Gauteng Premier Lesufi calls for urgent protection for councillors amid a high number of assassinations
The African National Congress (ANC) Gauteng co-convenor and Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, called for urgent protection for councillors and whistleblowers working within municipalities following a high number of assassinations.
Lesufi was speaking on Monday during a mass gathering of ANC councillors at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.
“We are proud and happy that we have convened all councillors today, and the message I suspect all councillors want to bring to the National Executive Committee (NEC) members of the ANC is one message,” he said
Addressing party members, Lesufi painted a grim picture of the dangers councillors face.
“To be a councillor in this era is a difficult task, comrade president (referring to ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa),” he said.
“Our councillors are not only under attack from our communities. There are people that are hired, there are people that are resourced, there are people that are on a mission to kill councillors – literally, comrade president”
His comments come after mounting pressure on the ANC to clean up its ranks or risk losing further electoral ground.
With the 2026 local elections fast approaching, the party is scrambling to repair its public image following years of governance failures.
Persistent water shortages, deteriorating infrastructure, and widespread corruption have plagued ANC-led municipalities, despite promises of clean governance and improved service delivery made during the 2021 elections.
Many communities are reportedly worse off today, with critical funds misappropriated by politically connected officials and contractors.
Political experts have warned that the ANC’s continued failure to deliver basic services could spell electoral disaster.
A recent ANC meeting in Boksburg was aimed at crafting a turnaround strategy, but critics argue it may be too little, too late.
Local government has become a “cash cow” for corrupt officials, while ordinary South Africans face daily struggles without water, electricity or functioning roads.
Internal power struggles and the pursuit of influential positions have taken precedence over public service, critics say.
On Monday, IOL News reported that ANC national chairperson Gwede Mantashe criticised his party’s councillors at the FNB Stadium gathering, saying they are more interested in singing than in governing.
“I know we have a lot of singing councillors, but we have no councils. You all sing well, but capacity dololo (nothing),” Mantashe told the crowd.
He questioned the quality of leadership.
“That is the council we are having. Comrades who are councillors, leaders of the ANC, who make noise when a meeting is underway. What kind of leadership is that?”
Meanwhile, at the ANC NEC meeting in Boksburg over the weekend, Ramaphosa addressed the party’s declining local government performance, blaming underperforming councillors and deployed cadres for the wave of service delivery protests across the country.
“Often, protests happen not because people are unreasonable, but because they are not informed about the real challenges municipalities are facing,” Ramaphosa said.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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