R200 billion needed to keep South Africa’s richest city from collapse

The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) needs an estimated R200 billion to repair its collapsing infrastructure, and a specialised “bomb squad” task team has been appointed to tackle the issues. 

This is according to the Johannesburg mayor, Dada Morero, who outlined the City’s turnaround plan in the State of the City Address (SOCA) on Wednesday (7 May). 

During his address, the mayor spoke at length about the City and its state of rot, which he called a crisis. “We need extreme actions to resolve our challenges,” he said. 

A part of these extreme actions is the introduction of what he called a high-powered implementation impact team, which he referred to as the “bomb squad”. 

“This bomb squad will be led by the ANC Veterans’ League boss Snuki Zikalala, and will remove constraints that impact the City’s ability to create the Joburg we want to see.”

According to Morero, the squad’s mandate includes tackling potholes, illegal electricity connections, land invasions, illegal mining, rampant dumping, and the presence of undocumented migrants.

However, while the focus of the city’s problems is promising, the costs associated with the fix remain a significant concern, which the mayor acknowledged. 

When asked about the cost of the metro’s challenges, Morero said that while the City’s finances are fine for now, it doesn’t have money to fix critical issues.

Morero said that while the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) is meeting its current financial commitments, the situation is a concern when considering what is needed to fix the city. 

He added that the city’s finances are not where he wants them to be. “It’s not bad because we can still meet our financial obligations,” Morero said.

“But we’re not happy with the state of our finances. We want to improve and be better. But at this stage, we’re not happy with it.”

Morero also highlighted the City’s ability to continue servicing debt. However, the metro is existing by hand-to-mouth. 

“We can service our loans and pay them back, so we are fine,” he said. “But not to that extent that we can raise sufficient revenue to try and address infrastructure backlogs with our own money.”

Morero pointed out that a significant financial challenge facing the city is the extensive backlog in infrastructure maintenance. 

“There are challenges in terms of our water infrastructure. We have said it before,” he explained. 

“The entire infrastructure battle is probably sitting at about R200 billion for us to resolve and make a serious change.”

A City Collapsing

Despite Morero’s promises, the city’s crisis is evident in the state of its infrastructure and the funds needed to fix it. 

The severity of the situation was underscored by the DA’s motion of no confidence against Morero and council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu.

The opposition party filed the motion just hours before the address, accusing the current administration of plunging the city into a “state of total collapse”.

Even if the city manages to find the money, experts such as Professor Mark Swilling of Stellenbosch University have also noted that it would not be enough to prevent a full-scale collapse without addressing corruption, mismanagement, and infrastructure decay.

As Morero mentioned, the effects of this crisis are most evident in three critical areas: road infrastructure, electricity supply, and water provision.

Johannesburg’s road infrastructure is deteriorating rapidly. An estimated R16 billion is needed to restore the crumbling road network, but funding constraints have led to severe neglect.

Potholes have also become a common feature of Johannesburg’s roads, with some areas suffering from complete road degradation.

Rampant vandalism and theft compound the problem. Criminal syndicates strip copper wiring, batteries, and solar panels from traffic lights, causing long-term failures.

Johannesburg’s energy crisis is also at critical levels. City Power, the municipal electricity provider, is overwhelmed by theft, vandalism, and ageing infrastructure.

The City’s electricity grid is also fragile due to decades of inadequate investment. A backlog of R170 billion exists for maintenance and upgrades just for electricity.

Johannesburg’s water infrastructure is also on the brink of collapse. Joburg Water CEO Ntshavheni Mukwevho has raised concerns over a R27 billion backlog for infrastructure renewal.

Ageing pipelines, treatment plants, and increasing water losses from leaks and theft have created an unsustainable situation.

Johannesburg Water has highlighted that more than 60% of Johannesburg’s water network has exceeded its designed lifespan, leading to frequent pipe bursts and supply disruptions.

Morero recently told the SABC that the city is campaigning to raise an additional R100 billion in the next five years as part of its efforts to meet the R200 billion target.

“We are exploring ways to raise funds off the balance sheet by seeking private investors or other market solutions to help bridge the gap,” Morero said.

However, apart from these avenues, it is still unclear how the City plans to fund its plan to fix its deteriorating infrastructure.