Johannesburg, a city in decline under ANC rule

Once a model of urban development in Africa, Johannesburg has come to represent all that is wrong with urbanization in the continent due to the failure of the ruling party, ANC, to provide basic services and upgrade infrastructure.

The city came to the spotlight of several international media outlets such as the Financial Times and most recently the Telegraph, which described the South African industrial powerhouse as a “city in decay.”

“Roads littered with potholes. Broken traffic lights not repaired for months. Rotting rubbish in the streets,” said The Telegraph in a scant criticism of the ANC which controls the city’s municipality.

“From taps regularly running dry to daily four-hour power cuts – known locally as load shedding – life for many people in Jo’burg has declined dramatically,” it said.

The city, Africa’s most insecure metropolis, has also been hit by endemic unemployment that increased grievances. The situation is set to cast a shadow over the country’s upcoming elections where the ANC is expected to have a tough challenge.