Johannesburg suffering service delivery crisis in week of election

Johannesburg voters are ready to go to the polls this week and will be met with several reminders of service delivery failures along the way.

Several suburbs across the city have been without water for days or weeks, electricity outages remain frequent and unpredictable, while rubbish has piled up on street corners.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero was at several sites on Monday, attempting to quell the angers and anxieties of residents, especially around water shortages.

“We recognise that improving reservoir levels offers little comfort to residents whose taps remain dry.

“Our immediate focus is to turn system recovery into a stable supply for every affected household,” said Morero.

Water shortages

Morero and his deputy Loyiso Masuku were joined by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in the south of the city to assure residents that local and provincial government were working to resolve the issue.

Morero said overall water storage capacity was at roughly 40%, while Lesufi said early warning systems had failed to notify technicians.

The restoration of services were expected to begin on Monday in the Sandton, Midrand, Randburg, Roodepoort, Commando and Central Johannesburg systems.

Civil society movements Defend our Democracy, WaterCan and Johannesburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) had gathered earlier on Monday outside Johannesburg Water’s offices to protest.

“We have had enough of opening our taps and not being able to have any water to wash in the morning before work.

“We have had enough of need to fill bottles upon bottles just to flush our toilets, to be able to wash our children and to be able to ensure that we have drinkable water, and water that we can use to cook food,” Defend our Democracy Executive Director Wade Manning told The Citizen.

He said this was a recurring issue, not just in recent months, but years. He asked voters to choose their candidates wisely this week.

“The fact that we are seeing some of our elderly residents of Johannesburg needing to come out to protest for the basic human right of water means that this vote on 4 November is going to be a vote about dignity.

“Think about the leaders you are voting into power. Ensure that they are able to deliver on services in your municipality.

“Ensure that you can vouch for their integrity when you make your X on 4 November,” Manning said.

Lillian Ngoyi Street ribbon cutting

Bridges across the city are deteriorating and roads throughout the city remain potholed, but Morero and municipal dignitaries chose Monday to cut a ribbon to reopen phase two of Lillian Ngoyi Street.

Phase one reopened in September 2025, with phase two’s reopening deadline having been moved from 31 August to 31 October.

Morero and Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) celebrated the reopening after the completion of upgrades to stormwater, sidewalk, vendor, bus and ablution infrastructure.

JRA boasted that 27 small, medium and micro enterprises and 200 expanded public works programme beneficiaries were supported through phase two.

JRA CEO Zweli Nyathi cited multiple reasons for the delays.

“Throughout the construction period the project team encountered challenges including adverse weather conditions, ageing underground services, the relocation and replacement of water and sewer infrastructure, and sinkholes caused by underground erosion and leaking services.

“However, the necessary recovery plans were swiftly implemented to bring this project to completion,” stated Nyathi.

Waste collection delays

Ward councillors in Johannesburg have relayed that the waste collection situation “remains fairly bleak” as striking workers and infrastructure shortages plague Pikitup.

As of Sunday, there was still a shortage of trucks, but councillors stated that operations managers had relayed that they expected workers to return to work on Monday.

However, many areas and sectional title developments had sought private alternatives to clear the building stench.

As of Monday, Pikitup had not posted route delay and collection updates for seven days, with the expected return of workers crucial to the restoration of services.

“Should this happen, they will resume normal operations, but the down side to this is that we will only receive waste collection services late in the coming week on the usual collection days,” Ward 70 councillor Caleb Finn stated.

City Power’s internal overdraft

Civil society groups last week highlighted a dire financial situation at City Power, calling for full disclosure and a future overhaul of Johannesburg’s municipal accounting system.

The JCA said the city’s recent financial reports showed that the sweeping system had allowed for City Power to accumulate a R22.5 billion internal overdraft.

While City Power had just begun ringfencing its revenue collection, JCA explained that municipal revenue had been placed in a central account, after which funds were distributed to the municipality’s 13 entities.

“While the system was intended to manage municipal liquidity, there has been limited public disclosure about how funds are distributed, how internal balances are calculated and whether entities receive sufficient revenue to meet their operational obligations,” JCA stated.

JCA coordinator Yunus Chamda called the system “an extraordinary failure of financial transparency and oversight”, and warned that whoever was in charge after the 4 November polls faced a mammoth administrative challenge.

“The next council will inherit more than failing infrastructure and deteriorating services. It will inherit a financial system that has allowed City Power to accumulate billions of rands in internal debt, while Johannesburg Water’s surpluses have been used to help keep the electricity utility afloat.

“Residents and councillors deserve a full explanation of how this situation developed and what it will take to resolve it,” Chamda concluded.