Transcript: State of the City Address Debate

Opening and welcome

00:00:10[inaudible] for the 9th extraordinary council meeting, the debate of the State of the City Address of the City of Johannesburg Municipality will be held on Thursday the 21st of May 2026 at 10:00 a.m. at the Constance Connie Bapela Council Chamber in Metro Centre in Braamfontein. And the first item is opening.

00:00:32Good morning once again, councillors. Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Sello Morero Dada. Councillor Dada Sello Morero. Deputy Executive Mayor, Councillor Loyiso Masuku. Whip of Council, Councillor Gasa Mola Chauke. Chair of Chairs, Councillor Vuyani Marema. All political party leaders and whips, members of the Mayoral Committee, chairpersons

00:01:01of Section 79, fellow councillors, City Manager, Dr Floyd Brink, Secretary to Council, Mr Andile Gobinca, officials of the City of Johannesburg, residents of Johannesburg, members of the media, ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you all to the council meeting for the debate on the State of the City Address. This comes after yesterday's This comes after yesterday's presentation by the Executive

00:01:31Mayor on the State of the City Address and political parties will this morning engage on the Executive Mayor's SOCA address and the mayor will also be afforded an opportunity to respond in that regard. Councillors, the notice that went out to you and to all of us was that the meeting starts at 10:00, not at 10:01 or 10:05, at 10:00 and we are still walking

Screen outage and request for a break

00:02:00in as councillors. No, no, no, I didn't ask for any opinions. Colleagues, besides besides all that I want to also ask. We are going to do um we are going to have the 10 minutes to ensure that councillors that are present in the in the chamber is counted, but also that councillors that have signed the register so that we can confirm

00:02:29the co quorum. But I also want to I want to ask this humbly from this house that we have a 35-minute break before we truly start. Um we've had a outage yesterday and as you can see your screens are not working. Your screens are not working so we have to have our screens working.

00:03:00As you will also see you don't have name tags in front of you. So we would want to have the screens working with your indulgence. Can we do that? Uh I don't think it needs a discussion. We need to do that. Um I don't know those two fingers that are up there. Uh we are all saying it's good. So we'll have a 35-minute break. Uh I hope that the late comers will also be in the chamber.

00:03:32I thank you all.

00:03:34What time must they?

00:03:34Uh you'll be back, just hold on. 35 minutes.

00:04:04Colleagues, I've just been advised by legal that according to to the regulations Can the table be quiet next to me! That we are going to take the 20 minutes as per the regulations, right? So that I don't get hit and taken somewhere where I don't want to be. And then after that we come back and then we take the next 20 minutes, which will actually give you 5 extra minutes. Can we do that? I've been advised by legal

00:04:34to do that. Thank you so much. I can see fingers are up. Thank you, colleagues.

Resumption and quorum confirmed

00:28:00Colleagues, can we settle? We said 20 minutes and I think our 20 minutes is fine. IT um I believe everything is working.

00:28:21Yeah, your screens are coming. So we will we'll start working. Can the councillors at the back, I'm not going to mention the political party, but can they be seated? Both on my left and on my right. There are some in red and there are some in in in in in green that you can't see the green,

00:28:50but they are green. Can they be seated? Thank you, colleagues. Let's start off. Can we Councillors, we are 167. So it means we quorate. And I need to emphasize again. The invite says 10:00 and we arrive later than 10:00. Can we do the right thing? STC.

Applications for leave of absence

00:29:26Uh we now move to Item 2 and that is the applications for leave of absence.

00:29:33Can we get apologies from the whips? Can we see the whips? Councillor Makhuba and then Councillor Councillor Masera and then Councillor Munyayi.

00:30:01I don't see Councillor, Councillor Ndlela, Chair Ndlela. I'm looking for the usual, Councillor, it's not Mosehla. Councillor from the EFF, and Councillor Mkhonza, in that, in that, um, way.

00:30:28Uh, just before you go, does the Patriotic Alliance have apologies your end? Are we going to call you and IFP, are we calling you? Oh, IFP is Councillor Makhuba. Thanks, Councillor Makhuba.

