Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za

13 May 2025

3-minute read

With two years to implement a turnaround strategy for the City of Johannesburg, the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group has been given a list of key issues like service delivery deficits, financial issues and safety concerns affecting the city.

Following the continuous rotation of mayors in the city which brought about instability to services and administration where there were already low levels of trust, a range of organisations were brought together to get a sense of the visible and invisible deterioration of the city. With a vision for the city at heart, the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance was formed 3 years ago to serve as a convening structure and a “pressure point.” According to Nishan Bolton from the Nelson Mandela Foundation and a member of the Alliance, they “needed to do what was possible,” and could not be bystanders watching the “city collapse in front of our eyes.”

Nishan outlined the work the Alliance has done thus far:

1. Raised this issue with the president.
2. Shared and elaborated on concerns.
3. Campaigned against issues like the opening of the library and the change of mayor.
4. Proposed measures on what needs to be done.
5. Arranged meetings with the current mayor to outline key issues.
6. Hosted public summits to bring people together to share information and build links on common challenges like water issues.
7. Involved itself in the presidential working groups.

The JCA wants to achieve an area of organisation and commitment in every part of Johannesburg. While the mayor has alluded to a turnaround strategy, the JCA is currently looking at the budget as they fear that the plans the mayor announced in his speech have not been backed up.

The two big surprises in the mayor’s speech were the rotation of managers of entities and departments along with MMC’s on a bi-yearly basis; and the announcement of the bomb squad headed up by the president of the ANC Veteran’s League, the details of which are unclear. Unfortunately, Nishan says that these measures will further disempower and undermine the “position of elected councillors even further.”

Listen to the full interview here.