Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has stated that the metro was already facing serious financial difficulties when he assumed office, as the city contends with mounting fiscal pressures. This comes after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana warned that national funding could be withheld unless the city withdraws its wage agreement with the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, citing affordability concerns.
Democratic Alliance Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille addressed the crisis, noting the challenges of inheriting governance from the ANC. “Taking over a sphere of government from the ANC is extraordinarily difficult. It means that you’ve got to stop the rot and try and turn the tide with no money,” she said. Zille added that the problems are cumulative and were already grave when previous mayor Mashaba took office. She remarked that repeated votes for the ANC and smaller coalition partners have led to predictable outcomes.
Zille firmly denied reports from IOL claiming she pledged to resolve Johannesburg’s financial troubles within 100 days. “I’ve never said that in my life,” she stated, describing the reporting as completely false and emphasising that she knows it is unrealistic to fix the city’s finances so quickly.
On Eskom’s threats to gradually shut down power supply to parts of the city, Zille agreed it is unfair to penalise paying residents but placed responsibility on the current administration. “The reason Eskom wants to cut Joburg off is because the city under Morero and the ANC’s coalition defaulted on their repayment agreement,” she said. She noted that the city stopped honouring the agreement, prompting Eskom’s response, and referenced a Supreme Court of Appeal judgment permitting power disconnection in such circumstances, warning it would be a “total disaster” for Johannesburg.
When asked whether Mayor Morero should remain in office, Zille replied that she would not be contesting the election if she believed he should. “I think the only party that has any chance of turning Joburg around is the [Democratic Alliance] DA, and that is why I’m running,” she said.
Zille outlined key elements of her approach to the city’s finances, stressing that timelines are difficult given the extent of the damage. Priorities include improving the billing system to increase payment rates, ring-fencing finances for trading services, securing support from national treasury and the utilities reform programme under Operation Vulindlela, and mobilising private sector partnerships for services such as water and electricity. She highlighted the need to tackle widespread corruption, describing it as “syndicated” with billions of rands in fruitless, wasteful, and unauthorised expenditure. “Without doing that we cannot get the finances straight,” she added.
Regarding recent city efforts to enforce bylaws, including demolitions and court actions in the inner city, Zille supported enforcement across Johannesburg. “Bylaws have to be enforced… People can’t just build structures anywhere they like,” she said. However, she viewed the timing as politically motivated and insufficient on its own, noting the CBD’s dilapidated state, broken sidewalks, potholes, filth, and litter. “It’s very late in the day,” she observed.
Zille also clarified her earlier comments regarding potential impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa. She referred to her full previous response, stating that if evidence emerges of laws being violated, the president could not expect the DA’s protection, though this did not constitute a blanket position for all future investigations.