00:30:46Thank you, Speaker. Good morning, Speaker. Good morning, Executive Mayor, Deputy Executive, um, Executive Mayor, um, all protocol observed. For the IFP, it's Councillor Nyembe, ill health.

00:31:01Thank you, Councillor Makhuba. The next Councillor.

00:31:08Uh, thank you, Speaker. Uh, good morning to you and good morning to all the colleagues. I've got the following, uh, LOAs for Councillors. Councillor, uh, Mohamed, um, party business. Councillor Sheik Chabalala, ill health. Councillor René Benjamin, private business.

00:31:30Uh, Councillor Tim Truluck, private business. Councillor Florence Roberts, ill health. Councillor Solomon Maila, ill health. Councillor Emi Koekemoer, private business. Councillor Papo Mngqathishane, ill health. Councillor B. Campbell-Cloete, ill health. Councillor Ralf Bittkau, ill health. Councillor Gert Niemand, party business.

00:31:56Um, Councillor Genevieve Sherman will leave early. Councillor Zooné, uh, Huggett, party business. Councillor Genevieve Sherman will leave early. And, uh, yeah, that's all. Thank you, thank you, Speaker.

00:32:13Councillor, thank you. Next Councillor.

00:32:17TshivendaEh, ndi matcheloni, eh, Vho Spikara. Eh, kha ActionSA, ri na Councillor Nkomo, Councillor Mabelebele.

00:32:27Eh, vha na ill health and late arrival, we have Councillor Zwane. Eh, party business, we have Councillor Mokoka, Councillor Ngwetsheni. Eh, study leave, we have Councillor Shumba. Ndo livhuwa.

00:32:40Thank you. Next Councillor.

00:32:43Eh, thank you, Madam Speaker, and good morning to you too, and all protocol observed. Eh, on the ANC caucus, eh, Councillor Nair, Councillor Nyembe, Councillor Mnyameni for ill health, eh, Councillor Marumo and Councillor Mnisi, family bereavement. Eh, Councillor Nguse is out of the province. Councillor Shange, Councillor, eh, Councillor Hlatshwayo Sthembiso, MMC Zungu, eh,

00:33:09Councillor Molife Mohau, Councillor Nzimande, Councillor, eh, Khomongoe, late arrival. Eh, Councillor Mavhona is requesting to leave at 16:00 hours if we will not be done at that time. Councillor Mokoena to leave at 15:00 hours, and Councillor Maake to leave at 12:00 due to a gender's comm meeting. Thank you.

00:33:30Thank you, Councillor Ndlela. Next Councillor.

00:33:37Eh, thank you very much, eh, Speaker. Eh, greetings, eh, colleagues. From the EFF, we have, eh, Councillor Koma, Councillor Khonkhobe, Councillor Mogapi, eh, three of them on, eh, party business. Uh, we have, eh, Councillor Ngwenya, ill health. Uh, we have Councillor Makhafola,

00:34:01Councillor Mokwena on, eh, family commitment. And then we have, eh, Councillor Ntoele, she will, eh, request to leave, eh, earlier if we are not done by, um, 13:30. Thank you.

00:34:18Thank you, Councillor. The next Councillor. Councillors.

00:34:28Madam Speaker, good morning. Apologies from the

00:34:32No, no, Councillor, you were not noted. Councillor, um, from ACDP. Mkhonza.

00:34:40Yes, um, yes, thank you very much. Shalom, shalom, Madam Speaker. Greetings to the Executive Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the Executive, all Councillors. Um, I've got Councillor Harris, party business, and Councillor Rohlssen, ill health. Thank you very much.

00:34:58Councillor Cherry, we'll recognise you now. Everybody else is done. Thank you.

00:35:06Greetings, Madam Speaker. Apologies for Councillor Juwairiya Kaldine, ill health, um, Councillor Deppe, study leave.

00:35:15Thank you so much, Councillor. Colleagues, we also have the following, as noted by Councillor Mkhonza, Councillor R. Harris, political party business, Councillor Mpolobosho, uh, private business, and Councillor F. Abdool, private business. Are they, are these all noted? Thank you, colleagues, we move on.

