Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dickson Masemola’s attempt to blame coalition governments for service delivery failures in major metros has drawn sharp criticism, which has accused the ANC of reversing the truth about who is responsible for municipal collapse.
Speaking at an ANC media briefing this week, Masemola blamed coalition politics for a decade of service delivery failures in Johannesburg, eThekwini and Buffalo City, arguing that these cities have suffered “permanent systemic problems” since 2016 when coalition governments began replacing single-party ANC administrations.
The ANC NEC member appealed to voters in coalition-governed municipalities such as Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and Tshwane to return the ANC to power with an outright majority, claiming the party is the only credible alternative capable of fixing these cities.
DA says ANC is the common denominator
But DA Federal Council Chairperson Ashor Sarupen rejected Masemola’s claims as “not merely untrue, but reversing the truth”.
“Johannesburg and eThekwini are governed by ANC-led administrations. And in Tshwane, the ANC deliberately removed the stable DA-led coalition of Mayor Cilliers Brink and replaced it with another political arrangement designed to effectively return the ANC to power,” Sarupen said.
“The common denominator is therefore not coalition government. It is the ANC.”
Sarupen said where the ANC leads coalitions, cities collapse, whilst where the DA leads coalition governments, the ANC works to bring them down.
Cities show pattern of ANC-led decline
In Johannesburg, the ANC and its partners have presided over financial deterioration, infrastructure failures, collapsing roads, unreliable water and electricity, and an administration increasingly unable to perform basic functions, according to the DA.
In eThekwini, years of ANC rule has produced decaying infrastructure, significant failures in water infrastructure and chronic service-delivery failure.
In Tshwane, the DA-led coalition under Mayor Brink was making measurable progress in repairing the city before the ANC helped remove Brink and destabilise the city for its own political benefit, Sarupen said.
“The ANC cannot overthrow a functioning coalition in Tshwane, lead failing coalitions in Johannesburg and eThekwini, and then blame ‘coalition politics’ for the consequences of its own conduct,” he said.
Masemola’s comments on 12 August received significant public pushback on social media, with many South Africans criticising the ANC’s track record and rejecting the party’s attempt to shift blame onto coalition dynamics.
ALSO READ: Johannesburg’s essential services are rapidly deteriorating
ANC voters favour DA cooperation
Sarupen said that now, polling at just 18% in Johannesburg, languishing in third place in eThekwini and trailing the DA in Tshwane, the ANC has suddenly discovered the virtues of “one-party control”.
“What Masemola really means is total ANC control, regardless of how decisively voters reject it,” he said.
He added that even ANC voters do not support this approach. The latest SRF polling shows that 80% of ANC supporters favour cooperation with the DA where no party wins a majority.
“The ANC leadership is therefore not only ignoring the country; it is ignoring its own voters,” Sarupen said.
As Deputy Minister of Cogta, Masemola has been involved in the government’s efforts to regulate coalition governments. The cabinet approved the submission of the Coalition Bill to Parliament on 29 July, with the aim of reducing municipal instability before the upcoming local government elections.
Sarupen said South Africans have now seen both models in action: opportunistic ANC-led municipal coalitions that preside over collapse, and DA-led municipalities that deliver.
“The choice in this election is not between coalitions and stability. The choice is between ANC-led collapse and DA-led government that gets municipalities working for all,” he said.
ALSO READ: Johannesburg water crisis threatens thousands of jobs as DA heads to court
