Helen Zille says she wants to be mayor of Johannesburg to save the city from collapse, declaring that the ANC, EFF and MK Party have created a mess they can no longer fix.
Zille made her pitch at a DA rally in Johannesburg on Saturday, where she was presented to supporters after arriving in a gisheshe BMW, as the party ramped up its campaign for the 4 November local government elections.
The former Western Cape premier said Johannesburg was on its last chance.
“Fellow Joburgers, on 4 November, you will decide the future of this great city. And make no mistake. This is our last chance to save Johannesburg,” Zille said.
She warned that another five years of coalition chaos would push the country’s economic capital beyond recovery.
“No one can fix it Johannesburg. EFF, ANC AND MK WILL BRING A GOVERNMENT OF CHAOS,” she said, arguing that a return of rival parties would mean more corruption and collapsing infrastructure.
Zille framed the vote as a choice between collapse and a functional city.
“Try to imagine waking up in a Joburg that works. You turn on the tap. There is clean water. You switch on the kettle. There is electricity. The rubbish has been collected. The traffic lights work,” she said.
“That is the Joburg I believe in. A city where our children can build a future, instead of planning to leave.”
She said residents were already doing the municipality’s work.
“Residents are doing the work their municipality should be doing. Business owners are buying generators and drilling boreholes to stay open. Neighbourhood watches and private security are protecting communities where the police have failed,” she said.
“You are the people who are keeping Joburg alive.”
Zille pointed to the DA’s track record in Cape Town as proof that the party can govern. She said the metro had won global recognition after the DA took it from the ANC 20 years ago, and later won the Western Cape.
She claimed Cape Town was replacing water and sewer pipes at five times the rate of Johannesburg, had systems to keep lights on during Eskom cuts, and that DA-run Midvaal in Gauteng had achieved 12 consecutive clean audits.
“Since 2016, Cape Town has added more jobs than all seven other metros combined,” she said.
Laying out her first-year plan, Zille said she would fix the city’s finances, appoint capable people and declare war on corruption.
“The money you pay for water must go towards water. The money you pay for electricity must fix electricity. We will replace pipes, fix substations and maintain roads,” she said.
“I do not care what colour you are. I do not care which WhatsApp groups you are on. I care whether you can do the job. And whether you are honest.”
She promised what she called Joburg’s own “Madlanga moment” – an independent investigation into corruption with public hearings and published findings.
“We will initiate an independent investigation into the corruption that has crippled this city, with public hearings and published findings. We will act on the evidence from the Auditor-General, whistle-blowers, the Zondo Commission and others,” she said.
“We will scrutinise city contracts, starting with the biggest and most suspicious. No more secret deals. No favours for connected friends. No work, no pay.”
On service delivery, she pledged to make the municipality answer phones, cut red tape for building plans and business permits, and restore law and order by targeting cable theft, illegal dumping, hijacked buildings and syndicates destroying infrastructure.
Zille claimed internal polling now shows the DA as the biggest party in Johannesburg “by far” and within reach of a majority, but warned it could still be kept out of power.
“We could win the most votes, and still end up in opposition. The ANC, EFF, PA and ActionSA could put together another chaotic coalition,” she said.