MK Party mayoral candidate for the City of Joburg, Bongani Baloyi, has put political instability and poor financial management as the central reasons why the city collapsed within the past five years.
Baloyi said this during his campaign trail which reached one of the poorest parts of the city – Orange Farm – on Wednesday, south of Joburg.
According to Baloyi, the fact that the city has had six different mayoral terms among four individuals since November 2021 should make it obvious that it was almost impossible to finish any meaningful service delivery project.
In this five-year period, incumbent mayor Dada Morero had two stints, so did DA’s Mpho Phalatse, while the other two mayors were Thapelo Amad and Kabelo Gwamanda of Al Jamah in what was an unprecedented change of administrations in the history of the city.
Baloyi said this situation plunged the city into political instability and effectively halted service delivery, especially bulk projects that require ample time to implement.
Unstable coalitions since last polls
“Different coalitions. Different agreements. Different political configurations. But one institution expected to carry on delivering water, electricity, roads, waste collection and public safety through every change. That instability matters,” Baloyi told the MKP faithful in attendance.
“A reservoir takes years to plan and construct. A substation is not rebuilt in a political news cycle. A sewer network does not care which coalition signed the agreement. A long-term investment programme cannot restart every time the balance of power in Council changes.
“Political instability becomes a service-delivery problem when it interrupts administration, delays decisions and weakens accountability. The lesson of the past five years is, therefore, bigger than the person occupying the mayoral office.”
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According to Baloyi, financial mismanagement is another issue that has badly affected how CoJ serves its residents.
He believes that despite many promises made, it always boils down to whether the city can afford to run smoothly on its current approved budget of R97.1-billion.
In Baloyi’s view, the problem is not that Joburg is a small city without resources but rather a question of whether its enormous financial machine bills correctly, collects what it is legitimately owed, protects its revenue and pays its obligations and converts money into services.
Poor financial management
Said Baloyi: “In July, the mayor publicly described a city with about R2.8-billion in cash coverage – roughly twelve days. By August, that position had improved to around sixteen days. We should acknowledge improvement when it happens.
“In August, Johannesburg also settled approximately R5.25-billion in overdue Eskom debt. That matters. But paying an overdue account is not the same thing as fixing the system that allowed the account to become overdue.”
Baloyi believes that this kind of close-call financial management is unsustainable and should be frowned upon.
He believes that a city of Joburg’s magnitude cannot operate permanently with its financial safety margin measured in days.
Instead, Joburg, which is proclaimed a world-class African City, should have stronger financial collections, accurate billing and improved control of expenditure as well as enough liquidity to meet its obligations.
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If elected mayor, Baloyi says he will be realistic and disciplined between what he promises residents and what the municipality can finance, which he believes has not been the case with previous administrations.
“I will not ask Johannesburg to judge financial recovery by speeches about how much money was budgeted. Judge it by whether suppliers are paid, infrastructure is maintained, accounts become more accurate and the City’s financial resilience
improves,” said Baloyi.
The former Midvaal mayor under the DA card will be vying for the mayoral chain of Africa’s economic hub against political heavyweight opponents such as his former boss in the blues – Helen Zille, Kenny Kunene from the PA, Herman Mashaba from Action SA, Vuyo Zungula from ATM, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng from EFF and a yet-to-be-disclosed candidate from the undecisive ANC in what is billed to be a bruising contest.
- Bongani Baloyi attributed the collapse of the City of Joburg in the past five years to political instability and poor financial management during his campaign in Orange Farm.
- Since November 2021, Joburg has had six different mayoral terms among four individuals, causing political instability and halting major service delivery projects.
- Baloyi highlighted that unstable coalitions and changing political configurations disrupt long-term infrastructure projects and weaken accountability in the city.
- Financial mismanagement issues include poor billing, revenue protection, and liquidity, with the city being able to cover only about twelve to sixteen days of cash coverage recently.
- If elected mayor, Baloyi pledges to prioritize realistic promises, timely payments to suppliers, infrastructure maintenance, accurate accounts, and improved financial resilience.