Start of party debate and EFF caucus break

00:35:43We now proceed with the debate on the State of the City Address by the political parties.

00:35:50Thank you so much, colleagues. We start off with the GOOD Party, Councillor M. Cook. Councillor Tsoadi.

00:36:08Uh, thank you, Speaker. The EFF is requesting 20 minutes caucus break.

00:36:20It's 10:44. We come back at 4 minutes past 11:00 sharp. 4 minutes past 11:00 sharp. Not a minute later. Thank you.

00:56:56Can we move to our seats so that we can get the EFF to report back. Councillor Tsoadi.

00:57:17Thank you very much, Speaker. Um, we have resolved our issues and are good to go. Thank you.

00:57:23Thank you so much, Councillor. So we can start with Councillor Cook. Councillor Munyayi.

ActionSA caucus break request

00:57:37TshivendaYeah, eh, ndi matcheloni, eh, Vho Spikara. Eh, na rine vho sa ActionSA, ri khou tou humbela 15 minutes caucus break.

00:57:47I'm, you, Councillor, can you switch off your mic?

00:57:52It's on.

00:57:53It's not off, it's on.

00:57:55Oh, should I switch it off now?

00:57:56Yeah, switch it off. Colleagues, I really want us to know that all the breaks that we are asking, and I know it's within your right to ask these breaks, but the issue is we have a 2:00 o'clock sitting as well, and there are a lot of LOAs asking to leave before 2:00 o'clock.

00:58:27And we cannot afford to be doing that. So, I'm not certain why, and I'm just throwing it in, we had 20 minutes, and I'm not certain why we, all of us, did not caucus within that 20 minutes. Because it was not like the EFF went out, no, no, no, please don't do that. It was not like the EFF went out

00:58:57and they were outside on their own. All of us were outside, and we could have used that time to caucus. So I'm going to give you 7 minutes. I thank you.

00:59:19And you come back 13 minutes past 11:00. And it's also us that complain when we, when we can't finish business, and it's unfair.

01:00:11Yes, ma'am.

01:00:13Yeah, I said 7 minutes.

01:00:19Okay.

01:02:29isiZulu[inaudible] ubani?

01:02:36isiZuluAwu bafowethu.

01:02:46isiZuluNgiyakuzwa.

01:02:51isiZuluBazolokhu bakhala ngathi [inaudible]

01:03:00isiZuluHhayi webafo, wena.

01:03:04isiZuluAyi lutho nje.

01:03:07isiZuluAyi angifuni ukuqamba amanga, akukho msindo la.

01:03:11isiZuluAnixabani?

01:03:15isiZuluUngababuza bonke akekho ongasho ukuthi. [inaudible]

01:03:23isiZulu[inaudible] uzama osekhuluma. Kanjani?

01:03:28isiZuluHhayi lokhu kuyaqala kuqale phi?

01:03:32isiZuluNiyedelela.

01:03:54isiZuluAyi ngiyakutshela awuzange uze la u-nine.

01:04:19isiZuluOh uyiqedile vele?

01:04:22isiZuluSengiyezwa isikhathi esingaka.

Session started without ActionSA

01:07:08So, we have

01:07:32Colleagues, we gave ActionSA seven minutes. Their seven minutes are over. Can we be seated so that we start the session, whether they are here or not. We gave them seven minutes. So, can we be seated? And we do corate even though they are not in the chamber. So, we are going to start. Um we need discipline, counselors. Thank you, colleagues.

01:08:11Colleagues on my right-hand side, if you are not a counselor, can you leave the chamber? And counselors, can we be seated? We are starting the session. Um Deputy Executive Mayor, can we have the mayor to come in as we are going to have uh people speaking to his speech.

01:09:07Hey.

01:10:23I think, colleagues, we have the Deputy Executive Mayor in the house, so we would start with our speech. Thank you so much. Counselor Matthew Cook from GOOD, can we start? Can we be seated? We are starting. Thank you, Counselor Cook.

