Morero lays out turnaround plan as Johannesburg faces R45.16bn write-offs

Outgoing Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero told Parliament this week his administration is committed to restoring the city’s finances after revelations that the municipality wrote off R45.16 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure over the past five years.

Parliamentary scrutiny and the scale of the problem

Morero appeared before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs on Tuesday, where he faced questioning on what the city described as a dire fiscal picture. Committee exchanges focused on persistent billing problems, procurement weaknesses and a disputed R10 billion Political Facilitation Agreement.

Administration outlines a focused turnaround strategy

Speaking through his spokesperson, Khathutshelo Mulaudzi, Morero’s administration set out a series of measures it says will form a rigorous turnaround plan. Mulaudzi said the administration is committed to accountability and transparency while engaging with Scopa’s oversight role.

Key elements of the plan

• Audit readiness: enhance reconciliations and debtor verification, and introduce stricter expenditure controls.
• Revenue collection improvements: recover debt, correct billing errors and enhance metering mechanisms.
• Reducing utility losses: upgrade infrastructure, implement smart metering and combat illegal connections.
• Procurement management: bolster procurement planning and contract management to reduce irregular expenditure.
• Risk management: introduce proactive measures to identify and address internal control weaknesses.

Political facilitation agreement and responses from opposition

Morero defended the R10bn Political Facilitation Agreement, saying it was not initiated by the current administration. He said in a recent statement:

“Successive administrations recognised this obligation and made payments towards it. Our task now is to engage honestly with workers, the National Treasury, and all stakeholders to find a sustainable resolution. Concurrently, we are advancing phase two of Johannesburg’s institutional review, ensuring that the city is appropriately structured for efficient service delivery.”

The DA’s MP Patrick Atkinson criticised Morero for not following the finance minister’s call to reverse the R10bn payment and raised concerns about under‑spending on infrastructure. Atkinson said that as of Q3 2025/26 only 49% of the infrastructure budget had been spent and warned this shortfall would worsen service interruptions, noting that City Power and Joburg Water do not have enough cash on hand to last a single month.

Atkinson also cited the DA’s figures that the City had written off or regularised R24.5 billion in irregular, fruitless, wasteful and unauthorised expenditure for 2024/25. He said the city had opted to refer matters to the Disciplinary Board before approaching law enforcement bodies such as the Special Investigating Unit.

Where the focus will be next

The administration says its immediate priorities are improving financial controls, tightening procurement and billing systems, and reducing utility losses measures it presents as essential to stabilise revenue and restore service delivery capacity. The mayor’s office has framed these steps as part of a wider institutional review intended to better structure the city for efficient delivery.