By Akani Nkuna
The Democratic Alliance (DA) federal leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, has called on Johannesburg residents to reject the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) persistent challenges and failures, emphasising that most of the challenges confronting the city can be fixed.
Speaking in Johannesburg on Thursday during the DA’s campaign roadshow where hundreds of party supporters and members gathered, Hill-Lewis emphasised that the idea of getting CoJ working for all sounded simplistic yet powerful and added no political party stood a chance competing with the DA’s pledge.
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“Even if you were not born here, you live here now. You want your family to have a better future. You want your family to be able to live in safety. You want your family to be able to have access to job opportunities; that is why you are involved in this campaign,” he said.
“No South African, no Joburger ever has to accept the failure that we see in our country and in our city. We do not have to accept it because we can fix it. This city can be better for everyone.”
The campaign formed part of the DA’s Local Government Elections (LGE) 2026 campaign trail as the November 4 election date fast approaches and political parties intensify their campaign, especially in Metropolitan Municipalities.
Hill-Lewis has also expressed pleasure at the prospect of the party attracting new voters, saying that this symbolises a vote of confidence afforded to the party by the country’s electorate. He further reaffirmed that the DA will repay the voter confidence with heightened service delivery.
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The DA leader said that CoJ’s challenges are compounded by a lack of political will despite all its vast economic potential, highlighting the city’s water and power shortages and describing them as instances where the city’s leadership continues to display a lack of urgency and willingness to address.
“Joburg does not lack potential. What it lacks is a government that honours that potential and lives up to that potential… when government fails, you pay twice, you have to pay your municipal account, and you [also] pay for a water tanker,” Hill-Lewis said.
Meanwhile, the party CoJ Mayoral Candidate, Helen Zille, has urged DA supporters and Johannesburg residents to avoid giving their votes to “small parties” as she argued that they divide the vote, thus creating an environment where “bad parties” like the ANC continue to govern.
“Now I have a small word to those who divide their votes to tiny parties. That will just bring more of the same, an unstable coalition where all the parties fight for their own advantage and not for you. Be careful of parties that promise to remove the ANC and then allow it to continue to loot,” said Zille.
Zille said that many people were financially benefiting from Johannesburg’s failures through the theft of electricity cables and the looting of public funds, warning that such rogue and criminal elements, enabled by the current city administration, will fight to keep things as they are.
“The government I lead will cancel crooked contracts; we will remove corrupt officials and bring criminals to justice. When honest workers speak up, we will have their back. We will protect whistle-blowers,” she said.
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