“I KNOW we have a lot of singing councillors, but we have no councils. You all sing well. But capacity, dololo (nothing).”
This was what ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe told his council members on Monday as the leading party in the Government of National Unity addressed growing service delivery failures.
President Cyril Ramaphosa continued the tongue-lashing to thousands gathered at FNB Stadium in Soweto, adding that the ANC must learn from the Democratic Alliance (DA), admitting that DA-run municipalities are run better.
Ramaphosa said: “I can name it here because there’s nothing wrong with competition.
“We need to ask ourselves what they are doing better than us. There’s nothing wrong with going to see what Cape Town or Stellenbosch is doing.”
He expressed frustration at ANC municipalities falling behind, saying: “It hurts me deeply when I see our municipalities sometimes going backwards. We cannot forever stay at the bottom.”
Ramaphosa said the Auditor-General had informed him that many ANC-led councils don’t even prepare their own financial statements, relying on external help.
He urged the ANC to deploy qualified people, particularly those with accounting and financial skills.
The president added: “Our country is not short of people who understand numbers. Let’s go and find them.”
It has sparked a reaction within the ANC, which could backfire in the latest round of municipal ward by-elections.
IOL News reached out to ANC councillors in Gauteng. While some expressed disappointment, others declined to comment.
“Eish… no response,” said Ward 100 (Cosmo City) councillor Lyborn Ndou in Johannesburg, adding a disappointed emoji.
Ward 114 (Zandspruit informal settlement) councillor David Mangena said, “I went there just to get marching orders, not to debate the marching orders.”
The DA welcomed Ramaphosa’s remarks as an endorsement, as DA DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille prepares to run for the mayorship of Johannesburg in next year’s local elections.
DA national spokesperson Willie Aucamp writing in a statement: “Everything that the DA does is aimed at improving the lives of all the people of South Africa.
“Where we govern, that means that a DA government performs at the highest levels, delivers services, spends public money on the public, and eliminates corruption.”
Political analyst Solly Rashilo said Ramaphosa’s praise of DA-run municipalities signals a complete lack of confidence in the ANC’s own governance.
