Lukhona Mnguni outlines plan to address Joburg’s service delivery crisis

1. Priorities for restoring basic services

Restoring basic services starts with getting two fundamentals right: ensuring the municipal budget makes sense and grading services strictly in order of priority.

As RISE Mzansi, we have made a firm undertaking that within our first 70 days in office, we will focus on three key deliverables:

• Passing a fully funded budget: We will ensure the adjusted budget—which we will work on immediately upon taking office—is passed before the end of February 2027 to guarantee financial sustainability.

• Water master plan: Water plays a fundamental role in human life. In our first 70 days, we will institute a watertight Water Master Plan to guide the sustainable recovery of existing infrastructure and lay the groundwork for future expansion.

• Waste collection and management: Joburg is facing a potential environmental and health crisis due to uncollected waste. Within 70 days, we will deploy clear, demonstrable strategies to collect and recycle waste, as well as address the city’s landfill sites—many of which are nearing full capacity and require decommissioning.

2. Ward councillor accessibility and accountability

Our candidate selection strategy focuses on recruiting local ward candidates who are already deeply rooted in their communities and actively engaged in accountability work, service delivery drives, CPF structures, or ward committees. To ensure long-term accessibility and accountability:

• Structured community feedback: Ward councillors will be mandated to conduct regular, structured feedback meetings with their communities.

• Empowered ward committees: We will ensure ward committees function strictly as intended under the Municipal Structures Act, rather than being abused by power-hungry figures who stack them with allies who lack community trust.

• Regular audits and oversight: Drawing on our experience leading national accountability structures (such as SCOPA and the impeachment committee), we do not tolerate laxity at the local level. We will conduct regular audits on our ward councillors’ performance.

• Community feedback loop: RISE Mzansi will establish a direct feedback loop allowing residents to contact the party if they are dissatisfied with the performance or conduct of any RISE Mzansi ward councillor.

3. Addressing infrastructure backlogs (water and electricity)

The City of Johannesburg faces an estimated R220 billion infrastructure backlog, concentrated heavily in water and electricity. Because the city cannot simply borrow its way out of this crisis, RISE Mzansi is launching the Infrastructure Investment Fund:

• Capital mobilisation platform: The fund is designed as a vehicle to inject fresh capital into public municipal assets without over-indebting the municipality.

• Ownership structure: We propose a split ownership model consisting of 49% city-owned, 40% private equity, and 11% resident-owned shares.

• Targeted interventions: This capital will allow the city to undertake large-scale engineering interventions, such as replacing hundreds of kilometres of decaying water pipes to restore the integrity of the water network.

4. Strategy for managing housing demand and growth

Joburg’s population is projected to double every 30 years, posing a severe planning challenge in a stagnant economy. Our strategy focuses on coordinated spatial planning and inclusive urban development:

• Intergovernmental coordination: We will establish negotiated planning agreements across national, provincial, and local spheres of government to pool state-owned land parcels effectively for public use, rather than handing prime land over exclusively to mega-developers.

• Inclusive by-laws and urban planning: We will enforce development by-laws that require major private developments to include affordable, working-class housing, adhering to a “no one left behind” policy.

• Strategic public housing corridors: Informal settlements in areas like the Rivonia–Sunninghill–Waterfall corridor highlight a failure to plan for working-class housing near job opportunities. We will work with residents’ associations to create well-located, affordable housing options that reduce transport costs and food inflation burdens on workers.

5. Attracting investment amid service deterioration

Attracting investment requires a comprehensive approach that restores business confidence by fixing basic municipal inputs:

• Lowering the cost of doing business: Stabilising water and electricity supply, repairing infrastructure, and improving waste management directly lowers overhead costs for businesses, particularly SMMEs.

• Improving safety and tackling extortion: We will step up local law enforcement and public safety to combat crime, protection rackets, and extortion that severely undermine small businesses and the informal economy.

• Unlocking new growth nodes: Through the Infrastructure Investment Fund, we will build infrastructure in historically neglected areas—such as Lawley, Orange Farm, and the broader southern belt—unlocking new commercial corridors instead of relying solely on northern suburb developments.

• Spatial and economic reform: We will achieve spatial reform to de-concentrate Joburg’s economy, making the city a predictable, safe, and attractive destination for long-term private equity.

Caxton Local Media invited Ekurhuleni mayoral candidates, as confirmed at the time of publication, to participate in a question-and-answer interview, giving voters a chance to learn more about their plans, priorities, and hopes for the city ahead of the Local Government Elections on November 4.

The views expressed in these questionnaires are those of the respective candidates and do not represent the views of Caxton Local Media or any of its publications.

The answers are intended solely to provide voters with information about the candidates contesting the election and to help them make informed choices at the polls.