GOOD Party debate response

01:10:45Thank you, Madam Speaker, um Executive Mayor in absentia, Deputy Executive Mayor, MMCs, um and Section 79 chairpersons, counselors, residents of Johannesburg. Speaker, GOOD acknowledges the vision the Executive Mayor is trying to articulate, that of a Johannesburg that works, is resilient, investment-friendly, and capable of restoring dignity through service delivery and opportunity. We also recognize that governing Johannesburg is no small task.

01:11:16It is a complex, unequal, and financially strained city carrying the weight of decades of spatial injustice, infrastructure neglect, and rapid urbanization. However, Madam Speaker, the real question before this council is whether the lived reality of Johannesburg's residents reflects the optimistic picture painted in Morero's, Mayor Morero's State of the City Address. The mayor says the foundation has been laid. Residents of Johannesburg are asking, if the foundation is so strong,

01:11:47why does the city feel like it's cracking underneath them? Speaker, the reality outside this chamber is very different from the optimism inside it. People are still sitting without water. Traffic lights still don't work. Roads are collapsing.

01:12:02Can you just hold on, counselor? Sorry, um

Point of order on the Executive Mayor's absence

01:12:05Please hold my time, Speaker.

01:12:06Yeah, we'll hold your time. Uh Counselor Belinda.

01:12:11Mo- morning, Madam Speaker. Thank you for allowing me to speak. It's not a point of order on Counselor Cook. Um you earlier asked that the mayor be present. This is a speech on the mayor. This is a response to the mayor's speech. May I request that we stop until the mayor gets into the chamber, please?

01:12:30Counselor Belinda, I said, and I think you were busy talking to the counselor at the back. You were talking to her together with your whip. I said we have the Deputy Mayor in the house, so that the Deputy Mayor will take the notes, and the Deputy Mayor can also respond to the speech of the Executive Mayor. I said that and we agreed. You were busy in a conversation

01:13:01with yourself, Counselor Smit, and the short counselor at the back. Can we continue? Counselor GOOD.

01:13:11Thank you, Madam Speaker. People are still sitting without water. Traffic lights still don't work. Roads are collapsing. Substations are exploding. Waste is piling up in communities, and unemployment

01:13:22Counselor, I'll hold your Counselor Counselor

01:13:28Christians, I have I have ruled on what counselor has asked. Are you with something else? I don't know what the counselor said wrong. Thank you, but we can't disturb people on the podium.

01:13:47AfrikaansStaan vinniger op.

01:13:51Thank you. Thank you, Speaker. Speaker, I just rise on a point of order in terms of clarity. Has the mayor delegated his authority to the Deputy Speaker? Because

01:13:59Yes, he has.

01:14:00We haven't seen it. Thank you.

01:14:01Yes, he has. That's why I said what I said. That was my reason why I said what I said. Thank you. Counselor Cook.

01:14:12Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yes, Speaker, there has been progress in some areas, and it would be dishonest not to acknowledge that. But Johannesburg cannot survive on press statements, slogans, and SOCA speeches. Residents do not experience government through speeches. They experience it through whether the tap runs, whether the lights stay on, whether they are safe, and whether they can find work. Speaker, we've heard a lot about investment figures, conferences, partnerships, and billion-rand announcements,

01:14:41but investment alone is not transformation. A city cannot call itself world-class while entire communities still live with collapsing infrastructure, overcrowding, spatial exclusion, and deep, deep inequality. The true test of governance is not what happens in boardrooms and in this council chamber. It is what happens in Alexandra, Orange Farm, Diepsloot, Soweto, Eldorado Park, Westbury, Riverlea, Ivory Park, and informal settlements across the city.

