JMPD to Fine DA and Helen Zille After Unpermitted M1 Highway Campaign Event

• The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department confirmed it will issue fines to the DA following a campaign event on the M1 highway
• Helen Zille acknowledged the party did not obtain official permits but defended the demonstration as a necessary public warning
• The DA cited data showing 78% of Johannesburg's bridges need urgent maintenance, with the city spending less than 1% on repairs

JOHANNESBURG — The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is moving to penalise the Democratic Alliance after a campaign event linked to mayoral candidate Helen Zille took place on the M1 highway without the required authorisation.

eNCA reported that JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla confirmed that fines will be issued to the party and that campaign posters illegally attached to bridge structures will be removed. Fihla added that the department is engaging the Electoral Commission of South Africa to explore further compliance steps arising from the unauthorised gathering.

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Zille defends unpermitted demonstration

Zille did not dispute that the party failed to secure official permits for the event, which took place at an M1 off-ramp. She maintained the action was intended to alert the public to genuine dangers posed by deteriorating infrastructure, rather than serve as a campaign spectacle.

The demonstration centred on the state of Johannesburg's bridges. Zille cited official figures indicating that 78 percent of the city's bridges are in need of urgent maintenance or repair. She also referenced an eight-year-old municipal audit that had flagged accelerating structural deterioration as a direct consequence of deferred upkeep.

City's maintenance spending under scrutiny

Records from the Auditor-General confirm that Johannesburg's metro has allocated less than one percent of its property, plant, and equipment budget to repairs and maintenance. The National Treasury recommends municipalities direct at least eight percent of such budgets toward upkeep, placing the city significantly below the advised threshold.

The DA says it intends to keep spotlighting municipal service delivery failures in the lead-up to local elections, despite the pending enforcement action against the party.

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View Zille discussing the campaign on X here:

Malema accuses Hill-Lewis of racism

In a related article, Briefly News reported on the clash between EFF leader Julius Malema and DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis at the City of Johannesburg Leadership Debate, where they disputed coalition governance and corruption claims.

The exchange intensified when Hill-Lewis raised the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, while Malema denied wrongdoing and challenged him to provide specific evidence of EFF mismanagement.

Source: Briefly News