Ten of the 13 entities that operate within the City of Joburg pay their heads more than the R3.39m annual upper limit set for senior managers in national government gazettes.
The city argues, however, that because these are entities rather than departments, they are not legally bound by those pay limits.
On average, executive pay across Joburg’s senior management has increased by about 26% since 2022 — well above inflation and the 3.3% public-sector guideline.
Joburg spends 25% — or R21bn — of its R84bn annual budget on salaries. Together with R17bn on electricity, R7bn on water and R8bn for debt impairment, this amounts to R53bn of the total budget for the 2025/26 financial year.
Amid declining service delivery, the city’s 13 entities — each with its own CEO, executives and boards — exist alongside the municipality’s 21 departments. The city employs about 26,000 people.
By comparison, Cape Town has one entity, while eThekwini and Tshwane have two each.
In a radio interview earlier this month, city manager Floyd Brink admitted that the scale and structure of the Joburg metro were major factors behind ongoing service delivery failures.
“The governance structure of the city is quite complex,” he said, describing an administration operating in a highly politicised environment.
This week DA federal council chair Helen Zille, the party’s mayoral candidate for Joburg, launched an urgent challenge in the Johannesburg high court to halt the implementation of a controversial labour agreement that could cost the city more than R10bn in salary increases.
Zille says the agreement, if implemented, “will push an already financially distressed municipality to the brink of fiscal collapse, with catastrophic and irreversible consequences for its millions of residents”.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba last month vowed to shut down Joburg Water and City Power if he’s elected mayor in the coming local government elections. He described the entities as having layers of inefficiency and political interference, contributing to worsening service delivery, infrastructure decay and financial strain.
Here is a closer look at Joburg’s 13 entities:
City Power
CEO Tshifularo Mashava earns R4.98m a year. Though she has resigned, the salary attached to the position remains.
The entity is R19bn in the red, largely due to unpaid accounts, the high cost of buying electricity from Eskom, as well as vandalism and theft.
The City Power board has 10 members. According to the entity’s quarterly report for July 1 to September 30 last year, the board met three times, with remuneration for members ranging from R60,000 to R69,000 for the quarter.
The entity employs around 1,700 people. Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R1.3bn.
Johannesburg Roads Agency
CEO Zweli Nyathi earns R4.7m a year and is supported by a CFO. The entity has 11 board members.
The JRA’s core mandate is the planning, design, construction, operation, control, rehabilitation and maintenance of Joburg’s roads and stormwater infrastructure. Its operating budget allocation for the 2025/26 financial year is R1.6bn.
The agency has an infrastructure backlog of more than R270bn. More than 50 of the city’s bridges are in urgent need of rehabilitation and repair, potholes across the road network are widespread, and theft and vandalism of traffic signals remain a huge problem for the entity.
Pikitup
CEO Bukelwa Njingolo earns R4.49m a year and is supported by a chief financial officer, three general managers, 12 regional managers and 19 operations managers. The entity has a 10-member board.
Pikitup employs more than 4,500 people and operates 200 refuse trucks across the city. Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R309m.
The entity faces numerous challenges, including frequent work stoppages, overflowing or near-capacity landfill sites, an aging and insufficient fleet, and widespread illegal dumping.
Johannesburg Property Company
CEO Musawakhe Makhunga earns R4.07m a year. He is supported by a CFO and seven general managers.
According to the entity’s website, it “plays a vital role in driving sustainable urban transformation” and manages a diverse portfolio of 64,000 properties covering 39,000 hectares across seven municipal regions. It oversees a R21.6bn property portfolio.
The company has 13 board members, none of whom have property experience, and two members have only a matric qualification. Board chair Simon Motha earned R310,000 for the 2024/25 financial year, while other board members earned between R242,434 and R166,000.
The entity is structured into departments for asset management, property development, property management, outdoor advertising, facilities management, legal services and client servicing.
Inner-city hijacked buildings flagged for unsafe living conditions fall under the company’s portfolio. The entity was found partially responsible for the deaths of 76 people in the inquest into the Usindiso fire in Marshalltown in 2023.
Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R1.2bn.
Johannesburg Water
MD Ntshavheni Mukwevho earns R3.75m a year and is supported by a team of executives heading various corporate clusters.
The entity’s board of directors has 14 members — including Mukwevho — who meet quarterly to assess performance. It employs around 2,500 people, and its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R1.7bn.
