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The ANC says it can save Johannesburg. But promises without plans are just words.
With the November 4, 2026 local government elections approaching fast, the African National Congress is positioning itself as the city’s saviour — yet it has failed to produce any detailed turnaround strategy for South Africa’s economic capital. For millions of Joburg residents dealing with crumbling infrastructure, unreliable services and governance failures, that gap matters enormously.
ANC National Executive Committee member Dickson Masemola took centre stage at a media briefing last Wednesday, speaking in his capacity as the party’s deputy chairperson of the local government intervention task team and deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs. His message was bold: the ANC has “the necessary policies, including all that is required to get the city back to where it is actually supposed to be.” He promised improvements in governance, financial management, infrastructure delivery and maintenance if the party reclaims Joburg.
Masemola also pinned the blame squarely on a decade of coalition politics, arguing that the DA-led coalition which took control of the metro in 2016 left the city in its current mess. The ANC, he insisted, inherited a functioning city and has watched others run it into the ground. The DA has rejected that version of events outright — and they are not alone in doing so.
Independent political analyst Goodenough Mashego pushed back hard on Masemola’s narrative. Mashego argued that the tenure of former DA mayor Herman Mashaba was actually viewed by many residents as a period of renewed attention to the city — one where municipal entities were assigned clear targets and workers were insourced. Crucially, Mashego pointed the finger back at the ANC itself, arguing that the party’s decline in Joburg was partly self-inflicted: rather than acting as a constructive opposition after losing the council, the ANC behaved in ways that destabilised governance. That is a serious charge — and one that deserves scrutiny from every young voter watching this election unfold.
Political analyst Solly Rashilo offered a more balanced read. He acknowledged there is “some truth” to the ANC’s argument that certain problems predate the current administration. But he was equally clear that the sitting government remains accountable for measurable outcomes. Blaming predecessors only goes so far when residents still face daily power cuts, potholes and broken water systems.
Meanwhile, the broader legislative context is shifting. Cabinet approved the submission of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Amendment Bill — widely known as the Coalition Bill — to parliament on July 29. The bill aims to create a clearer legal framework for coalition governments and reduce the political instability that has plagued hung councils since 2016. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs wants it passed before election day. That timeline is tight, and whether the legislation will actually stabilise coalition governance remains an open question.
Here is what makes the ANC’s position particularly complicated heading into 2026:
For young South Africans — who make up a huge share of Joburg’s population and who feel the daily consequences of service delivery failures most acutely — the question is not which party tells the best story about the past. The question is which party can actually deliver a functioning city in the future. Right now, none of them have made that case convincingly enough.
The 2026 local government elections are shaping up to be a defining moment for urban governance across South Africa. Joburg, as the country’s economic heartbeat, sits at the centre of that contest. Whether the ANC can translate broad promises into a credible plan — and whether voters will give them the chance to try — will become clearer in the months ahead.
