The City of Cape Town has responded to online criticism by ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula, after he tweeted a video of flooding in an ANC ward in Dunoon yesterday.

Mbalula suggested that the City’s response to flooding in working-class communities was inadequate.

He wrote:

“This is Du Noon, Ward 104, where recently we won a by-election. It’s been raining heavily in Cape Town. One wonders how the DA-led city will respond to the flooding crisis in many working-class neighbourhoods. They will probably be silent. They will not do the drama they did in Joburg ?? Maybe we have an opportunity to build our own narrative.”

However, the City of Cape Town says the situation along Silverleaf Road, as depicted in the video, was largely caused by nearby illegal structures built over stormwater and sewer infrastructure, making maintenance impossible.

In a reply on X, the City added that some residents have blocked manholes with rubble and cement, leading to repeated flooding, and said a long-term solution would require relocating affected structures. The City says community engagements are ongoing.

“This causes repeated flooding of the nearby properties. Unfortunately, the City is unable to carry out the necessary work as it cannot locate or get to the infrastructure that needs to be unblocked. Interim measures that have been implemented by the City’s Road Infrastructure Management (RIM) Department have had limited impact as the only resolution requires the relocation of the affected structures, until then the City is unable to maintain the infrastructure.

 

The RIM team has confirmed that some residents living in these structures fill up the manholes with building rubble and cement among other inappropriate items and this has ultimately caused for the system to collapse.

Water cannot drain away after heavy rains as is the design of the system due to the manmade blockages and no clearing of the blockages can be done due to the unlawful occupation.”

This is Du Noon, Ward 104 where recently we won a by-election. It’s been raining heavily in Cape Town. One wonders how the DA-led city will respond to the flooding crisis in many working class neighbourhoods.

They will probably be silent. They will not do the drama they did in… pic.twitter.com/r8chGljpb6

— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) April 19, 2026

Good day, please see: https://t.co/o0Wja9AeEf

— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) April 20, 2026

City teams have responded to several complaints of localised flooding, while assessments are still ongoing to determine the full impact of this past weekend’s inclement weather.