The entity faces an infrastructure backlog of more than R37bn, struggles to pay contractors on time, and loses nearly half of the water it buys from Rand Water due to leaks and illegal connections.
Johannesburg Development Agency
CEO Themba Mathibe earns R3.7m a year. He is supported by a chief financial officer and a 10-member board.
The agency states that its mission is to transform Joburg by fostering competitive business environments, improving public spaces, and promoting access to jobs. Among its flagship projects are the Johannesburg International Transport Interchange, which remains unopened despite being completed six years ago. A big part of its budget is spent on external consultant fees. Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R149m.
Mathibe, 28, was arrested in January for alleged money laundering. Stacks of cash, rumoured to exceed R1m, were found at his Sandton home. At the time of his arrest, he was also acting CEO at the Johannesburg Social Housing Company.
Metrobus
MD Bongani Radebe earns R3.65m a year and is supported by six executives. The entity has 11 board members.
In its 2023/24 annual report, Metrobus reported a R74.1m deficit. It is estimated that the city spends R5 for every R1 collected in bus fares. It’s operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R779m.
According to Metrobus, it operates 200 routes and 130 school routes across the city, transporting 90,000 commuters daily. More than 2.3-million people commute in and around Joburg each day, with minibus taxis remaining the primary mode of transport.
Joburg City Parks and Zoo
CEO Thanduxolo Mendrew earns R3.65m a year and is supported by six executives. There are 10 board members.
The entity manages the city’s cemeteries, parks and all street and park trees within Joburg, in addition to overseeing the Joburg Zoo. It is responsible for 20,000 hectares of green open spaces and 3.2-million trees in public areas.
The entity’s operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R1.4bn.
Johannesburg Market:
Acting CEO Sello Makhubela earns R3.6m a year and is supported by six executives. There are 13 board members. Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R660m.
Joburg Market is the largest fresh produce market in South Africa — and in all of Africa by volume and value. The market serves about 5,000 farmers from across the country, whose fresh produce is traded to a large buyer base averaging around 10,000 daily buyers.
The market generates an annual turnover of R3.8bn — or roughly R17m a day — of which the city receives 5%.
Johannesburg Social Housing Company
Acting CEO Floyd Rikhotso has been in the job for a month. The position pays R3.6m a year. He is supported by four executives and 11 board members. The entity’s mandate is to develop and manage affordable rental housing for low-income earners. Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R206m.
The entity is mired in scandal and faces severe financial difficulties. The South African Municipal Workers Union has raised concerns about rampant corruption.
The company owes more than R1.7bn in overdrafts and faces a R357m deficit. Maintenance at buildings has halted due to unpaid contractors, some of whom report not receiving payments since June 2025.
The Hawks are investigating alleged fraudulent social housing contracts valued at R290m. COO Melusi Ndima and executive manager for corporate shared services Nokwazi Mtshali have been suspended.
Joburg City Theatres
CEO Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema earns in excess of R3m a year. The entity has 11 board members.
It operates the Joburg Theatre, Roodepoort Theatre and Soweto Theatre. For the 2023/24 financial year, the entity had a budget of R257m and a projected revenue of R239m. It employs 463 people.
The organisation hosts the Joburg Ballet Company and the Joburg Philharmonic Orchestra via grants; it commissions and produces productions at the three theatres; and it runs a successful catering and hospitality business servicing the theatres, the metro centre, Joburg departments and the Joburg Zoo.
Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R332m.
Metropolitan Trading Company, rebranded as MetroTech
CEO Thedi Moropa earns in excess of R1.6m a year. The entity has 11 board members.
Metrotech is responsible for broadband infrastructure, smart city initiatives and the Rea Vaya free Wi-Fi rollout. Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R549m.
The entity has faced ongoing challenges, including running at a loss for decades, going to court in 2024 for permission to hold its annual general meeting late, and failing to publish a standalone 2024 annual report despite issuing a tender to do so.
While the free Wi-Fi is available at bus stations, commuters report that it is not accessible on the buses themselves.
Joburg Tourism Company
CEO Thandubuhle Mgudlwa earns in excess of R1m a year. He is supported by four executives, and the entity has 11 board members.
While the province has its own tourism authority and there is also a national tourism board, the city’s tourism entity focuses on promoting investment opportunities, business events, venues, attractions, activities and accommodation in Joburg.
Its operating budget for the 2025/26 financial year is R107m.
- This story is produced by Our City News, a non-profit newsroom that serves the people of Joburg.
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