The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng says since last year, it has been calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene and rescue the City of Johannesburg from a financial and management crisis.
“This call came after the president himself witnessed the deterioration of the city’s infrastructure and, thereafter, announced that a working group would be established to fix the problems within the City of Johannesburg. However, there is nothing to show for his interventions, as the city is broke and service delivery has collapsed,” the DA said in a statement released by its Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga on Sunday.
This comes after news broke that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had written a letter to Joburg mayor Dada Morero, raising serious concerns about the state of the city’s finances. Sunday World reported on Sunday that Morero and Godongwana had emerged from a meeting held on Friday satisfied that misunderstandings had been cleared.
‘Place Joburg under administration’
However, the DA insists that the situation at the city of Joburg is dire and requires Ramaphosa’s urgent intervention. The party wants the president to ensure that the city is placed under financial administration “to save residents who have suffered enough from a lack of service delivery resulting from financial mismanagement and maladministration”.
“The DA Gauteng’s open letter to the president and the Joburg Rescue Plan document have been ignored. Now the Minister for Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has written a letter to the Mayor of Joburg, Dada Morero, highlighting the same issues we warned the president about last year.”
The DA said the open letter it wrote to the president and the rescue plan it presented called on the president “to put transparent oversight measures in place in all three legislative spheres to ensure that the interventions that were meant to be put in place by the Johannesburg Presidential Working groups are managed in accordance with proper corporate governance principles”.
‘Deterioration in the city’s governance’
“The minister of finance states that the City of Johannesburg has seriously violated various legislative and regulatory compliance requirements under the Municipal Finance Management Act. This indicates a deterioration in the city’s governance and overall financial health,” the DA said.
“In our letter to the president, we outlined several steps to rescue the City of Johannesburg. This plan will ensure that residents receive the service delivery they deserve promptly.”
The party said it would continue to pressure the president to intervene to ensure that the city is placed under financial administration.
“By doing so, the administrators will be able to do a proper assessment of the city’s finances. Furthermore, they will be able to identify gaps in the city’s financial plans and redirect funds needed for service delivery. If this is not done immediately, the residents in the City of Johannesburg will continue to experience a decline in service delivery in the province.”
- The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has been urging President Cyril Ramaphosa since last year to intervene and rescue the City of Johannesburg from a severe financial and management crisis.
- Despite the president's announcement of a working group to fix the city's problems, the DA reports no progress, with the city facing bankruptcy and collapsed service delivery.
- Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana recently expressed concerns to Mayor Dada Morero about Johannesburg's finances, though both reportedly resolved misunderstandings after a meeting.
- The DA insists the city's situation is dire, calling for Johannesburg to be placed under financial administration to address governance failures and improve service delivery.
- The party plans to keep pressuring the president, emphasizing that immediate intervention is necessary to assess finances properly, redirect funds, and halt the decline in services for residents.
