3-year plan to try and save Joburg
South Africa’s National Treasury will stage a three-year intervention to stabilise the Johannesburg municipality, which has been beset by governance and financial challenges, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said.
Implementation of the plan will continue through the 4 November municipal elections, even if a new administration takes control of the city, Godongwana said at an event to mark the announcement of the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s financial results.
“Any government that comes out of Johannesburg will need our support, so we’ll be there for the next three years,” he said.
“We’re working together with the DBSA and all the other relevant institutions to give effect” to the turnaround plan, he said.
Johannesburg is South Africa’s biggest city, accounting for about 15% of the country’s economic output, but years of political instability and mismanagement have left it unable to pay its bills or provide reliable basic services.
The city is currently run by a coalition led by the ANC, the largest political party, but some opinion polls suggest the balance of power could shift after the vote.
The Treasury’s intervention follows other failed efforts by the national government to get the city’s finances back on track.
Meanwhile, the DBSA said profit rose 47% to R7.8 billion in the year through March. Municipal credit risk remains elevated due to financial mismanagement, poor audit outcomes, vandalism of infrastructure, poor service delivery, and budgetary constraints, the lender said.
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