JACOB Zuma’s administration needs to wake up to the old maxim: “All politics is local”.
At the moment, the mandarins who run the ANC’s Johannesburg Metropolitan Council are losing the plot.
They have been on a four nation junket, taking in the sights and sounds of Russia, China, Vietnam and India on what is described as an educational mission of some kind.
Meanwhile, their council is drowning in billions of rands in debt while basic services are in a shocking state.
The frequency with which water is cut off to suburbs is alarming.
The cynical lack of communication to residents about these cuts, which affect their lives dramatically, is perhaps more concerning.
Municipal bills are rising at a rate way above inflation but services are not improving.
These failings are felt by rich and poor alike.
The political costs are yet to be tallied, but the ruling ANC is doing what it can to stir up discontent among voters by treating them with contempt.
It might learn from Helen Zille, who prioritised sorting out the Cape Town metro. Those who benefitted from improved service delivery and a better run city rewarded her with a victory in provincial elections.
This was a dramatic illustration of how making a difference to the daily lives of people translates into greater political capital than ideological ranting.
As South Africa prepares to host the 2010 World Cup, Johannesburg appears unable to deliver water to its people on a consistent basis.
Johannesburg’s claim that is a “World Class African City” is degenerating into a joke on the streets.
Right now the only thing world class about Johannesburg is the travel itinerary of its contemptuous elite.

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3. Helen Zille on service delivery protests – full text
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5. No water for Johannesburg on Wednesday. Not acceptable