A war of words hs erupted.
The Gauteng government and the Democratic Alliance have become locked in an escalating political battle over collapsing municipalities and worsening service delivery, with Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s administration defending the Premier’s Coordinating Forum (PCF) as critical to stabilising local government while the DA argues the structure has failed to stop Johannesburg’s deepening financial and infrastructure crisis.
The Office of the Premier defended Lesufi’s Premier’s Coordinating Forum, describing it as a key mechanism aimed at strengthening governance, coordinating interventions and improving service delivery across Gauteng municipalities.
The provincial government accused the DA and Gauteng opposition leader Solly Msimanga of undermining intergovernmental cooperation while overlooking the historical and structural pressures facing municipalities in South Africa’s economic hub.
This comes after Msimanga sharply criticised Lesufi’s Coordinating Forum, arguing that it has failed to prevent the deterioration of municipalities, mounting debt owed to Eskom and Rand Water, and worsening service delivery failures across Gauteng.
“The statement from Lesufi’s office about the Premier Coordinating Forum (PCF) is a deflection from the fact that the Gauteng Provincial Government has sat idle while Gauteng municipalities have fallen into financial ruin,” said Msimanga.
He argued that Johannesburg’s ongoing collapse reflected governance failures rather than funding pressures or urban growth challenges.
“Johannesburg has gone from being South Africa’s economic engine to requiring repeated bailouts and national intervention. This is not a funding model problem but a governance problem,” he said.
The DA further maintained that Midvaal remained evidence that municipalities could function effectively under DA leadership, citing clean audits, economic growth and stable service delivery.
“For 14 years, Midvaal has received clean audits, consistent service delivery, and economic growth,” Msimanga said.
However, the Gauteng government dismissed the comparison between Midvaal and Johannesburg as simplistic and lacking context, arguing that the province’s metros face vastly different demographic, economic and infrastructure pressures.
Gauteng government spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said comparing Johannesburg’s population of nearly five million people to Midvaal’s roughly 112,000 residents ignored the scale and complexity of challenges confronting large metros.
“Comparing a city of Johannesburg with nearly five million residents to Midvaal, a municipality of 112,000 residents, is not serious governance analysis.
“He is again applying a one-size-fits-all approach. In the revised Draft White Paper on Local Government released last week by Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, a differentiated approach is proposed, thus moving away from a one-size-fits-all model to a system that assigns powers based on municipal capacity, performance, and local developmental needs,” said Mhlanga.
The Office of the Premier also accused the DA of applying what it described as a “Western Cape model” during its time governing Gauteng metros, alleging that affluent and predominantly white suburbs were prioritised while township communities were neglected.
The provincial government said that roads deteriorated, sewer systems collapsed and water supply became increasingly unreliable in townships during periods of DA-led coalition governance.
“Under their tenure, waste collection in Soweto collapsed, with bins left unemptied for weeks, even as northern suburbs received consistent service,” said Mhlanga.
The Premier’s office further alleged that racially biased staffing decisions resulted in experienced black officials being sidelined or removed, contributing to instability and a loss of institutional knowledge within municipalities.
Mhlanga also rejected suggestions that the PCF was merely a political platform, insisting it remained central to coordinating provincial interventions and supporting struggling municipalities.
“It is a constitutionally aligned platform that brings together the provincial government, municipalities, state-owned entities and key stakeholders to coordinate planning, improve service delivery, and address systemic challenges affecting residents across Gauteng,” he added.
Msimanga, however, insisted Gauteng residents needed decisive intervention rather than “another forum”, calling for stronger financial oversight and urgent action to restore collapsing municipalities.
The Star