Two years after a gas explosion tore through the Johannesburg CBD on Lilian Ngoyi Street, repairs and restoration are complete, but with full access by the public only expected on September 12, as the sidewalks need more work. No surprises here, as delays are an entrenched culture in South African service delivery — citizens work with what they are dealt.
Moving deadlines and making excuses while rolling out photo-ops for political point-scoring is nothing new. Mayor Dada Morero on Monday insisted only “sidewalk matters” still remain an issue. That may sound like a minor issue, but it is not for the trust deficit residents are already operating on daily. When you rush to announce unfinished projects that were a result of a devastating incident, how many more breaths must those whose livelihoods were affected continue to hold? How comfortable can an administration be with excuses?
The R82m price tag for phase one, with a further R110m earmarked for the next stage, raises its own set of questions. Will the city deliver phase two on time, or will “August 2026” also turn into another moving target? Johannesburg has become synonymous with cost overruns, project stalls and half-finished infrastructure. The CBD does not need another ambitious blueprint. It needs a city government that can stick to its word.
Zweli Nyathi of the Joburg Roads Agency frames the project as a “learning curve” that gave engineers the chance to inspect underground infrastructure. That may be true, but why must citizens always pay the price — both financially and through endless inconvenience — for the city’s learning? If explosions and disasters are the only triggers for proactive maintenance, Joburgers have every reason to be uneasy about what still lurks beneath their streets.
The pivot to brick pavements and “beautification” is welcome in principle, but it rings hollow when set against the broader dysfunction. A polished street means little if illegal taxi ranks choke mobility, if pedestrians still feel unsafe, or if massive investments like the Johannesburg International Transport Interchange remain idle because of bureaucratic inertia.
Morero’s ultimatum to officials to finally open the billion-rand Jiti by December is telling. The facility was meant to open in February and still sits gathering dust. Like Lilian Ngoyi Street, it has become another symbol of the city’s paralysing inefficiency.
Johannesburg residents are not unreasonable. They understand that complex infrastructure takes time. What they cannot accept is being strung along with shifting deadlines and glossy speeches while the ground reality tells a different story. The lesson Joburg needs is not about brick paving or lane reduction; it is about accountability.
September 12 had better not be another date scribbled over with excuses. The city has run out of road to keep moving the goalposts.
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