Can Joburg be saved? – Expert says it will take time for the city of gold to shine again

2026-03-09 - 03:23

Almost anyone except the ANC could fix Johannesburg given the city’s state, but it would take time, experts say. DA Joburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille promised on Saturday to turn around Johannesburg should she be elected mayor and pledged to prioritise reliable water and electricity for all residents, roads that work and attract 200 000 new jobs to the city. “Once elected, we will stop the rot, fix what is broken and rebuild Joburg into a city its residents can be proud of,” she said. “We will be tough on crime, reclaim hijacked buildings and stop land invasions. We will have zero tolerance for illegal immigration. “We will listen to whistle-blowers, protect them and hold corrupt officials accountable. “We will hire competent professionals, reward good performance and punish poor performance,” she said. Will the DA inherit a mess? Political analyst Daniel Silke said the DA had been gifted a complete disaster in Johannesburg. “So, every rebuilding promise is used in the campaign, whether it becomes reality, a partial reality, which it is more likely to be, but is likely a better bet than what Johannesburg residents have to suffer for many years. “While the campaign promises successes in an ideal and perfect environment, the reality is that anybody who gets elected, including Zille, will have a difficult time securing gains in the short term,” Silke said. This is not only because of the infrastructure failure, but in terms of managing the complex bureaucracy made up of invested interests, cronies, those with links to tender entrepreneurs and others from the ANC who may wish to disrupt a future DA mayor in their attempt to clean up the city. “If Zille or a more able candidate in Johannesburg can clear up the administrative and political rot that exists at the highest levels of governance in the city, residents should start to see some modicum of improvement going forward,” Silke said. “If the DA does do well and Zille can cobble together some sort of governing body in Johannesburg, she will be watched all the way, and if as mayor, Zille fails to show improvement in the next two years until the next elections, the DA will be remembered in a negative way in 2029,” he added. ALSO READ: Mashaba déjà vu won’t rescue Johannesburg ‘Empty promises’ Senior political lecturer at North-West University Benjamin Rapanyane said over time, South Africans have learnt that politicians tend to rely on empty promises and deliver none. “This has become a period of voting for them and also praying for them to achieve their empty promises without compromise,” he said. Political analyst Piet Croucamp said politicians made political promises because they are rarely in a position to make financial promises. “You have to ask where the budget for this is. “We have the money to maintain what we have, but we don’t have the money, the tax base to repair what has been neglected, abused and destroyed over 30 years. “We don’t have the tax base to ad dress the problem completely over five years.” Croucamp said it often took a two year education process to change the institutional memory of an organisation before you can start doing the right thing. “And then another two years to have an impact,” he said. Economist Dawie Roodt said money would always be a problem. “You never have enough. But the ineffectiveness of the ANC... if you can only improve that, we can achieve much more with even less money. “It is not money that is the problem, but corruption and in competence that are typical of the ANC,” Roodt said. – marizkac@citizen.co.za NOW READ: Zille slams ANC over Joburg collapse, unveils five priority rescue plan