Helen Zille is the last hope for Johannesburg, says former Wits VC

Former Vice Chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Dr Adam Habib, has thrown his weight behind the candidacy of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Helen Zille for Johannesburg mayor.

The outspoken former VC, a political scientist, recently posted to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that “Helen is the last hope for JHB.”

He added his advice to Zille, recommending that she focus on Johannesburg, steer clear of foreign policy, and avoid getting distracted by student politics.

“Bring excellence and skills back to Johannesburg’s appointments, deal with its criminal networks and fix water, roads and electricity,” he said.

Habib was the VC of Wits from 2013 to 2021, a period that included navigating the FeesMustFall movement on campus, where his hardline positions often frustrated protesting students.

During his tenure, the university consistently ranked as South Africa’s highest institution in the Center for World University Rankings’ list.

He resigned to take on a role at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

Habib’s endorsement was met with mixed reactions, with many in the comment section disagreeing with him using “swear words, crude racism and threats,” according to the former chancellor.

He defended his position, saying he truly believes Zille is South Africa’s economic hub’s “last hope”, given her experience in “having stewarded the turnaround of a municipality.”

“There is no one else in the race who has her experience or skills and could pull this off,” he said.

Discussing controversies surrounding Zille, he referred to a recent interview on Newzroom Afrika, in which she responded to Xoli Mngambi’s question on the conflict in Gaza being classified as a genocide.

Her “genocide is a very big word” statement has drawn widespread criticism from pro-Palestine groups and opposition parties.

“Has she got a hypocritical position on Gaza? Yes. Is her broader position on foreign policy problematic? Yes. Will she be great for economic inequality? No,” said Habib.

“Here is the simple truth: the Twitter outrage and not voting for Zille will not stop Netanyahu or Trump and the genocide in Gaza, but it will deprive residents in Johannesburg from water, electricity, proper billing, and service delivery,” he said.

Habib added that despite her views on foreign policy, Zille is the only candidate on the list prepared to make the difficult decisions to fix the city.

“The ANC, EFF, or any other candidates will break the last functioning elements of the city,” he claimed.

Johannesburg’s “last hope”

Habib claimed that those who are prepared to suffer these consequences in service delivery for not voting for Zille out of principle are speaking from “private suburbs with renewable energy, boreholes and security.”

The poor will suffer the consequences, as they cannot afford to buy themselves out of the collapse of public service, he said.

Habib said another frequent argument from detractors is that Zille’s past experience in Cape Town shows inequalities in the provision of services between elite and poor areas. 

“But is Johannesburg somehow better as a result because it fails to provide water, electricity, and services to rich and middle-class areas? Are we now advocating for equality through the generalisation of poverty?” 

He concluded that those who vote for a mayor based on the colour of their skin, their gender, religion, or whether they agree with them on all issues, will continue to live in a city burdened with corruption, incompetence, and lack of service delivery. 

“I don’t care if Helen is 75 years old, I don’t care whether she is white, I don’t care about her ancestry, or her religion, or whether I agree with her on all issues.”

“I simply care if she can turn around Johannesburg better than anyone else on the list,” he said.