When listening to Joburg mayor Dada Morero’s state of the city address yesterday, you have to ask if he lives in a different Johannesburg to most of us?
A drive through the streets of what is poorly tagged a “world-class African city”, you are met with traffic lights not working, pothole-ridden roads, decaying infrastructure, sewage and water leaks, and unkempt pavements.
Poor management and corruption has led to this decay. There’s no maintenance, poor service delivery and hope is quickly fading among residents who used to be proud to call Joburg home.
Yet Morero insists the city is not collapsing, as he outlined all the successes they have achieved under him.
Admittedly there are successes, but the multiple, crippling failures far outweigh those and no matter how many people comment on Joburg as Africa’s richest city – in the mayor’s words it warms his heart when he hears this – it doesn’t hide how far the city has fallen.
If the people were concerned last year, they must be downright frightened now, especially with Eskom issuing a notice warning on the eve of his speech that the City of Joburg will be disconnected from the power grid as they owe R5.25 billion – an amount that excludes a current account, which is due early next month.
This year Morero said: “This foundation is solid. Yes, it has cracks, and from time to time a refill is required. Nonetheless the foundation remains. As we built this foundation, we collectively made sure that we break the apartheid spatial pattern and rebuild an integrated democratic city that enable residents to live, play and work in the place they call home. 2026 lays the foundation for the future. This is our city. It is your city. The city is going nowhere.”
He might be right… the city is going nowhere, fast.
In Morero’s words: “When Johannesburg rises, Africa grows.”
What happens when the opposite happens?
