A pothole in Johannesburg. (Photo: Helen Zille/Instagram)
The DA in Gauteng appeals to pres. Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene and ensure that the Johannesburg metro is placed under financial administration.
This appeal comes after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana sent a damning letter about the state of Johannesburg’s financial affairs to Mayor Dada Morero. The letter was leaked last week.
The DA in Gauteng says that if the Johannesburg metro is placed under financial administration, administrators will be able to make a proper assessment of the metro’s finances.
The administrators will also be able to identify gaps in the city’s financial plans and redirect funds needed for service delivery. If this is not done, service delivery will only collapse further, warns Solly Msimanga, the DA’s leader in Gauteng.
“A DA-led provincial government will intervene immediately by placing the city under financial administration and ensuring that funds that have been set aside for service delivery are properly used,” explains Msimanga.
“And the city’s residents have now suffered enough from a lack of service delivery due to financial mismanagement and maladministration.”
Solly Msimanga, the DA in Gauteng. (Photo: Mariska Nanni/Maroela Media)
DA warned metro
Msimanga says that the DA in Gauteng has been calling on Ramaphosa since last year to intervene and save the Johannesburg metro from a financial and management crisis.
However, an open letter to Ramaphosa and a Johannesburg Rescue Plan document have been ignored in the past.
Msimanga says the DA begged the president in his open letter and in the Johannesburg Rescue Plan to introduce transparent oversight measures in all three legislative spheres to ensure that the interventions that were to be introduced by the Johannesburg presidential working group are managed in accordance with proper corporate governance principles.
FF Plus also warned
Franco de Lange, a FF Plus councilor in the Johannesburg metro council, says the FF Plus has also warned the ANC administration of Johannesburg over the years that excessive salary negotiations and a culture of non-payment are putting the city on a path to bankruptcy.
“These warnings have been ignored again and again and the consequences are now visible.”
De Lange believes the controversial salary increase of R10.3 billion that was offered to workers last year to prevent industrial action before the G20 summit was a tipping point.
“The FF Plus warned at the time that such a decision would not only undermine the city’s short-term liquidity, but also its long-term sustainability.”
Johannesburg’s debt burden now confirms this, says De Lange.
Outstanding municipal debt currently amounts to R70 billion, the largest part of which comes from Soweto, he explains.
“While the collection rate in the suburbs is above 88%, Soweto’s rate remains at just 40% to 50% – a culture of default that the ANC has allowed to thrive over the years.”
“Die @VFPlus warned the ANC administration of Johannesburg over the years that excessive salary negotiations and a culture of non-payment were putting the city on a path to bankruptcy.” – Rev. Franco de Lange
????Article: https://t.co/AcXIi0YPlK pic.twitter.com/UmxL4Rmvoc— VF Plus | Gauteng (@VFplusGP) May 7, 2026
To make matters worse, the Gauteng provincial government still owes about R1.4 billion to the city.
De Lange says the FF Plus also warned that the city’s financial credibility would be compromised.
“This warning came true when Moody’s considered a downgrade of Johannesburg’s creditworthiness and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) suspended trading of the city’s bonds.”
According to De Lange, the proposed salary increases will form part of a budget debate at the end of May.
“The FF Plus will not support a budget where the taxpayers of the city have to bear the yoke of poor financial management and decisions,” he states clearly.