‘Backed Up a Decade’: Morero Blames Covid for Joburg’s Decline

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has admitted the city is in a dire financial and infrastructural crisis, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic, and says only bold and unconventional interventions can help turn things around. In his State of the City Address on Wednesday, he acknowledged residents’ urgent need for reliable electricity, water, transport, housing and safety—basic services that remain out of reach for many.

Morero said the metro faces long-standing issues such as infrastructure collapse, poor financial management, and massive service delivery backlogs. He warned that the city’s financial health is still fragile and urgently needs a reset in both budgeting and revenue collection to restore stability.

“The city’s financial position remains fragile, and it calls for a major reset in our financial management and revenue generation activities. Our revenue collection approach will be overhauled to improve the liquidity of the city, leading to its financial sustainability,” he told council.

His address came just hours after the Democratic Alliance filed a motion of no confidence against him and council speaker Nobuhle Mthembu. The DA accused Morero of presiding over mismanagement and a lack of transparency, claiming his administration had allowed Johannesburg to deteriorate further.

Road infrastructure has become a major pain point, with the Johannesburg Road Agency recently stating that the cost to repair traffic lights has nearly tripled due to persistent vandalism and copper theft.

Morero insisted that the city cannot continue with business as usual. He said the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic had effectively set Johannesburg’s development back by a decade, and the scale of the crisis calls for a dramatic shift in how services are delivered.

“We must behave in an unusual manner so that we can see and yield different results. Unlike the Covid-19 pandemic, our situation cannot be classified as a new normal,” he said.

However, he expressed hope that the presidential support package announced in March by President Cyril Ramaphosa would bring long-needed change. He said the city’s newly established war room, which coordinates urgent service delivery interventions, has already made notable progress.

“The war room as an executive response structure is responding to systemic failures aimed at driving high-impact, real-time, co-ordinated service delivery and accountability,” Morero explained.

According to the mayor, the city has seen fewer service delivery protests since the war room’s formation, and there is growing cooperation among different levels of government to tackle long-standing issues.

To further boost economic recovery, Morero wants to add a dedicated economic workstream to the presidential package to help the city aim for 3% GDP growth over the next five years.

He also called for Joburg to declare a state of disaster on crime and lawlessness by July 2025. His proposals include a city-wide war on potholes, illegal electricity connections, land invasions, illegal mining, dumping, and undocumented immigration.

Another key focus, he said, is investing in historically underserved communities. The city has committed R3 billion over the medium-term to improve basic services in eight areas: Diepsloot, Southern Farms, Ivory Park/Kaalfontein, Orange Farm, Soweto, Riverlea, Zandspruit, and Eldorado Park.

“The electrification of informal settlements remains a top priority,” Morero said. He added that R296 million has been allocated specifically to connect areas such as Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Ivory Park, and Kya Sands to the grid.

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Sourced:Sowetan Live