{"id":100163,"date":"2025-08-29T18:37:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:37:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=100163"},"modified":"2025-08-29T18:37:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T16:37:51","slug":"debate-over-helen-zille-as-johannesburg-mayor-raises-questions-on-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/debate-over-helen-zille-as-johannesburg-mayor-raises-questions-on-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Debate Over Helen Zille as Johannesburg Mayor Raises Questions on Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n29 August 2025 | 14:15 CAT<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 The Johannesburg skyline reflects both promise and decay, as debate over future leadership continues.<\/p><\/div>\n

The question of who should step into the daunting role of Johannesburg\u2019s mayor continues to dominate political discourse, with the DA\u2019s Helen Zille being one of several names raised.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Radio Islam International<\/em>,<\/a> Political commentator and senior writer at the Institute of Race Relations (IRR), Michael Morris, reflected on the debate, noting that \u201cfew individuals truly have what it takes to handle the complexities of a city like Johannesburg.\u201d He referenced TimesLIVE columnist Tom Eaton\u2019s argument that residents fall into two categories: those invested in improving the city and those invested in resisting change, often because they profit from dysfunction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a terrible thought,\u201d Morris explained, \u201cthat urban collapse can be fantastically lucrative. Think of water tanker tenders when infrastructure crumbles. A parallel economy exists in Johannesburg that depends on bad government.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morris illustrated his point with an example from Helen Zille\u2019s early days as Cape Town mayor, describing how she directly confronted a corporate ratepayer who owed the city R1 million. \u201cThat kind of decisive and transparent leadership is critical in any struggling city,\u201d he said. But he stressed that the focus should not be on one individual alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cZille has experience, but she cannot be the only answer. South Africa produces ambitious, talented people every year. There\u2019s no reason why younger leaders in their forties and fifties cannot rise to the challenge,\u201d Morris added.<\/p>\n

While some argue for localised dialogues to address Johannesburg\u2019s future, Morris believes residents already know what they want. \u201cReliable water, safe streets, potholes fixed, and a city they can be proud of. What\u2019s needed is effective politics, accountable officials and politicians who deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johannesburg, as the country\u2019s economic powerhouse, remains internationally recognised but plagued by decay. From Alexandra to Houghton, residents share the same aspiration: a functional, safe, and liveable city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge,\u201d Morris concluded, \u201cis ensuring citizens choose wisely at the ballot box. Change will only come when accountability becomes non-negotiable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Michael Morris.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 29 August 2025 | 14:15 CAT The question of who should step into the daunting role of Johannesburg\u2019s mayor continues to dominate political discourse, with the DA\u2019s Helen Zille being one of several names raised. In an interview with Radio Islam International, Political commentator and senior writer at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":100164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Johannesburg-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1550&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-q3x","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-25 11:45:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}