South African President Cyril 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Africa\u2019s richest urban centre has experienced years of mismanagement, with power changing hands between shifting coalitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents contend with crumbling roads and other infrastructure, water and electricity outages, a lack of basic services, and rampant violent crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe environment that one observed was not a pleasing environment. I say this so that we can improve immensely,\u201d said Ramaphosa, who met with leaders from the central Gauteng province in the Johannesburg city council chambers on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf we do not move with speed to address the critical challenges identified, we risk undermining the progress we have made thus far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The president added that local officials will need to demonstrate over the coming months that he hadn\u2019t made a mistake in choosing Johannesburg as the venue for the G-20 gathering, the first of its kind to be held in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said he had apologized to Ramaphosa and assured him that the provincial and local government would address Johannesburg\u2019s shortcomings, with a team already in place to lead the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are not dealing with these issues specifically for G-20,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need a legacy program that can be enjoyed by all South Africans, and that\u2019s the approach and the orientation that we are taking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis invited Ramaphosa to relocate the G-20 summit to his city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tourism hub is controlled by the Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party, and is widely regarded as the best-run of the country\u2019s main metropolitan areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a city with a thriving central business district, offering working traffic lights, neat roads and sidewalks, unmatched natural beauty and excellent conferencing infrastructure,\u201d Hill-Lewis said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs South Africans, we absolutely want to see Joburg rise to be the world-class African city it should be, but if the challenges prove insurmountable between now and the November G-20 summit, you can count on Cape Town to perform \u2018country duty\u2019 and host a successful summit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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