Joburg mayor Dada Morero says the City is slowly rebuilding despite ongoing financial pressure and growing frustration from residents over poor service delivery.
Morero delivered the State of the City Address on Wednesday at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in the Johannesburg CBD, where he reflected on the city’s challenges while outlining plans around infrastructure, investment, energy and service delivery. The speech comes at a time when many residents across Johannesburg continue to face water shortages, electricity outages, potholes, billing disputes and deteriorating infrastructure.
“This foundation is solid. Yes, it has cracks, and from time to time a refill is required. Nonetheless the foundation remains,” Morero said during the address.Throughout his speech, Morero tried to position Johannesburg as a city that is recovering after years of political instability, financial strain and infrastructure decline.
“This is our city. It is your city. The city is going nowhere,” he said. Morero said Johannesburg remains South Africa’s economic hub and contributes 15% to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “We remain the heartbeat of South Africa and Africa’s economy,” he said.
Joburg City Mayor Dada Morero at the state of city address. Picture: supplied
Based on recent Statistics South Africa figures, Johannesburg’s contribution to the economy amounts to more than R1 trillion. The mayor also highlighted employment figures, saying Johannesburg’s labour market continues to show resilience despite population growth and economic pressure. According to Morero, the city recorded net employment growth of 23 000 jobs during the first quarter of 2026 while the working-age population continued to increase.
“Our responsibility now is to build on this momentum by accelerating investment, supporting businesses, strengthening service delivery, and ensuring that more residents are able to participate meaningfully in the economy of the City of Johannesburg,” he said.
A large part of the address focused on the city’s finances. Morero said Johannesburg inherited serious financial problems and had to rebuild its financial systems and controls. “In 2019 we inherited a broke city. Fact not fiction,” he said. He said the City of Johannesburg has since adopted a fully funded R89.4 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year and introduced a debt relief programme aimed at helping qualifying residents and businesses.
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Morero also addressed concerns over the city’s financial relationship with Eskom following recent notices from the power utility. “We will not fight Eskom. We will work with the Minister of Electricity and Energy, and SALGA to resolve this challenge,” he said. According to Morero, City Power is finalising a 200 million euro funding agreement with German development bank KFW to support energy infrastructure projects.
The mayor further announced plans to dispose of non-strategic assets as part of efforts to stabilise municipal finances. Service delivery and the condition of the inner city were also central themes during the address. Morero said Johannesburg continues to reclaim parts of the CBD through by-law enforcement operations and urban management programmes.
“We continue to reclaim the inner city of Johannesburg, precinct by precinct,” he said. He also praised the city’s “Bomb Squad” intervention teams, which he said helped improve response times during recent water and electricity crises. According to figures presented during the speech, the city processed 724 service delivery cases and achieved an 86% resolution rate within six weeks.
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Morero also highlighted several investment and infrastructure projects currently underway in Johannesburg. He said the city has attracted R26.6 billion in investments and is implementing R73 billion worth of infrastructure and development projects. Among the projects mentioned were Microsoft’s R5.4 billion data centre investment, a R7 billion waste-to-energy partnership and a R760 million Midrand Bulk Water Storage Facility project.
Morero said Johannesburg is also making progress on energy sustainability projects, including smart meters, embedded generation initiatives and micro-grid electrification in informal settlements. “We are a city at work. This is Joburg! The new economic democracy continues to rise,” he said.
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While the mayor painted a picture of gradual recovery, opposition parties and civil society organisations continue to question whether residents are seeing enough improvement in their daily lives, particularly around water supply, electricity reliability, roads and public infrastructure.
Despite the criticism, Morero called for unity among political parties, business, civil society and residents in rebuilding Johannesburg. “When Johannesburg rises, Africa rises,” Morero said.
