WATCH: Helen Zille goes rowing on flooded Soweto road
Helen Zille is at it again!
The DA’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg in the upcoming municipal elections has been making quite a splash, literally, on social media as she points out more and more issues in the City of Gold
Zille has been going around the city campaigning for residents’ support in various ways and using social media to amplify her campaign.
In a recent video clip, Zille once again took things to the next level when she was seen rowing in an inflatable boat on a flooded Soweto road.
According to News24, flooding at Elias Motsoaledi Road’s intersection with Main Road is persistent and affects residents daily.
Navigating the flooded road has become a dangerous gamble for motorists heading towards Roodepoort.
Persistent flooding frequently forces drivers onto the wrong side of the road to avoid the water.
Zille visited the site to draw attention to the crisis, where she got into a small inflatable boat.
Locals say they have been dealing with this infrastructure failure for the past six years.
During the visit, Zille also spent time on the ground speaking with taxi drivers, municipal staff, and residents to discuss the ongoing impact of the flooded roads.
Watch here:
A follow-up video also seemingly shows how the politician’s antics worked, as a truck was seen pumping water from the flooded road.
Snorkelling in a pothole
This is not the first time Zille has got in or around water that was in a place it was not supposed to be.
The former Member of the National Assembly of South Africa shared a video on Monday, 30 March, showing her taking a dip in a pothole for her “afternoon swim”.
Of course, the aim of the video is to highlight the issue of a burst pipe being fixed only for it to burst again, and the impact these problems have on residents.
Zille points out that potholes of this size are what people in Johannesburg have to deal with all the time.
⛱️🌊 Just another day in the City of Johannesburg.
— DA Gauteng (@DAGauteng) March 30, 2026
Let’s get Joburg working. Register to #VoteDA. Visit https://t.co/SzMWMxGkD8. pic.twitter.com/et8oAkQw8v
Speaking to Breakfast with Martin Bester in a previous interview, she highlighted two key problems:
- Financial mismanagement – Joburg has a budget of R89 billion, the largest metro budget in the country. Yet it never balances income and expenditure. Entities such as City Power are meant to be efficient, but they’re instead costing billions and draining public funds.
- Patronage – Joburg has become an employment agency for the ANC.
Helen Zille's five commitments to save Joburg
The mayoral candidate revealed five things she is committed to fixing to ensure Johannesburg's start as a thriving city:
- Water
- Electricity
- Roads and Infrastructure
- By-law Enforcement – "You can't have drug lords and illegal immigrants taking over public spaces; that should be a focus."
- Revitalising Small CBDs – "Smaller business districts should be thriving."
She also spoke about the need to do things differently and to address sabotage within key municipal entities.
You can listen to the full interview here:
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Image: Instagram/ Screenshot