01:15:10Speaker, this is where the mayor's speech becomes a little contradictory. On one hand, the administration speaks about spatial justice and inclusion. On the other hand, we continue to see public land sold off, communities pushed further to the margins, and development driven more by market interests than by public good. GOOD believes public land must be used for public good. If Johannesburg is serious about spatial transformation, then land close to jobs, transport, and opportunity

01:15:40must prioritize affordable housing, inclusionary development, and integrated communities, not simply revenue generation. The mayor, Speaker, says that Johannesburg is resilient, but residents should not have to become resilient to government failure. People should not have to normalize burst pipes, blackouts, hijacked buildings, broken clinics, and unsafe streets. While the mayor correctly says that corruption must not be tolerated, the reality is that corruption, mismanagement, political instability,

01:16:10and weak oversight have cost the city years of progress. Speaker, one thing the mayor said is absolutely correct: Johannesburg matters. When Johannesburg works, South Africa works. When Johannesburg fails, the consequences ripple across uh the entire country. This is why this city cannot afford politics of self-congratulation. It requires urgency, honesty, competence, and long-term thinking. We do not need a city government focused on managing

01:16:40decline more efficiently. We need a government capable of rebuilding public trust and delivering real change to the residents of this city. Madam Speaker, GOOD urges Mayor Morero to adopt a simple principle. The measure of success is not how many announcements are made, but whether people's lives are materially better. Speaker, the people of Johannesburg are not asking for miracles. They are asking for a government that works, a city where infrastructure functions,

01:17:10where public money is protected, where development reduces inequality instead of deepening it, a city where opportunity is not determined by your postcode, and a city where dignity is not something residents must fight for every day. That is the Johannesburg we should be building. Speaker, as I conclude, Mayor Morero presented his State of the City Address for the year ahead. But the political reality is that this administration has five months left before residents will return

01:17:40to the ballot box. That means for the time this is not the time for announcements, slogans, or glossy promises. What matters now is delivery. What matters now is whether this administration uses its remaining time to leave Johannesburg better than it found it. Speaker, the mayor still has an opportunity to shape a meaningful legacy, one defined not by speeches, but by action. In five months' time, the people of Johannesburg will judge this government on not on

01:18:10what it hoped to achieve, but what it actually delivered. Speaker, I hope for the Executive Mayor, for his family, and for his children, and for the city he says he loves so much, that he can use these final five months to leave behind a legacy he can be proud of. I thank you.

ANC debate response

01:18:28Thank you, Counselor GOOD. We now go to the ANC, Counselor R. Maswazi. Colleagues on my right, please.

01:18:45Uh thank you, Speaker. Honorable Speaker, Executive Mayor in absentia, uh the Deputy Executive Mayor, fellow counselors, guests in the gallery, and most importantly, the residents uh of the City of Johannesburg. Uh Speaker, we must begin with the facts. This administration inherited a financially distressed city,claim

01:19:16with infrastructure under pressure and political instability. And yet today, we have a fully funded 89.4 billion budget. We are maintaining financial discipline all while rebuilding trust in our systems. The mayor's State of the City Address painted a clear picture of Johannesburg. It painted a picture of Johannesburg that is working, not perfectly and not without its challenges,claim

01:19:47but decisively and with purpose. Excuse me.claim

01:20:02The city's foundation is indeed solid, Speaker. And to quote the mayor, open quote, "When Johannesburg rises, Africa rises," close quote. As we have seen with successful hosting of the G20, that saw Africa making a statement to the world, and that this city is leading uh the charge. Now, Madam Speaker, let me be clear. I do not stand here and claim perfection.claim

01:20:32The African National Congress acknowledges the issue faces facing this wonderful city of ours. We acknowledge the infrastructure challenges that have been cited by some of the um fellow counselors, the issues of the water issues, and all that. The mayor have correctly alluded and said that something is being done. Other issues that we have is the unemployment crisis that we are facing. The youth in the main are affected.claim

01:21:08However, Madam Speaker, excuse me.claim

01:21:19However, Madam Speaker, what defines leadership is not the absence of challenges, but the willingness to face the challenges. And that is exactly what this administration is doing under the leadership of the Mayor uh Dada Morero. We see this happening all around the city: high-impact service delivery, a clean and safer De Villiers Street in Johannesburg CBD, the housing developments across the city, and the expansion of infrastructure

01:21:49uh road repairs. Honorable Mayor in absentia, we welcome your initiative to rename Lanseria Airport to Lanseria Johannesburg International Airport. We also thank you for the 300 high-mast streetlights recently installed from the airport via Malibongwe Road to the N14 freeway. Ourselves being the residents of the precinct of Lanseria, we can attest that 12 years 12 months

