South Africa’s richest city collapsing – sparks protests
The City of Johannesburg is experiencing civil protests under the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) banner, demanding action to stop the metropole’s deterioration.
The protests included people from the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Defend Our Democracy, and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).
Other organisations who joined included Action for Accountability (A4A), Johannesburg Inner City Partnership, and the Rivonia Circle.
The civil protest took place on Saturday, 27 July 2024, at the Johannesburg Metro Centre and called for an end to the crisis in the city.
“It is crucial that we all come out in our numbers to heed this call and stand for our city against the ineffective and absent leadership we have been given,” the protestors said.
The JCA said Johannesburg’s dysfunction is rooted in unstable coalitions and neglected maintenance of core infrastructure.
The organisation places the City of Johannesburg’s executive mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, at the heart of the dysfunction.
Ahmed Kathrada Foundation executive director Neeshan Balton, who spoke on behalf of the JCA, said citizens do not trust Gwamanda’s leadership.
“We do not believe Gwamanda and his team have the requisite skills and capability to resolve the deepening governance crisis in Johannesburg,” the JCA said.
They called on Gwamanda to resign and for the mayoral executive committee to be restructured to serve the city better.
“We are tired of poor leadership. We will ask you to step down if you can’t do the job. It doesn’t matter whether you are from Soweto or Sandton,” Balton said.
The JCA highlighted many problems in the city, which it said reflects Johannesburg’s leadership crisis and the failures of the executive mayor.
- The city’s arrogant, uncaring, and insensitive handling of the R200 electricity surcharge, tariff increase, and ongoing widespread electricity outages.
- Intermittent water supplies since 2023, and prolonged water cuts in recent weeks, despite public assurances by Joburg Water that the water supply is being managed adequately.
- The city’s poor financial position required an R2.5 billion loan from the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) to alleviate service delivery struggles.
- The collapse of services in terms of road maintenance, cleanliness and the provision of affordable housing.
The JCA believes that the executive mayor and his mayoral committee must be held accountable for these and other critical service delivery lapses.
Collapse of the City of Johannesburg
The week’s civil protest in Johannesburg followed years of collapse. Water and power outages have become commonplace, and street and traffic lights seldom work.
Years of neglect and underinvestment forced City Power to implement load reduction to prevent its power systems and infrastructure from collapsing.
There are also regular power outages due to cable theft and substation problems. Better management could prevent these.
Board chair Bonolo Ramokhele said the network’s issues stemmed from its age and estimated that it would cost R50 billion to fix the century-old infrastructure.
An equally serious problem is regular water outages, threatening instability and unrest in South Africa’s largest city.
Crumbling infrastructure has caused prolonged water outages, hurting households and businesses in the city.
To address these problems, Rand Water has started to conduct substantial maintenance on parts of the water network. This caused further outages.
Last week, News24 reported that Johannesburg is grappling with severe water shortages, affecting over half its population, due to ongoing maintenance.
Johannesburg’s water infrastructure has not kept pace with its rapid population growth and cannot cope with increased demand.
Johannesburg needs R25 billion to fix its water infrastructure and potentially billions more to replace outdated equipment to meet increasing demand.
The problems do not stop at electricity and water. Traffic lights are often out, and streetlights do not work on many major routes.
It is common to see unemployed people directing traffic at busy intersections due to traffic light problems.
The city is also beset with crime and corruption, causing many businesses and rich households to leave for the Western Cape.
It is difficult to fight corruption as it has infiltrated most aspects of the city, including law enforcement.
This month, City of Johannesburg official Zenzele Benedict Sithole was killed in a hit. He was investigating high-profile corruption cases.
Further calls for Kabelo Gwamanda to resign
Calls for the removal of Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda extended beyond the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance.
Last week, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba demanded the removal of Gwamanda before they would partner with the ANC in the city. Other demands include:
- The cancellation of the R200 electricity surcharge.
- The reclamation of hijacked buildings for affordable housing.
Mashaba said the declining conditions in Johannesburg are partly to blame on selfish interest of political parties and leaders.
“They seek to condition their support for matters of governance based on extraneous issues to Johannesburg or its residents,” he said.
He added that Gwamanda’s tenure has been an unmitigated failure with the evidence of the downward spiral of Johannesburg evident all around the city.
“We cannot sit on its hands anymore as the city continues its downward spiral to the detriment of Joburg residents,” Mashaba said.
They will table a series of motions to turn Johannesburg around in key service delivery matters, including infrastructure renewal and the rejuvenation of the inner city.
Loading ...
