Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero is under growing pressure to fix the citys finances and stabilise political leadership, as the treasury threatens to freeze critical funding over billions in irregular expenditure.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has given Morero until mid-August to account for R24.4 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful spending. A letter dated 30 July accused the City of Johannesburg of taking little to no action on financial mismanagement and warned that a failure to submit a credible recovery plan would result in cuts to national grants.
The citys budget depends heavily on these transfers, which make up roughly R13 billion, or 15, of its total R89 billion budget. These funds are used to support basic services and indigent households. Officials warn that Johannesburgs already limited capacity to deliver services could collapse if the funds are withheld.
Godongwanas intervention has also reignited concerns about who is really running the city, which critics say is starting to resemble a municipality under soft administration, with key decisions influenced by unelected actors.
Former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda has also weighed in, questioning whether Johannesburg is being managed by its elected officials or rather by external advisers, including the presidential task team and a group dubbed the bomb squad appointed by Morero in June to advise on service delivery whose role and impact however remains unclear.