Zille pledges 200 000 new jobs in Johannesburg

Democratic Alliance Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille has launched her “Get Joburg Working” mayoral campaign, pledging to create 200 000 new jobs in Johannesburg.

Zille unveiled five campaign pledges during the launch, with water supply and job creation forming the centrepiece of her platform. Her third pledge focuses on attracting at least 200 000 new jobs to the city.

She said recent labour market trends show Johannesburg losing jobs while Cape Town has recorded employment gains.

In the past three months, Johannesburg lost 49 000 jobs while the DA-run City of Cape Town gained 69 000 jobs.

“We will attract these 200 000 new jobs by bringing Joburg’s business centre back to life and restoring confidence in our city, because when there is confidence business will invest and create jobs. That is just the rules of economics,” she said.

Zille said more than 400 000 jobs had been created in Cape Town and that the DA intended to replicate similar results in Johannesburg.

Her first pledge focuses on stabilising basic services such as water and electricity. 

“Our first pledge is, what else could it be, to provide reliable clean water and a steady electricity supply. The people of Joburg pay for these services and often don’t get them,” she said.

Zille said her administration would ring-fence revenue from rates and taxes to fix and maintain infrastructure.

“Money collected for water must fix water, money collected for electricity must fix electricity, and not fund the ANC’s friends and family, and blue lights and Johnny Walker blue. The only blue thing that is in Johannesburg is the DA,” said Zille.

Her second campaign pledge centres on repairing the city’s roads and transport infrastructure.

“We will fix the road that keeps Joburg moving and we won’t call a ribbon cutting every time we fix a pothole because they’ll be fixed every single day. And within the end of our term we will be able to fill potholes within 72 hours of reporting them,” she said.

Zille also committed to ensuring that 90% of traffic lights are operational and to restoring order at road intersections.

She said there are more than 50 000 broken pipes reported annually and more 100 000 potholes destroying cars, adding that the current administration lacked a plan to address the crisis.

Zille also took aim at Patriotic Alliance deputy president Kenny Kunene who serves as the city’s transport member of the mayors committee over a recent pothole repair event.

“Fixing a pothole has become such a rare event in Jozi that Kenny Khunene announced a ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday to celebrate the occasion. He wanted to cut a ribbon to open a fixed pothole. He probably just opened another pothole.”

“He couldn’t even get to his ribbon cutting ceremony because another pipe had burst nearby creating another pothole.” 

“That is why he is called Kenny Khunene of the Pothole Alliance,” she said.

Zille’s fourth pledge focuses on law enforcement and tackling corruption: “We will kill corruption even if the corrupt try to kill us”.

She said job creation and stronger policing would help fight crime, reclaim hijacked buildings and curb illegal land invasions.

“We will have zero tolerance for corruption, and illegal immigration that undermines the rule of law. Crime destroys cities,” she said.

Zille also promised action against corruption within the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department: “We will fire corrupt officers and send them to jail”.

Her fifth pledge centres on building a professional and capable municipal administration.: “We want results. We will treat our law abiding services with the respect they deserve,”

“We ask you to pay your rates and taxes and in return we pledge to rebuild the city’s capacity to deliver quality services and fair value for money,” she said.

Zille said political decisions and voter choices had contributed to the city’s decline.

“Politics and voter choices broke Joburg, but only politics and new voters choices can fix Joburg,” she said.

She also reminded voters that President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously praised municipalities governed by the Democratic Alliance as among the country’s best administered.

“Everyone knows what we know. If Joburg fails, South Africa fails. But if we can get Joburg working we can get South Africa working,” she said.

Zille said Johannesburg faced an infrastructure backlog estimated at R300 billion and accused the ANC-led coalition governing the city of failing to invest adequately in services.

She said the current administration spends less than 10 cents of every rand collected from rates and taxes on infrastructure.

“And since the last local government election in 2021 mayors in the ANC coalitions of chaos have only focused on surviving the next motion of confidence,” she said.

Zille said municipalities governed by the DA, including Cape Town and Midvaal, demonstrated improved outcomes for residents.

“Absolute poverty in Cape Town has dropped from 33% when the ANC governed Cape Town to 19% now. That is the most important statistic to tell our critics who say we only govern for the suburbs,” said Zille.