Gauteng government and DA clash over local governance challenges

A WAR of words has erupted.

- MASABATA MKWANANZI

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.