The business of fixing Joburg
Helen Zille gives us a ride to work in Joburg and tells us what it will take to fix this city
Anathi Ndevu
I spent the day with DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille driving through Johannesburg, a city she says can be fixed. Along the way, we confronted a R200 billion infrastructure backlog, water failures, crumbling roads, and financial instability, challenges that residents and businesses face every day. The question looms large ahead of the polls: can Johannesburg be restored, and how?
Johannesburg is South Africa’s largest city and economic hub, home to millions and contributing a significant portion of national GDP. But decades of neglect, rapid urbanisation, and shifting political coalitions have left the city struggling to maintain basic services. Executive Mayor Dada Morero, who took office in August 2024, inherited a city under intense pressure. Despite efforts to stabilise services, critics say roads remain potholed, water and electricity supply is unreliable, and daily life continues to deteriorate.
Zille told me that no single individual can fix Johannesburg. “We’ve got a great team,” she said. “There are still serious professionals in the civil service, but they are outnumbered by the guys who are in there just for political gain.”
The city council estimates a R200 billion backlog for water, electricity, and roads, while the city’s annual budget sits at roughly R90 billion. Service delivery is further hampered by declining revenue collection, wasteful spending, and unauthorised expenditure, leaving the city struggling to maintain basic functions.
Zille described her approach as stabilising municipal finances, ring-fencing budgets for essential services, and ensuring competent professionals occupy key positions. Without these measures, she warned, infrastructure collapses, and residents’ trust continues to erode.
Policy also plays a role. We discussed the Expropriation Act, which allows property to be taken for public purpose but requires “just and equitable” compensation. “Without clear rules, investors hesitate to put money into the city,” Zille noted, highlighting how national policy decisions ripple down to local business confidence.
Johannesburg’s water crisis was evident as we drove through high-density areas. Pipes leak, reservoirs remain in disrepair, and residents have faced outages for weeks. Zille emphasised that addressing these issues requires professional systems, proper funding, and collaboration with the National Department of Water and Sanitation. Without urgent action, legal challenges could escalate as residents demand their constitutional right to water.
On the ground, the city’s decline is visible. Metro Center, once the heart of municipal operations, stands abandoned and vandalised. Public spaces are littered and neglected. Hijacked buildings, properties illegally occupied and controlled by unauthorised groups, have multiplied in the inner city. They are linked to crime, safety hazards, and declining property values, making urban renewal increasingly difficult.
Despite these challenges, Zille said incremental change can make a difference. “If you take one step in the right direction every single day, after five years you start really noticing it,” she said. “If you go backwards, after a year or two you can already see the collapse.”
As voters head to the polls, Johannesburg faces a pivotal question: who can deliver hard-nosed, practical solutions to stabilise finances, restore infrastructure, and rebuild trust in a city that has long been the heart of South Africa’s economy?