The ANC in Greater Johannesburg has launched a scathing attack on the DA and ActionSA, accusing the two parties of holding the City of Johannesburg hostage to party politics after blocking its critical R25.3-billion funding plan.
ANC Greater Joburg Regional Secretary Sasabona Manganye said the failure of Council this week to approve the City’s Funding Plan for the 2026/27 to 2028/29 capital programme was a direct result of DA and ActionSA opposition.
“The people of Johannesburg cannot be held hostage to party politics,” Manganye said.
He said the facts must be placed before residents without political spin, stressing that the Funding Plan is about financing the infrastructure that keeps the city alive.
“The DA and ActionSA opposed the required Council approval, contributing to the failure to reach the threshold necessary to proceed with the proposed borrowing,” he said.
He accused the opposition parties of a glaring contradiction, saying they cannot lament collapsing services while voting against investment to fix them.
“The question they must answer is simple: If you claim that Johannesburg’s infrastructure is failing, why did you vote against a funding mechanism designed to invest in that infrastructure? This is the contradiction the people of Johannesburg must confront. The DA and ActionSA cannot stand before residents and complain about electricity outages, water interruptions, potholes and failing roads while opposing investment,” Manganye said.
The Funding Plan forms part of a medium-term capital programme of approximately R25.3-billion. According to the City’s budget, the programme targets major investment in electricity, water, roads, transport and other municipal services, including critical assets such as pipes, transformers, substations, buses, fire engines and refuse trucks.
“These are not political luxuries. These are the pipes, transformers, substations, roads, buses, fire engines and refuse trucks that make a city function,” Manganye said.
The ANC said the DA and ActionSA failed to present any alternative funding model or infrastructure programme to Council, choosing political theatre over solutions.
“The people of Johannesburg deserve more than political theatre. If the DA and ActionSA believed that the Funding Plan was financially irresponsible, where was their alternative? If they believed the City’s infrastructure programme was incorrectly prioritised, what alternative infrastructure programme did they put before Council?” he asked.
Manganye further warned against turning the City’s collapse into an electoral strategy.
“Johannesburg is not a political chessboard. We reject the idea that the deterioration of Johannesburg can become an electoral strategy. The DA and ActionSA must explain themselves to the people of Johannesburg. This city belongs to its residents,” he said.
The ANC is now calling for the Funding Plan to be returned to Council and for all councillors to put residents first.
“We therefore call upon the Funding Plan to return to Council and call on all Councillors to place the interests of Johannesburg’s residents above narrow party-political consideration,” Manganye said.
Both the DA and ActionSA had not responded by the time of going to publication.
However, the parties have previously raised concerns about the City’s financial sustainability and borrowing levels under the current administration.
But the ANC says blocking the plan without an alternative is reckless and will only deepen the infrastructure crisis ahead of the November elections.