Ramaphosa announces Johannesburg presidential intervention

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a presidential intervention in Johannesburg after his visit to the city this week. 

The intervention comes after Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero requested reinforcements in his attempt to arrest the city’s decline and revitalise areas. 

Ramaphosa said the working group will bring in all levels of government and the expertise of stakeholders to accelerate service delivery, stabilise the city’s finances and operations and enable economic growth and job creation.

The presidential intervention in metros was piloted in eThekwini with expectations that almost all metros would be overseen by the president's office.  

Ramaphosa said many challenges plaguing Johannesburg are similar to challenges faced by other metros, which prompted the establishment of the working group, with the support of local stakeholders, including business, labour and civil society.

“Working with stakeholders and the eThekwini metropolitan municipality, led by mayor Cyril Xaba, we were able to unblock several challenges,” he said.

“We were able to fast-track water supply agreements for the upper Mkhomazi water project, improving effluence compliance and reducing non-revenue water through infrastructure upgrades. We ensured a successful summer holiday as beaches remained open, holiday hotspots were cleaned, critical infrastructure refurbished and police visibility increased.”

The president said eThekwini had improved its investor confidence, adding eThekwini is on the road to recovery.

Ramaphosa said the team's priorities will include rejuvenation of the inner city, which complements the mayor's existing high-impact accelerated service delivery. programme. 

“Johannesburg faces enormous challenges, ranging from financial and governance instability to rapidly deteriorating infrastructure. Water and electricity interruptions have become the norm. This has an enormous impact on the quality of life of citizens and the operations of businesses.

“Road infrastructure faces tremendous challenges. These include vandalism of traffic lights, dysfunctional street lights and rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges. These are some of the challenges constraining growth in the country’s economic heartland.”

Ramaphosa conceded the historic central part of Johannesburg has been allowed to deteriorate for too long, and said efforts must be taken to make it a liveable, thriving and safe space for all citizens.

Addressing a meeting of national government and executive leadership of the city, the president thanked the mayor for engaging openly and in a collaborative spirit with the presidency on the support mechanism.

“It is in this spirit that we will make real strides to unlock Johannesburg’s role as the engine of growth for the economy. We will listen to their concerns and incorporate their proposals for how we can improve service delivery and enable growth.”

Morero and his executive are expected to present a report to the president and members of cabinet on the support they require. 

The president is expected to engage with stakeholders in the city, including labour unions and civil society groupings, on Friday afternoon.

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