01:22:19ago, when we had a stakeholder briefing about the Lanseria Smart City, one of the pertinent concerns was the fact that Lanseria is too dark. And when we speak about investment that will come in Lanseria, it can't happen in the dark. Any businessperson who would wish to invest in that area should do so knowing that the area is safe. Right now, as you drive out of the Lanseria Airport, either you are joining the N14 to Pretoria or Krugersdorp, you have got a choice to even switch off

01:22:49your lights while you are driving, because the area at night is as bright as daylight. These are the among the successes uh that you have alluded, um Executive Mayor, and you also said that you are not presenting a state of the city that is perfect. You acknowledged that there are issues that still needs to be resolved. And I think among some of the successes, we should acknowledge that recently we had the provincial

01:23:19Human Settlement government that came around the Lanseria precinct, and then they've made a commitment that they're going to build over 10,000 houses around Lanseria precinct as a preparation to come and actually make this um dream of a Lanseria Smart City uh become a reality. And we are happy that with the city that is led by yourself, you are showing commitment and uh also the need to be able to be around to assist the development of Lanseria City. During your 2025 State

01:23:49of the City Address 12 months ago, you used a phrase that said, open quote, "Drastic times call for drastic measures." You further stated that, open quote, "We must behave in an unusual manner so that we can see and yield different results." Executive Mayor, these were your own words

01:24:1912 months ago. And indeed, this unusual behavior is now yielding positive results, as we have seen the efforts that you are doing in De Villiers, together with Small Street, working together with our JLU partners. We would like to encourage you, Mayor, that continue with this good work that you are doing. All the good efforts are being acknowledged.

01:24:49One leadership expert once said, open quote, "A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way," close quote. Your recent interventions are beginning to demonstrate exactly that kind of leadership to the residents of Johannesburg. A powerful reminder from John C. Maxwell says, open quote, "People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision," close quote. The visible improvements across our city

01:25:19are slowly restoring the confidence of the residents that Johannesburg can work again. All these interventions are clear indications that you are not only a man of your word, but also a visionary leader. Executive Mayor, we also welcome the financial reforms set out by Treasury to ring-fence utility revenue of Pikitup, City Power, and Joburg Water as a way to reinvest funds back into the infrastructure development.

01:25:48This will help prevent utility revenue from being diverted to the unrelated deficit and will strengthen service delivery across the city. We, as the ward counselors in various wards, we do acknowledge the fact that it can't be business as usual when every time when there's water issues, we see trucks roaming around, and most of those trucks coming from some unscrupulous service providers. We acknowledge the work that the city has done uh in trying to procure about 17

01:26:17uh trucks that we have that are owned by the City of Johannesburg. We can only encourage that with the money that will be ring-fenced, the the number of trucks must be increased, because in our communities that we are from, the communities of the informal settlements are starting to accuse some of the counselors that they might be eating with these service providers. But when you see trucks that are branded City of Johannesburg, Joburg Water, it's encouraging for us to be able to inform the residents that these trucks are owned by you as the City of Johannesburg residents.

01:26:47These trucks are owned by you as the ratepayers. So, where there are problems, we are actually seeing that you are coming with some turnaround strategy, and we would like to encourage you to go ahead with that. We commend your administration for taking the bold and practical steps towards rebuilding Johannesburg and ensuring that service delivery reaches our communities.

01:27:14Lastly, we welcome your efforts to clean Johannesburg and restore the city to its former glory. Indeed, one street at a time, we shall conquer. And while Johannesburg is fixing its potholes, the real question is, when will Helen Zille fix Cape Town's inequalities? Because it is far because it is far easier to swim in our problems than to solve your own.

01:27:43And if this is the level of leadership the Democratic Alliance offers, then they have already shown us exactly why they would once again fail to govern the city effectively. This city does not need theatrics. It needs leadership that understands its complexity, leadership which fixes problems and delivers for all its people, not for some.

