Despite facing intense criticism and scrutiny over her stance on foreign affairs, Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille has declared that her focus remains on fixing the failing infrastructure in the City of Johannesburg.

Speaking exclusively with Polity, Zille addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding her position on the Israel-Gaza conflict, which has seen some critics accuse her of being evasive or holding double standards.

Zille dismissed what she said were attempts to turn the municipal election into a debate on international relations, arguing that such tactics are aimed at derailing her campaign for the upcoming local government elections.

"I'm fighting to be mayor of Joburg, not Ramallah, or Bethlehem, or Tehran, or Gaza City, or Tel Aviv. I'm focusing on fixing Joburg," Zille stated.

She argued that those pushing the geopolitical debate are merely trying to prevent a DA victory.

"They do not have any other argument to use. They cannot point to a single success that they have had in government. It is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to try and turn the election for Joburg into an international relations issue,” she said.

Zille’s campaign is primarily focused on reversing the collapse of services in the City of Johannesburg, which she has likened to the decline of ancient Rome, owing to internal decay.

She highlighted that the city faces a crippling infrastructure backlog estimated at R300-billion, requiring an urgent and drastic change in management.

"That's going to have to take a lot of partnerships. It is going to have to take partnerships with the utilities renewal programme that is being set in motion by the national treasury. It is going to need a lot of private partners, not only private business, but a lot of community organisations who are really maintaining parks and other things,” she said.

She emphasised that tackling the city's financial distress is her priority.

She has previously pledged to ring-fence revenues to ensure money is spent on service delivery rather than administrative bloating.

"The first thing we must do is focus on the finances and having the right people in the right places. If you don't get the finances sorted out, stop corruption, and focus the money where it is needed and where it can be productively used for service delivery, you're never going to fix this problem,” she said.

Addressing the issue of administrative capacity, she promised a shake-up of the civil service to remove political appointees.

"If you have deployed cadres in critical service delivery posts who aren't adequately qualified or hard working enough or anything like that to get the job done, then you've got an equal problem. So, we're going to look at capacity,” she stated.

Zille said there has been a “curious aversion” to digitisation in Johannesburg, which she claimed is intended to facilitate corruption.

“To counter this, we must digitise. We need password-protected access to digital records so we can monitor exactly who is accessing them and what they are doing. Furthermore, we must ensure that any remaining extractable records are properly preserved and retained,” she stated.

She pointed out that the situation at the Metro is an “absolute disaster”.

“… I have no doubt that the purpose has been to loot and create an income stream through its demolition and redevelopment.

“While some political leaders call for the scrapping of Johannesburg's entities, I disagree. These entities can function exceptionally well if they are led by highly competent professionals,” she said.

Zille explained that her plan is to ensure boards consist of experts in essential service delivery fields, such as water, roads, refuse removal, and power.

“…if managed correctly, these entities are the key to effective governance,” she said.