{
  "id": 728171,
  "title": "‘It’s not my fault’ motto cripples Joburg’s rescue efforts",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/its-not-my-fault-motto-cripples-joburgs-rescue-efforts",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/news/opinion/its-not-my-fault-motto-cripples-joburgs-rescue-efforts/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The city of Johannesburg continues to grapple with a series of crises, and the prevailing \"It's not my fault\" mentality among its leaders is widely blamed for the lack of effective action. This attitude, which permeates the entire political spectrum, from the president downwards, serves as a convenient excuse for illegal and incompetent behavior, leaving residents of the city to suffer the consequences. The responsibility for the city's problems seems to be offloaded onto others rather than being addressed directly.\n\nStella Ndabeni-Abrahams, chair of the ANC's local government intervention task team, has pointed the finger at the Democratic Alliance (DA) for the collapse of Johannesburg back in 2016. However, she conveniently fails to acknowledge her own party's role in the failure, also casting doubt on the EFF's previous coalition collaboration. Her optimistic view of history portrays Johannesburg under the leadership of former mayor Parks Tau as a time of prosperity, despite the fact that a decade has passed and it's clear that things have gone awry.\n\nAs expected, the DA adopts the same defensive stance, blaming everyone else for its failures. The party's former mayor, Herman Mashaba, who at times managed the city relatively well during his tenure, blames the DA for betraying him. The reality for Joburg's taxpayers, however, is that they wouldn't consider purchasing a used car from any of the city's leaders, given the reputations for corruption and incompetence they carry. If these parties genuinely cared about the city, they would put aside their mutual animosity and collaborate on a genuine rescue process.",
  "summary": "ANC task team chair Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams blames the DA for the collapse since 2016, as EFF allies are thrown under the bus too.",
  "key_points": [
    "\"It's not my fault\" mentality hinders Johannesburg's rescue efforts",
    "ANC chair Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams blames DA for 2016 collapse without acknowledging her party's role",
    "DA's Herman Mashaba blames DA for betrayal, city residents view leaders as corrupt and incompetent"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The \"it's not my fault\" mentality among Johannesburg's leaders shifts accountability away from themselves and their parties, leaving residents to bear the consequences of ineffective governance and corruption.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "ANC says it can rescue Joburg, but where is the turnaround plan?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/anc-says-it-can-rescue-joburg-but-where-is-the-turnaround-plan",
        "published": "2026-08-13T03:55:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}