today, the criminal enterprise masquerading as a political party, the ANC, intends on electing – unopposed – a new Mayor in the City of Joburg at an “extraordinary” meeting of Council. This is when the legislated Council term has all but ended. The rush to install a new ANC Mayor and executive has nothing to do with servicing residents (the ANC has consistently failed at that already) and is nothing more than an attempt to access taxpayer funds and use these in what will be a doomed election campaign.

It is an open secret that the ANC is practically bankrupt and has not been able to cobble together anything approximating an election campaign, having been starved of state funds since the residents of major metro municipalities ejected them from office in 2016 and chose to place the City of Joburg under the leadership of a multi-party coalition government.

Today’s actions by the ANC will be an astounding act of political arrogance, placing the interests of politicians ahead of residents, as it comes exactly one month before the residents of Joburg, and all other municipalities will elect new councils across the country in the Local Government Election of 01 November 2021.

As any resident of the City can see, on a daily basis, under the ANC’s tenure, the City has gone backwards with much of the progress made by the multi-party government, which I led, having been reversed. Due to the ANC, residents have borne the brunt of a decline in key services needed to lead dignified and fulfilled lives. Hopelessness has become the order of the day.

Residents have suffered a reduction in extended hours at city clinics; battled with deteriorating road infrastructure; seen a decline in cleaning shifts (particularly in poor communities); suffered under persistent and prolonged power outages; fallen victim to worsening safety and hygiene conditions (especially in the inner city); and witnessed a growing number of hijacked buildings in the heart of Joburg. 

Reversing the decline caused by the ANC will take careful, considered, and decisive action – certainly nothing a new ANC Mayor could begin and see to finalisation of at the end of the Council’s term. 

The only logical reason for the ANC’s intended action is to use state resources to support the ANC’s election campaign, as well as secure the financial wellbeing of their politically connected elite. should today’s election of a new mayor go ahead, one must wonder what the ANC offered its coalition partners, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the United Democratic Movement (UDM), Cope, the African Independent Congress (AIC), and Al Jama-ah to support the vote and betray the people of Johannesburg.

Should today’s anointment of a new ANC Mayor proceed, residents must hold not only the ANC accountable, but each of their coalition partners for the failing services and decline seen across the City. 

Since ActionSA’s establishment just over a year ago, we have assembled a team of South Africans committed to public service and not service of political parties, who have the skills, experience, and knowledge to achieve our vision for municipalities that work for all their residents. ActionSA stands above other parties because we have a track record of success in local government. In a party that is just a year old, we have former Mayors, MMCs, Chiefs of Staff, a Chief of Metro Police, a CEO of SALGA, Chairpersons of Portfolio Committees, and the list goes on and on.

We have taken our offer to individual voters and recent polling is proof that voters are GATVOL! of political parties who put their own interests ahead of residents’ needs. Indeed, the new polling reveals that ActionSA is emerging as the biggest party in Johannesburg while the ANC, DA and EFF have suffered significant declines.

Whether or not ANC anoints its Mayor today, with the tacit support of their ashamedly silent coalition partners in the DA, ActionSA will continue to reach every single eligible voter in Johannesburg and share our offer for resident-centric service delivery, delivering quality services that all South Africans can enjoy, and placing the interests of the residents of Joburg ahead of those of politicians and their friends.

Issued by ActionSA President & Joburg Mayoral Candidate Herman Mashaba