Al Jama-ah believes it can run the City of Johannesburg better than the DA.
Al Jama-ah’s Ganief Hendricks at the 2024 state of the nation address (Sona) at Cape Town City Hall on 8 February 2024. Picture: Gallo Images/Ziyaad Douglas
Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks has slammed former Wits University vice-chancellor Adam Habib for publicly endorsing DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille as the right person to fix Joburg.
According to reports, Habib said Zille has the necessary experience and capacity to save the metro from further decline.
“Helen defined this election from day one with her performative campaigning and her service delivery focus; everyone else is simply responding to her… My fear is that she will win the largest vote share but fall short of a majority, leading other political parties to gang up against her,” he told Times Live.
Hendricks responds to Habib’s comments
But in a statement on Thursday, Hendricks said Habib “does not know what he is talking about”.
He said the DA was given two opportunities to lead the municipality and failed both times.
“The DA had two chances and failed twice. Johannesburg cannot afford a third experiment. We need DDM delivery, stability, jobs, and dignity. While Helen Zille served as federal council chair, the DA systematically dismantled Johannesburg’s administration.
“Now, she returns to finish the job and sabotage the city’s rightful vision to stand as the iconic economic beacon of Africa,” he said.
Despite Al Jama-ah occupying the mayoral position in the City of Johannesburg on two occasions, and those mayors stepping down after criticism from their own coalition partners, Hendricks believes his party can do a better job leading Joburg.
“When the government of local unity took over from the Multi-Party Coalition, the City of Johannesburg was in its worst state in history. Organised labour was striking over the PFA, and communities were deprived of basic service delivery across all aspects of local government’s constitutional obligations.
“Crucially, the DA-led coalition suspended the revenue collection strategy, leaving contractors unpaid and grounding the JMPD fleet with threats to terminate the contract-effectively leaving the City without law enforcement resources,” he said.
SRF poll
According to the latest poll by the Social Research Foundation (SRF), the DA is leading with support at around 42%, and the ANC standing at 18%, the new kid on the block, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party polled at 13%, ActionSA polled at 10% and the EFF at 8%.
However, the DA has previously denied being responsible for the collapse of services to residents in Johannesburg. The party has blamed the government of local unity, led by the ANC.
While the City of Johannesburg has had different mayors since the 2021 local government elections, the DA has indicated that it will not stay in a coalition which will not benefit the residents of Johannesburg.
The party is now hoping for an overwhelming majority to govern Johannesburg alone. In an interview with The Citizen this week, Zille refused to comment on the conditions her party will set if it decides to go into a coalition with other parties.
