In October 2025, Africa Check published a report fact-checking claims made by Democratic Alliance (DA) federal council chair Helen Zille during a heated interview on Johannesburg radio station 947.
Zille is the DA’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg in the 2026 local government elections.
Of the six claims we evaluated, we rated two correct and four incorrect.
Africa Check initially assessed one of the claims – that “Johannesburg spends less on maintenance than any other city in the country” – in the context of water system maintenance. At that point in the interview, it appeared to us that Zille was still outlining her plan to address Johannesburg’s water crisis in response to a caller’s question. (Note: A transcript of the relevant sections is available here.)
However, following publication, Zille informed us that she had been referring to maintenance spending in general, not only water infrastructure. She said her source was a “recent local government report from the auditor general” and specifically directed us to page 108 of the report. It states: “None of the metros budgeted sufficiently for repairing and maintaining their assets, and all eight spent less than the National Treasury norm of 8% of the value of property, plant and equipment on repairs and maintenance. City of Johannesburg had the lowest spend (less than 1%), followed by Buffalo City and City of Tshwane (both less than 2%).”
What does this mean for Zille’s claim?
Property, plant and equipment
The national treasury told Africa Check that “property, plant and equipment” (or PPE) is the wide range of assets held by municipalities.
These are from land and transport assets to water, sanitation, electrical and solid-waste infrastructure, as well as machinery, office equipment, community assets, buildings, roads, storm-water and coastal infrastructure, and even zoo and marine assets.
The treasury also confirmed to Africa Check that it recommends municipalities spend 8% of their PPE value on repairs and maintenance.
What the audited outcomes show
Data from the auditor general for 2023/24, the most recent available, confirms that Johannesburg spent less than any other metro on repairs and maintenance of its PPE.
The above table shows that Johannesburg’s spending has declined significantly in recent years, from R2.8 billion in 2020/21 to just R229 million in 2023/24.
While none of the metros met the treasury’s benchmark of spending 8% of their PPE value on repairs and maintenance, the City of Cape Town came closest. The eThekwini municipality also tended to spend more than other metros.
We have corrected our report to reflect this information and now rate Zille’s claim as correct. Zille did not comment on the other three claims we rated as incorrect.
Editor’s note: As we head into local elections in 2026
Each year, Africa Check undergoes independent verification to confirm our compliance with the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles. This covers our commitments to non-partisanship and fairness, a transparent corrections policy, and full openness regarding our sources, methodology and funding.
We take accuracy seriously. When we make a mistake, we acknowledge it and correct it transparently.
As South Africa heads towards the 2026 local government elections, our goal, as with every election we’ve covered across the continent over the past decade, is to help voters make informed decisions. This includes fact-checking claims made by political parties and mayoral candidates from across the spectrum.
We do this in the face of accusations of bias, and even legal threats, because we believe the integrity of our work speaks for itself.
We welcome feedback. You can leave a comment under an article or email us at [email protected]. Both channels are monitored daily. And as the campaign season unfolds, you can also send claims you’d like us to fact-check. – Cayley Clifford
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