JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — During a highly anticipated Johannesburg mayoral debate, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) mayoral candidate Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng unveiled a comprehensive strategy to combat financial mismanagement and restore the continent’s economic hub by holding municipal entities strictly accountable for their budgets.
Addressing voters ahead of the November 2026 local government elections, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng centered her campaign on a promise of radical fiscal responsibility and structural reform. She argued that the current state of the city demands immediate intervention to reverse historical governance failures and improve the daily lives of its residents.
“Life is certainly not better for the residents of Johannesburg,” Mofokeng stated during the debate. She attributed the city’s service delivery struggles to deep-rooted structural issues, specifically pointing to a proliferation of corporatized municipal entities. According to the candidate, these entities are burdened by bloated salaries for executives and managerial boards, as well as excessively large executive suites.
Mofokeng firmly rejected the narrative that Johannesburg is inefficient simply due to a lack of leadership, arguing instead that systemic financial waste is the primary culprit.
To rectify this, she pledged that her first days in office—upon taking on the “mayoral chains”—would be dedicated to launching an immediate, comprehensive audit and review of all municipal entities. By trimming bureaucratic fat, Mofokeng explained, the city can rapidly mobilize and redirect wasted resources directly back into the communities that need them most.
Her proposed resource mobilization plan heavily prioritizes indigent communities. Key initiatives funded by these recovered municipal budgets would include hiring more JMPD officers to bolster on-the-ground violence prevention, and accelerating housing projects. She placed a specific emphasis on the city’s housing backlog for people with disabilities, noting that this vulnerable demographic continues to be left behind.
Beyond internal audits, Mofokeng stressed that fighting graft requires strict adherence to external oversight. She outlined a commitment to working closely with the Auditor General and treating all forensic reports with the utmost seriousness. By enforcing strict consequence management based on these reports, the EFF candidate argued, the city can effectively halt corruption and immediately unlock millions in already-budgeted funds that are currently being misappropriated.
Ultimately, Mofokeng’s platform rests on the belief that Johannesburg already possesses the financial resources required to serve its people; it simply requires disciplined, accountable leadership to ensure those funds benefit the city rather than its bloated corporate structures.