LISTEN | 'We inherited a near-bankrupt city': Joburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda

Johannesburg mayor Kabelo Gwamanda delivered his maiden state of the city address on Tuesday.

During the much-anticipated address, Gwamanda addressed a number of issues facing the city, including finances, which he said “remained strained”. 

Gwamanda said when the government of local unity took over this January, it found a near-bankrupt municipality. 

“When we took over from the multi-party coalition we found a near-bankrupt government sitting with over R6bn in unpaid supplier invoices,” said Gwamanda. 

The mayor said his administration had embarked on a journey of restructuring, making tough decisions and implementing strategic reforms to ensure it stuck to its core municipal mandate of service delivery. 

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Gwamanda also addressed the effects the energy crisis is having on the city's economic growth and residents' quality of life. 

Commenting on what the city was doing to address the effects of load-shedding, the mayor said he and his team were working hard to find lasting solutions, one being the extension of the power purchase agreement with Kelvin power station, which supports its purchase of power from Eskom.

He also touched on other socioeconomic issues plaguing the city and the country such as crime and youth unemployment. 

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