Donald Trump’s slogan was, “Trump will fix it.” Like him or abhor him, the slogan was a winner. He must now fix what he and most voters considered wrong in America. If he fails, it will be tickets for the Republicans next time, and Democrats will again have a turn.
We know that our GNU has pledged to focus on growth as the generator of jobs and the eliminator of poverty. However, one serious matter that deserves urgent GNU attention is the disastrous situation in local government. All over SA town councils are in financial trouble. The Metros, apart from DA-run Cape Town, are all failing, have a revolving door for the mayoralty and the Mayoral Committee, people appointed who are quite obviously not up to the task and often based on dishing out the spoils to those who have been disloyal to the previous mayor and ruling coalition.
The result is that much of the people’s money is misspent, wasted, or looted. The people have to put up with inferior service, or no service at all. Johannesburg is a prime example. The voters, in their wisdom and as is their right, elected ward councillors from only five parties, but a number of peripheral (some would say “rats and mice parties”- but I would not be so rude) parties scraped together a few thousand votes over the whole city and managed to get one or two council seats. It is they who hold sway and who are responsible for the constant changes of leadership, culminating in the current ANC mayor, leading a coalition of the EFF and the PA, being the 7th mayor of the city since 2021.
Johannesburg has a budget of R83.1 billion for 2024/2025. We have many well-paid officials and workers, but many seem not to do the work they are paid to do. Look at virtually every traffic island; every potholed road; dozens of street light poles about to fall down; gaping open diggings never filled in after work done on water pipes; no water for days on end for many; electricity outages, with many more in the offing; a city centre that has deteriorated into a slum. One could go on and on, but the truth is that Johannesburg is in a crisis of decay and no one can be proud of the city as the richest city in Africa.
Johannesburg’s shame is repeated throughout SA. Councils are not viable and many simply fail to pay for water and electricity. Eskom is owed R90 billion by local authorities. Some of that, as in the case of Johannesburg, may be caused by over-billing, but the fact remains that many councils collect money from electricity consumers and then use that money to pay employees' and councillors’ salaries.
This ought to be a major concern for the GNU. It is mainly under ANC misrule that local government has deteriorated to this extent but urgent action is needed now to bail out councils with expertise, help, and discipline. Council officials must be put on terms, but so must governing councillors. If they fail to improve and fail to turn their councils around, they need to be replaced with competent men and women. I have some experience of DA representatives and how they are nominated. All the parties need to pay attention to sending their very best members to town and city councils throughout the country.
To reassure citizens that the crisis in local government is being taken seriously by the GNU, we need improved service delivery.
Douglas Gibson is a former opposition chief whip and ambassador to Thailand.
This article first appeared in The Star.
