DA federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, said only the biggest parties, the ANC or DA have what it takes to effectively govern the City of Johannesburg – if they win the local government elections outright. 

In an interview with eNCA on Sunday, Zille dismissed the city’s patchwork coalition government as a circus of instability, blaming splinter parties and voter apathy for the decline in service delivery across Johannesburg.

She urged voters of Johannesburg to stop splitting their vote amongst “all sorts of tiny little parties” if they want to see change in the city.

“There are only two parties that are big enough to take Johannesburg. One is the ANC and one is the DA,” she said.

“If they’re going to split their vote amongst all sorts of tiny little parties, then you’re going to have these incredibly unstable coalitions and you’re going to have musical mayors.”

Zille’s comments come as Johannesburg continues to reel from years of political chaos.

The city has had nine mayors from different political parties in the space of eight years but the city-state kept on declining.

Most recently, before Mayor Dada Morero, a shaky coalition was led by Al Jama-ah’s Kabelo Gwamanda, propped up by a fragile alliance of ANC, EFF, ActionSA and smaller parties.

The governing coalition has struggled to present a coherent plan, with major service delivery issues — from power cuts and potholes to water crises and crumbling infrastructure — plaguing the metro.

The city is run by a coalition government led by the ANC.

Zille didn’t hold back in criticising the fragmented governance model. “If you don’t vote, you can’t complain, can you?” she asked bluntly.

“You can’t complain that the whole city is collapsing and say that you didn’t vote for whatever personal reason you might have had.”

Her solution? A majority-led government, ideally by the DA — with herself potentially at the helm.

Zille has shown interest in becoming the next mayor of Johannesburg.

As local government elections loom in 2026, Zille’s call is clear: voters must choose decisively between stability or continued chaos.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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