A Johannesburg councillor has adopted unusual tactics in his demand for accountability from city officials, turning his vehicle into a protest billboard as residents in parts of the city endure water outages and service delivery issues.
Carlos da Rocha, a ward councilor in Region F, has drawn widespread attention after painting protest messages on his van, saying he was frustrated with the lack of response and accountability from municipal officials.
He told TimesLIVE he took this step after repeated failed attempts to get city officials to respond to water shortages affecting areas such as Kensington, Observatory and parts of Bez Valley.
“The problem is that officials are not being held accountable and residents end up turning to councillors for everything, yet when we approach officials, they ignore us completely,” he said.
According to Da Rocha, some households in ward 66 have been without water for days without any clear explanation from Johannesburg Water (JW) or the city.
He said repeated WhatsApp messages and phone calls to JW officials went unanswered.
“This particular section has now gone more than two days without water. There’s absolutely no reason for the reservoirs to have no water.”
Da Rocha said he used shoe polish to write messages on his van, acknowledging that the protest could cost him financially due to damage to the vehicle’s paintwork, but he said the cost was the last thing to worry about.
“When a councillor resorts to doing this to his own car, it sends a strong message. It says I don’t care about my private property as much as I care about residents being failed,” he said.
The councillor has also publicly named senior Johannesburg Water officials he claims have failed to respond to service delivery complaints, arguing that the lack of consequences has allowed problems to persist for years.
Da Rocha said the protest has shown results, with officials responding only after issues gained public attention.
“Whatever I’m doing works. If I didn’t do it, nothing would get done.”
He said instability in the top echelon of the city’s administration was worsening service delivery failures and called for “a stable council, a capable city manager and stronger oversight of officials”.
“Everything starts at the top. While politicians fight in council, officials do what they want, and residents suffer,” Da Rocha said.
TimesLIVE
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