Helen Zille takes on Songezo Zibi

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Johannesburg Mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, and RISE Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi have clashed online over an article written by Zibi.

Zibi, whose party is part of the Government of National Unity (GNU), wrote an article for the Sunday Times that asserted Johannesburg is a magnet for local and international talent and capital.

However, in his article “Bravery, not Zille, is what’s missing,” he said that its citizens lack the political willingness to improve their conditions.

Zille disagreed, saying that Johannesburg has long ceased to attract talent, but is rich in commitment from residents who are trying to improve it. 

In his analysis of Zille’s candidacy thus far, Zibi’s article posed that Johannesburg is “the capital of the African continent” and that “it is a magnet to some of the best talent the country has to offer.”

“It even attracts people from all over the world, so it is not bereft of capability,” Zibi continued, “It is incredibly impoverished, however, in the willingness of many of its residents to change the circumstances of their own city.”

Zibi told Newsday that the point he was making is that Johannesburg remains the centre of South Africa’s private industry.

“It is the location of national banks, the home of engineers, and home to some of the biggest universities in the country, the University of the Witwatersrand, University of Johannesburg, the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS),” he said.

However, he added, these people are not partaking in politics, “and so the quality of political leaders is poor – I don’t think Zille would disagree with that,” he said.

He explained that he has lived and worked in Johannesburg since 2006, unlike Zille, and has noted that, while the population is frustrated, no one wants to come forward into the political arena.

“They think that politics is toxic, and they are worried about income sacrifices. These are people I socialise with, I’m not speculating. people don’t want to step up.”

He continued to say that even the DA could not find a candidate willing to stand as Johannesburg mayor, leaving Zille as the only viable option – an “old white woman from Cape Town who, at the best of times, is divisive.”

“She is a geriatric,” he told Newsday.

ZIbi wrote that that the city needs a leader who will understand land justice as “not just a historical grievance or playing to white fears,” but as an issue of spatial planning in an era of rapid, unplanned urbanisation. 

He said that the city requires leadership that will recognise that Johannesburg is the centre of capital, trapped with nowhere to go, because it has been run by people with no conception of how the real economy works.

He concluded that Zille is not the problem, but ‘a lack of bravery, imagination, and a willingness to fight for the future is missing in Johannesburg.’ 

Johannesburg has “long ceased to attract talent”

Zille responded to Zibi on the social media platform X, stating that she disagrees entirely with his diagnosis of what is wrong with Johannesburg.

“Johannesburg has long ceased to be a magnet for international or South African talent and capital,” she said.

“However, Joburg is rich in the commitment of magnificent residents, who use their talent, skills, and capital to fix what the ANC has broken.”

She said that it is this social capital, a “rich and rare attribute,” that will save Johannesburg. “For every problem, there is a residents’ group trying to fix it,” she said. 

She asserted that the city just needs a mayor who will get behind these active citizens and help take back the city from a “criminal mafia.”

“If we can get this partnership right, Johannesburg will once again become the magnet for the brightest and best across South Africa and the world. The responsibility is enormous. The time has come,” she concluded. 

Zibi told Newsday that he is not sure how to respond to Zille. The problem of poor-quality politicians, he said, is not only a DA problem, but a problem for all political parties and the city as a whole.

He said that Zille, however, reads everything he writes “with a jaundiced eye” because he said that she does not like him.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s (StatsSA’s) 2025 mid-year population estimates would suggest that Zibi is correct in postulating that Johannesburg continues to attract talent. 

Gauteng was reported as the province with the largest share of the South African population, comprising approximately 16.10 million people, or over a quarter of the country’s population. 

It is expected that the province will gain an additional 786,900 people between 2021 and 2026. 

The Western Cape, on the other hand, will grow by 319,000 during the same period, making it the second largest receiving province after Gauteng. 

Gauteng takes the largest share of international immigrants, with an estimated migration stream of 403,603 between 2021 and 2026. 

The Western Cape is expected to receive 105,403 international immigrants during the same period. 

In Johannesburg’s latest quarterly economic review for January to March 2025, the city reported that it remains the largest metro in terms of both population and economic output. 

However, it admitted that macroeconomic variables such as inflation, sluggish GDP growth, high unemployment, and poor investment conditions have negatively impacted it.

The city additionally reported that its unemployment rate is 34.7% – higher than the national rate of 31.9%.