Mantashe Blunt Rebuke: “Councillors Can Sing, Can’t Govern”

JOHANNESBURG — African National Congress (ANC) rallied over 4,000 municipal councillors at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on Monday to launch a Service Delivery and Infrastructure Action Plan targeting chronic water shortages, crumbling roads, and electricity failures in underperforming municipalities ahead of 2026 local elections.

President Cyril Ramaphosa set 100-day improvement targets and mandated monthly progress reports, while urging ANC leaders to adopt financial management practices from Democratic Alliance (DA)-governed areas like Cape Town.

“Those municipalities that do best are not ANC-controlled… they are often DA-controlled,” he said, linking service delivery gaps to lax accountability in ANC-run regions.

ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula and National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe emphasised accountability, with Mantashe bluntly criticising councillors for “lacking capacity despite strong singing skills.”

The remarks followed social media reactions mixing cautious support for reform with skepticism about execution.

Reverend Frank Chikane, an ANC veteran, warned councillors: “If you are going to serve the people, you can’t steal from them. When you steal from the government, you’re stealing from the people.”

Ramaphosa echoed the sentiment, declaring, “Our call to action is to put the people’s interests ahead of our own,” and tasked councillors with urgent infrastructure upgrades to rebuild voter trust.