01:28:11Johannesburg is not without its flaws, but is a city that is built on a solid foundation with leadership working tirelessly to mend the cracks that exist. Speaker, I thank you.

ActionSA debate response

01:28:28Thank you, counselor. Counselor M. Coutriers from ActionSA.

01:28:43AfrikaansMevrou die Speaker,

01:28:46the Executive Mayor, Deputy Mayor, City of Johannesburg, fellow counselors, residents of Johannesburg. And let me take this opportunity, Madam Speaker, of welcoming the incoming Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Mr. Herman Mashaba.

01:29:11Madam Speaker, yesterday we listened, or we tried to listen carefully to the city address by the outgoing Mayor of Johannesburg, Counselor Morero. And let me just qualify why I say the outgoing mayor. Um his own political party, the ANC, is advertising his post. So it seems to be another vote of no confidence against the mayor, but we won't go there. We're not there.

01:29:40Madam Speaker, Mr. Mayor's speech was filled with optimism, ambition, and promises about lying, wrong word, laying the foundation for the future. But the question we must ask, Madam Speaker, on behalf of the people of Johannesburg is this.

01:30:00Are residents living that future today or are they still waiting for it? Let me begin by acknowledging that Johannesburg remains the economic heart of our country, that partnerships with business and civil society are necessary and welcome. And Madam Speaker, we support any initiative that genuinely improves the lives of our people.

01:30:30However, acknowledgement must never replace accountability. Let's break down that recycled speech that was delivered yesterday. As in previous years, his plans and achievements are not aligned with what he promised last year. We thought that since this was his last State of Address before Herman Mashaba takes over the city, he would genuinely inspire hope or sign off with a bang.

01:31:02But alas, Madam Speaker, he maintained his tradition of delivering hollow, flaky speeches. Madam Speaker, reclaiming the city, we must realize that ActionSA is the custodian of the inner city rejuvenation. And we welcome the seasonal efforts by the ANC-led administration and the other smaller, what do they call it,claim

01:31:30nyana parties or something like that? But it's not enough. We cannot only clean the city when a big event is coming. This must be a continued effort. We have more than 1,000 hijacked properties in the city and this current leadership has shown no appetite to resolve it. The Mayor in his address failed to address the elephant in the room. Which one? Because there's quite a few.

01:32:01But let's just speak about crime. And this is committed largely by illegal foreign nationals, and this has pushed away our investors in the City of Johannesburg. The Mayor proudly shared a few of what he believes are the highlights of his governance, including the infamous Brixton Reservoir. We need to remind the Mayor that it was ActionSA that constantly pushed for its completion.

01:32:30And this as we do with the Erand Reservoir and Pump Station in Midrand. While we're talking about that, Madam Speaker, does the Mayor realize that the Hector Norris Pump Station is out of operation for more than a year? Now, this pump station supplies water to most of Selby. So, no water for more than a year in Selby, all because the contractor has not been paid.

01:33:02Statistics that the Mayor shared with the public mean nothing to a community member in Matholesville. The community who has been waiting for water, or for an RDP house, or for electricity for more than 20 years. The number of people hired means nothing to hundreds of graduates. And these graduates continue to look for placement,

01:33:31knowing that only those with close ties to comrades will be absorbed. While Councillor Morero believes that his government is on a great trajectory, the adverse reports against the administration he leads paints a different picture. The Finance Minister has warned Joburg that it is in severe financial distress, and his budget stated that the city's budget is unfunded.

01:34:01This administration has dismally failed the residents of the city. Councillor Morero praised the city's healthcare. This is another example of an out-of-touch Mayor who has no clue what is happening on the ground. We ask, we implore the Mayor to visit clinics such as Bophelong when it's cold, when nurses don't go to work, and the Alexandra 8th Avenue Clinic,

01:34:32which closes its doors before 3:00 in the afternoon. The Mayor paints a picture of progress, but residents experience erratic water supply and frequent outages, electricity instability and rising costs, pothole-ridden roads and failing infrastructure, growing informal settlements and housing backlogs, unsafe streets, and deteriorating inner city conditions. The truth is simple: Johannesburg is not just a city under pressure;

01:35:03it is a city under distress. But don't worry, you just have to close ranks. You just have to close ranks. Let's speak about service delivery. And we speak about statistics versus lived experience. We are told that over 90% of residents receive basic services, but statistics do not tell the full story. Having access to water is meaningless when taps run dry.

