JOHANNESBURG, GAUTENG — As South Africa approaches the November local government elections, the African National Congress (ANC) blames coalition politics for a severe municipal service delivery collapse, arguing that fractured multi-party alliances have fundamentally broken local governance. According to party leadership, the experiment of sharing power in major cities has resulted in widespread administrative breakdowns that have directly harmed communities over the last decade.
Addressing the public, ANC spokesperson Dickson Masemola reflected on the political landscape spanning the last ten years, from 2016 to the present day. He argued that the “mismanagement of the interplay of different diverging ideological expressions” inherent in these power-sharing agreements has severely compromised financial administration and the rollout of basic public services.
Masemola stressed that the core issue extends beyond mere policy disagreements, boiling down to a fundamental lack of cohesive direction. “Everything stands and falls on leadership,” he stated, explaining that the volatile nature of these political arrangements has birthed permanent, systemic problems that municipalities simply did not face prior to 2016.
The spokesperson specifically pointed to the ongoing governance crises in key economic and regional hubs, naming the City of Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City, and Tshwane. In these jurisdictions, the constant shifting of political alliances has allegedly paralyzed local government operations and stalled community development.
Despite the sharp critique of rival political arrangements, Masemola emphasized that the party’s current electoral pitch is rooted in a “greatest sense of humility and respect to the voters” rather than political arrogance. He urged residents in coalition-run districts to recognize that the ANC remains the only organization possessing a comprehensive solution to restore stability, ultimately asking the public to mandate a single, unified vision for effective local governance.
