South Africa’s economic heartland is collapsing in plain sight

DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille, who is considering running for Johannesburg Mayor, said it is crucial to stop Johannesburg’s collapse to drive South Africa forward.

She told Biznews that the Gauteng metros, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane, are South Africa’s economic heartland and that the country will stand or fall based on their state.

Johannesburg, the wealthiest and most important of the three metropolitan areas, has been suffering due to a lack of service delivery.

The city’s residents and businesses regularly experience prolonged water and electricity outages, surging crime, collapsing road infrastructure, and general service failures.

Most of Johannesburg’s challenges are self-inflicted, stemming from years of municipal mismanagement, corruption, and inadequate maintenance.

The city’s water crisis is a good example. It has been looming for years, with little maintenance on water infrastructure and poor planning to ensure adequate supply for a growing population.

A report showed that City of Johannesburg has approximately 2,396 burst pipes, 6,727 leaking meters, 442 leaking valves, and 259 leaking fire hydrants.

Even more concerning is that of the city’s 80 reservoirs, around 42 are leaking, and only 11 are being repaired.

Johannesburg needs approximately R26 billion to halt the collapse of its water infrastructure. Billions more are required to upgrade the system to cope with its growing demand.

The city is also struggling with a crumbling electricity infrastructure. Residents experienced an increase in electricity outages despite the decline in load-shedding.

The City of Johannesburg’s electricity problems include ageing infrastructure, lack of maintenance, and cable theft.

It does not stop at infrastructure collapse. In April 2025, the long-standing dispute between Eskom and the City of Johannesburg over unpaid electricity bills reignited.

It has reached such concerning levels that Eskom is threatening to resume power cuts due to non-payment of arrears.

In November 2024, Eskom stated that the city had an outstanding debt of R4.9 billion and an additional R1.4 billion in current charges.

The city’s road infrastructure is also collapsing, with thousands of potholes and broken traffic lights causing traffic congestion and other problems for motorists.

In February 2025, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) stated that the city requires R70 million to repair its malfunctioning traffic lights and replace those that have been stolen.

The JRA’s acting head of mobility and freight, Sipho Nhlapo, said 396 traffic lights in the city are vandalised. Of these, approximately 202 are still functional, while the remaining 194 are not operational.

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero’s Bomb Squad

Last week, Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero launched his ‘Joburg Bomb Squad (JBS)’, a specialised unit to tackle ‘crime and grime’ in the city.

Morero said the unit will employ a precinct approach to combat lawlessness, address service delivery bottlenecks, and expedite service delivery over two years.

It includes fixing potholes, cutting grass, repairing traffic lights, stopping illegal refuse dumps, repairing streetlights, preventing sewerage spillages, and formalising informal settlements.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) and the Johannesburg Community Action Network (JoburgCAN) said they have heard this all before.

They said Morero’s 2025 State of the City Address lacked credible plans, timelines, or consequences, leaving residents with more promises and no delivery.

“We’ve heard these promises before,” said OUTA executive Julius Kleynhans. “Meanwhile, the lived reality for residents and businesses in the city continues to deteriorate.”

It includes water outages, unreliable electricity supply, uncollected waste, crumbling roads, and traffic chaos. “This is systemic failure, not just a service glitch,” he said.

Although Morero conceded to widespread failures in core services, it lacked detailed plans, clear timelines, budget allocations, and performance targets to reverse the decline.

“Residents are fed up. Projects stall halfway, billing systems remain broken, and administrative bloat delivers very little. The failure to fix the basics signals a city in paralysis,” Kleynhans said.

He said Morero sidestepped the root causes of Johannesburg’s collapse: unstable coalitions, executive turnover, and cadre deployment that favours loyalty over competence.

JoburgCAN Regional Manager Julia Fish says Johannesburg’s residents and businesses are beyond frustrated.

“Water outages are daily disruptions. Illegal dumping sites are multiplying. Roads are dangerous. Traffic lights don’t work. People are tired of watching their city deteriorate,” she said.

She said the absence of clear implementation strategies raises concerns about the administration’s capacity to effect meaningful change.

Helen Zille wants to fix Johannesburg

Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Federal Council Chairperson, Helen Zille, is considering running for Johannesburg mayor to fix the city.

Although she has not made a final decision on whether she will run, she said she was leaning towards this option.

Zille said she loves Johannesburg and is dismayed by what is happening to the city, including the area where she was born, Hillbrow.

“I was born in Johannesburg and grew up there. I have very deep roots and unfinished business in Johannesburg,” she told Newzroom Africa.

“From that point of view, I would be keen to roll up my sleeves and get things done in the City of Johannesburg.”

Another significant factor that is drawing her to run for mayor is that Johannesburg is South Africa’s financial and economic capital.

She said nobody will invest in a city with widespread water outages, potholes in the roads, malfunctioning traffic lights, an unstable electricity supply, and escalating crime.

Unless this situation is fixed, Johannesburg’s economy will continue to unravel and eventually collapse.

She said her first objective will be to stabilise the finances. “Johannesburg has a capital infrastructure backlog of R200 billion, and the entire city’s budget is R86 billion,” she said.

Her task would be to stop the rot in the city and turn the ship around, then hand it over to her successor to move forward with what she had started.

Zille explained that fixing Johannesburg will take a whole-of-society approach. She sees civil society as a crucial partner in this process.

“Every individual who is decent, pays their rates and taxes, and holds the government to account for its performance is a valuable resident and citizen,” she said.

She wants these residents to stay in Johannesburg and help them fix it, adding that a brain drain is the last thing the city needs.

“We need people to return from abroad and put their shoulder to the wheel in South Africa’s economic heartland.”

The skills of the Johannesburg City Council will also be fundamental. This includes appointing the right people in the correct positions who are capable of doing the job.

Photos of Johannesburg’s collapse