Ramaphosa toured parts of the inner city this week, where he admitted that Johannesburg was facing serious challenges. He said the state of dysfunction could not be allowed to continue and promised that national government would step in to help the mayor turn things around.

The President’s visit comes as frustrations grow over crumbling infrastructure, unreliable services, and concerns that Johannesburg is losing its status as Africa’s leading business centre.

One of the major issues highlighted during the discussions was the poor coordination between municipalities and state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Charles Green, Spokesperson for the Associate in Dispute Resolution Practice, explained how the financial disconnect between cities and SOEs has had a knock-on effect:

"The first interplay is between the SOEs and the relationship between SOEs and municipalities. This needs to be amended and properly coordinated to ensure that payments are made efficiently and properly from municipalities to SOEs. For example, estimates in December 2021 indicated that municipalities across the country owed over a hundred billion rand. The effect is the crippling of Eskom because they still need to deliver services, but they do not receive the financial payments that are actually owed."

With Johannesburg playing such a critical role in the national economy, all eyes will be on how quickly the interventions bear fruit.

--ChannelAfrica--