South Africa’s most important city is collapsing in front of everyone’s eyes

·1 Oct 2025

Johannesburg’s water and electricity infrastructure is collapsing, with large parts of the city experiencing regular outages.

The city is also struggling with a decaying road network, deteriorating service levels, and dysfunctional and corrupt management.

The problems in Johannesburg are not new. It has reached such concerning levels that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had to step in earlier this year.

In March 2025, Ramaphosa warned officials in Johannesburg to resolve a myriad of problems dogging the city ahead of a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 nations in November.

“The environment that one observed in Johannesburg was not a pleasing environment. I say this so that we can improve immensely,” said Ramaphosa.

The president added that local officials will need to demonstrate over the coming months that he hadn’t made a mistake in choosing Johannesburg as the venue for the G-20 gathering.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said he had apologised to Ramaphosa and assured him that the provincial and local government would address Johannesburg’s shortcomings.

In May 2025, Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero unveiled a high-impact implementation task force, dubbed the “bomb squad,” to address the city’s problems.

The team, headed by ANC veteran Snuki Zikalala, consists of seasoned public servants brought in to rescue the metro from its current state of decline.

Morero explained that the bomb squad’s main objective was to oversee and ensure the effective implementation of the city’s service delivery plans.

Despite Ramaphosa’s demands, Lesufi’s assurances, and Morero’s interventions, the city continues to battle all its old foes.

In August 2025, RISE Mzansi stated that Morero’s bomb squad and the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group had failed to make any impact since their appointment.

Morero hit back, saying claims that these initiatives were ineffective are false and an affront to the hard work being done.

“Since its inception, the bomb squad has resolved over 1,200 service delivery hotspots across priority regions,” he said.

He claimed that the bomb squad addressed issues such as pothole repairs, water leak closures, and illegal dumping sites.

Johannesburg’s collapse continues

Many stakeholders, including residents, civil society groups, and political parties, have raised concerns that the collapse in Johannesburg is ongoing.

RISE Mzansi National Chairperson, Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, said the decay of Johannesburg is the direct result of uncaring and negligent politicians.

“Service delivery cannot be switched on only when foreign dignitaries visit. It must be the daily reality for ratepayers and residents who keep this city afloat,” she said.

The DA Spokesperson on Water and Sanitation, Stephen Moore, claimed that Morero has no plan to resolve Johannesburg’s water crisis.

“After failing on his promise to restore water in 7 days, Morero’s presentation before the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation proves he is unfit to be mayor,” Moore said.

“Morero had no answer to the R4 billion defunded from Joburg Water, bringing maintenance projects to a halt, causing the current crisis.”

Toby Chance, DA Spokesperson on Trade, Industry, and Competition, stated that industrial parks in Johannesburg have become job killers, rather than job creators.

The Gauteng government and City of Johannesburg are slowly killing the businesses that operate there, rather than making it easier for them to grow and create jobs,” he said.

City Power Johannesburg is experiencing widespread electricity problems due to a combination of infrastructure issues and widespread illegal connections.

There is also a lack of payment for services, as well as ongoing issues with maintenance and repairs. City Power is also dogged by corruption and mismanagement.

Last week, the Hawks raided Joburg City Power’s headquarters, seeking details about a questionable R67 million contract.

This is only one of many investigations related to City Power, which also has a long-running dispute with Eskom over payments.

Residents have also pointed to broken roads, potholes, deteriorating bridges, and traffic lights that are out because of vandalism.

Crime is also out of control. Gang violence in some southern parts of Johannesburg has increased, with many casualties reported.

The Johannesburg inner city is also extremely dangerous, with hijacked buildings, overcrowding, theft, and vandalism becoming commonplace.

The Joburg Community Action Network (JoburgCAN)

The Joburg Community Action Network (JoburgCAN) said Morero’s 2025 State of the City Address lacked credible plans, timelines, or consequences.

His poor leadership, the civil group argued, leave Johannesburg residents with more promises and no delivery.

OUTA executive Julius Kleynhans said the living experience of residents and businesses in the City of Johannesburg continues to deteriorate.

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

Although Morero conceded to widespread failures, there is an absence of 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.

JoburgCAN Regional Manager Julia Fish said water outages are daily disruptions, and illegal dumping sites are multiplying.

“Roads are dangerous. Traffic lights don’t work. People are tired of watching their city deteriorate,” Fish said.

They said the root causes of Johannesburg’s collapse include unstable coalitions, executive turnover, and cadre deployment that favours loyalty over competence.