By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) secretary general Fikile Mbalula has defended the party, saying that the roll call is part of the party’s introspection and accountability measures.
Mbalula briefed the media post the party’s councillors roll call in Nasrec, South of Johannesburg.
On Monday, thousands of ANC councillors from across South Africa assembled at the iconic stadium to evaluate their performance since the 2021 local government elections.
Mbalula said their deployees will do their work knowing precisely what is expected of them.
He revealed that the ANC has committed itself to regular progress reports to measure performance, adding that in the next 100 days, there would be comprehensive reporting to track progress.
“The NEC is directed to ensure that by the end of the next 100 days, visible progress must be registered in core service delivery areas. Potholes must be repaired. Refuse must be collected on schedule. Water leaks must be fixed without delay, and street lights must be functional. Where housing projects stalled, councillors must engage with communities, and government departments must remove blockages and ensure progress,” he stated.
He claimed, “The number of stable municipalities has increased. Targeted measures to address municipal debt with Eskom and water boards have yielded results in restoring financial viability in certain areas. Presidential working groups in eThekwini and Johannesburg have provided valuable governance support.”
But as of 31 March 2025, municipalities owed a staggering R131.8-billion to creditors, up from R106.7-billion in the same quarter of 2023/24. The National Treasury has threatened to cut off funding for defaulting municipalities.
In Johannesburg, where Mbalula claims a presidential working group is making progress, many residents still suffer from water shortages and the city’s water crisis is far from solved.
ANC NEC member and Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina said that Johannesburg has already procured 20 water tankers. These will belong to the municipality.
“We started in March to encourage all the municipalities that have contracts for water tankers to start negotiating out of that contract. Let municipalities insource their water tankering.”
Majodina said using water tankers should not be a permanent service delivery mechanism.
“Let them be an intervention in an instance where there is maintenance or a water pipe burst, without going through the long process of procurement.
She said her department is funding municipalities with two grants.
“Between now and the next 14 days, we will be writing to municipalities to say, having had this councillor’s roll call, what are the key challenges. How much do you have and what capacity do you have? “she said.
Majodina said there were instances where municipalities did not use the funding they had for water projects properly.
ANC NEC member and deputy minister of Cogta Dickson Masemola said it cannot be business as usual when the majority of ANC-led municipalities are found to be performing badly.
“Some of the worst performing municipalities in the country are found in the Free State and North West, places where the ANC enjoys overwhelming electoral support. The people of Free State and North West deserve better from the ANC,” he stated.
The event kicked off the ANC’s local government election campaign, but it appears unlikely to change anything for residents in ANC-run municipalities. The party is no longer fighting to win majorities in most of the metros, but it stands a chance to keep control of their budgets if it can limit its recent losses and form coalitions as a leading party.