EDITORIAL | Local government elections are ANC’s last chance to show it can deliver

Last weekend, the ANC became the latest political party to publish its local government manifesto ahead of the November 4 elections. As is standard fare for political parties facing an electoral contest, the ANC sought to sell itself as a solution to the crisis that has grown to engulf local government over the years.

The party unveiled what sounded like a shopping list of promises, ranging from setting service delivery timelines for those it deploys to infrastructure maintenance, job creation, local economic development and fixing municipalities’ finances (particularly notorious for being mismanaged). It also undertook to provide reliable water and electricity, eliminate tender corruption and put into office “qualified, capable leaders”.

For voters in municipalities around the country, where life has become progressively more unpleasant owing to council failures and incompetence, the crucial question will be how the party’s promised interventions will meaningfully improve their quality of life. A secondary one is whether the ANC, a key political player over the last three decades of democracy, will this time be able to deliver on its promises.

It is trite to say that local government has, since the arrival of democracy, become a weak link in our governance architecture. Yet this is where governance most directly affects citizens’ quality of life, including their access to basic services such as water, electricity, good roads and personal safety.

Crucial to honouring any promises made, by the ANC or any other party, is ensuring that municipalities are run by councillors who prioritise serving the public, as opposed to using their positions to accumulate undeserved personal wealth for themselves and their cronies. And without the necessary skills and capacity, such councillors will obviously fail in their oversight role. At all levels of local government, those elected and appointed must be ethical people.

It remains to be seen whether [the ANC] is ready to let meritocracy triumph over political patronage in making council appointments

While the ANC appears to have taken to heart the need to professionalise local government administrations, it remains to be seen whether it is ready to let meritocracy triumph over political patronage in making council appointments.

Given the malaise evident in many local authorities, including most metros, it is obvious that recovery at the municipal level will require the active co-operation of various partners, including the private sector and civil society. At least in Johannesburg, big business has committed to such a partnership. And examples abound of successful state and private sector partnerships, such as those put in place to help turn around Eskom’s generation problems and implement reforms at Transnet.

From a voter’s point of view, the debacle surrounding the unveiling of the ANC’s mayoral candidates would have raised questions about the party’s ability to run the public administration or fix the problems besetting local authorities. Despite the positive spin the ANC tried to put on the fiasco, the party will have come across as disorganised and unable to run its own affairs effectively. Again, the ANC appears to have fallen victim to its own internal political intrigue, leaving even those voters who might support it guessing, with just over two months left to the polls.

In all, many of the party’s promises sound on paper to be eminently reasonable, speaking as they do to the country’s well-known local government problems. But the rub here is that the ANC is not known for implementing even its more progressive policies and resolutions. Therefore, many would be forgiven for taking what the party says with a pinch of salt — until it proves them wrong.

The ANC is asking the voters to trust it one more time. On November 4, the citizens, who have had experience of its rule and have given it a chance before, will make their decision known.