Sanco national spokesperson Mzukisi Jam said the reality confronting communities remained deeply concerning. He said residents were dealing with more than they could manage and that the civic movement had repeatedly raised these concerns with the ANC ahead of the local government elections.

The ANC launched its manifesto at Riverside Park in Diepsloot, Johannesburg, on Sunday (23/8). It acknowledges that many municipalities continue to struggle with unreliable services, ageing infrastructure, financial distress, corruption and weak leadership despite improvements in access to basic services since 1994.

‘… ANC promising deadlines, measurable targets and monitoring mechanisms’

The party says its focus over the next five years will shift from expanding access to making municipal systems work reliably, efficiently and honestly. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “Clock it” message became a central theme, with the ANC promising deadlines, measurable targets and monitoring mechanisms for service-delivery commitments.

Ramaphosa said ANC mayors and councillors would have to publish priorities, establish service-delivery baselines and demonstrate measurable progress. Communities would then be able to assess whether promises were being fulfilled. Jam said Sanco welcomed the manifesto’s emphasis on challenges affecting ordinary residents.

Sanco also welcomed the involvement of alliance partners in drafting the manifesto and other engagements aimed at dealing with community concerns. Jam said the organisation would help monitor implementation of the ANC’s commitments and hold local representatives accountable for progress.

At the centre of the ANC’s municipal plan is a 100-day programme aimed at delivering visible improvements in every ward. ANC-led municipalities will be expected to repair potholes and street lights, fix water leaks and sewage spills, clear illegal dumping and improve public spaces.

Mayors will have to hold community imbizos and publish their 100-day programmes, while councillors must meet residents within 30 days and establish communication channels. Within 60 days, municipalities will also have to publish State of the Municipality reports detailing their financial, governance and service-delivery positions.

Municipalities facing problems will be required to produce recovery and delivery plans. The ANC also promises to stimulate local economies, support local businesses and catalytic projects, pay legitimate suppliers within 30 days and improve municipal finances while expanding free basic services for vulnerable households.

The manifesto groups its commitments into six priorities covering reliable basic services, economic development and jobs, safer communities, sustainable municipal finances, capable local government with zero tolerance for corruption, and stronger community participation. Councillors will also be expected to sign performance agreements and ethical pledges.

Jam said Sanco’s support for the manifesto did not diminish the seriousness of conditions in communities. The organisation has accepted responsibility for monitoring whether the ANC’s latest commitments translate into measurable improvements and says it will continue raising service-delivery failures with the party.

Meanwhile, DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis dismissed the ANC’s 100-day turnaround promises as implausible, arguing the party cannot be trusted to repair municipalities it has governed through years of decline. He said South Africans needed local governments built around accountability, competence and reliable service delivery.

The DA would protect revenue collected for water and electricity so it is spent on those services, appoint officials on merit, cut red tape that holds back jobs and investment, and hold those responsible for wasting or stealing public money accountable, Hill-Lewis.

The DA was not promising miracles within 100 days, he added, but was offering what it describes as the hard work, sound management and honest government needed to make municipalities function every day. The party argues that this approach can help build cleaner, safer and growing communities.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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