{"id":809902,"date":"2025-02-02T07:25:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-02T05:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=809902"},"modified":"2025-02-02T07:27:19","modified_gmt":"2025-02-02T05:27:19","slug":"another-sign-of-collapse-in-south-africas-richest-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/809902\/another-sign-of-collapse-in-south-africas-richest-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Another sign of collapse in South Africa’s richest city"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Johannesburg, South Africa\u2019s economic powerhouse, is showing alarming signs of collapse, with its crumbling bridges now joining the long list of failing infrastructure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than 6% of the city’s 902 bridges are in good condition, and the cost to bring the rest up to an acceptable standard is estimated at R16 billion, reported<\/a> City Press. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agency revealed that 702 of Johannesburg\u2019s bridges\u2014a staggering 78%\u2014are in poor or very poor condition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of these, 20 are on the brink of closure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more concerning is that these figures are based on outdated data. A table provided by the JRA indicates that 707 bridges were below acceptable standards according to a visual assessment conducted eight years ago in the 2016\/17 financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that time, 557 bridges were classified as being in poor condition, and 150 were in very poor condition. Since then, no comprehensive assessments have been conducted due to budget constraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This data gap excludes 690 culverts in the city, further underscoring the incomplete picture of Johannesburg\u2019s infrastructure health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deteriorating state of Johannesburg\u2019s bridges mirrors the decline of other critical infrastructure across the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Water, electricity, and road systems are all facing severe challenges, contributing to an overall decline in the quality of life for residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannesburg\u2019s water infrastructure is in equally dire straits. Johannesburg Water, responsible for the city\u2019s potable water supply, struggles with maintaining and upgrading its systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, numerous suburbs experienced chronic water shortages driven by burst pipes, persistent leaks, and an outdated pipe network neglected for decades. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official reports reveal that nearly 40% of the city\u2019s water is lost through leaks and illegal connections before it even reaches consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city\u2019s road network is no better. Johannesburg\u2019s streets, especially in suburban areas, are riddled with potholes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some are so large and numerous that they cause frequent traffic accidents and vehicle damage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The JRA has openly admitted to being severely underfunded, with current budget allocations unable to meet the escalating demand for road repairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts estimate that the city will need as much as R81.5 billion over the next decade to address its road maintenance needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johannesburg\u2019s electricity issues are perhaps the most problematic of the city\u2019s infrastructure struggles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Power, the municipal electricity distributor, has been unable to provide consistent and reliable service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the city\u2019s electricity grid is over 50 years old, far beyond its intended lifespan, putting the entire network under severe pressure. This has put hundreds of residents in the dark despite the reprieve from Eskom over the last 10 months. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Speaking to City Press, Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has acknowledged the city\u2019s deteriorating state but insists that his administration is working hard to restore stability and improve service delivery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morero has outlined plans to manage the funding shortfall by appointing contractors willing to take on projects “at risk” to be compensated over time through revenue collection from residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morero also pointed to some progress, particularly regarding electricity infrastructure, though he admitted that vandalism and illegal connections continue to exacerbate outages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He expressed frustration with the media\u2019s focus on the city\u2019s failures, arguing that significant strides are being made in other areas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou only see the negatives in the media. You don\u2019t see the positives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Johannesburg\u2019s financial troubles remain a significant barrier. The city struggles to pay suppliers on time, and while Morero admitted that the finances are in disarray, he attributed the problem to reckless spending in the past rather than a lack of funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite these efforts, the city\u2019s infrastructure crisis continues to deepen, with crumbling bridges now serving as another symbol of Johannesburg\u2019s broader decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johannesburg, the richest city in South Africa by GDP, is falling apart, and now, another major part of the city’s critical infrastructure is crumbling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":809911,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[21613,12763,5018,1808,1996,853],"class_list":["post-809902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-bridges","tag-cape-town-water-crisis","tag-city-press","tag-electricity","tag-johannesburg","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809902"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":809922,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809902\/revisions\/809922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}