01:35:31Access to electricity means little when supply is inconsistent, and refuse removal means little when illegal dumping is everywhere. Service delivery must be measured by reliability, not just reach. Let's speak about economic growth, Mr. Mayor. Growth without inclusion. Yes, investments have been announced. Yes, projects have been launched. But we must ask:

01:36:01Where are the jobs for ordinary residents? Why is unemployment still so high? Why are young people still locked out of the economy? Growth that does not translate into real livelihoods is not inclusive, it is selective. Let's speak about the financial stability. At what cost? We hear about budgets, surpluses, and debt relief.

01:36:28AfrikaansMaar die mense vra:

01:36:31Why are tariffs increasing while services decline? Why must residents pay more for less? Why is financial recovery not yet visible in communities? Financial discipline must not come at the expense of basic dignity. The city itself admits to massive infrastructure backlogs, to high water losses, and to failing systems. These are not minor challenges; they are systematic failures.

01:37:01We cannot speak of a world-class African city while pipes burst daily, or roads collapse, or power systems remain fragile. The Mayor speaks of reform, partnerships, anti-corruption measures, but residents want to see consequences for failure. They want to see transparency in procurement. They want to see stable, competent leadership. Frequent leadership changes and instability have weakened this administration.

01:37:34We must be honest: a city cannot be fixed without fixing governance first. Now, we welcome efforts to reclaim the inner city, but progress remains uneven. Crime and lawlessness persist. Hijacked buildings continue to endanger lives. Many communities still feel unsafe. Safety cannot be selective; it must be universal. We have heard repeatedly about...

01:38:03Again, that lying word, about laying foundations. But residents are asking: how long must a foundation be laid before a structure is built? Year after year, plans are announced, targets are set, promises are renewed, yet too many communities see little change on the ground. What we propose as ActionSA is not only to stand here and only criticize.

01:38:32We propose: fix the basics first, Mr. Mayor. Prioritize water, electricity, roads, and waste management. Focus on consistent, reliable delivery. Strengthen accountability: performance contracts for officials, clear consequences for non-performance. Tackle infrastructure urgently: ring-fence infrastructure budgets, accelerate maintenance programs.

01:39:00Mr. Mayor, support local economies: empower small businesses, expand township economies, ensure job creation is local and visible. Also, restore trust: communicate honestly with residents, deliver on commitments, put people before politics, Mr. Mayor.

01:39:34It's very sticky here on these pages. In closing, Honourable Speaker... Thank you, thank you, thank you. In closing, Honourable Speaker, Johannesburg is not defined by speeches. It is defined by the daily lived experiences of its people. The residents of this city are resilient, they are patient, but they are now weary. They do not want more slogans, or more plans, or more promises.

01:40:06They just want water that flows. They just want lights that stay on. They just want safe streets and real jobs. And above all, they want a government that works for them, not a future they must keep waiting for. Only Action can fix Johannesburg.

01:40:33Thank you, thank you, thank you. Let us move beyond foundations. Let us build the city our residents deserve. Again, I say to you, and let's hear you clap like you clapped yesterday about the progress in Johannesburg: only ActionSA can fix Johannesburg. Madam Speaker, I thank you.

01:41:00AfrikaansLeef en leer spel toetse.

Freedom Front Plus debate response

01:41:07Freedom Front Plus, Councillor De Lange.

01:41:14Thank you, Madam Speaker, all protocol observed. Madam Speaker...

01:41:18Before you go, Councillor De Lange, can we ask the people up in the gallery that we don't hear your phones, and neither do we want to hear you speaking? Thank you so much. Councillor De Lange, you may go.

01:41:34Thank you, Madam Speaker, all protocol observed. Madam Speaker, yesterday as the Mayor delivered his State of the City speech, I really felt sorry for him as he tried to put a positive spin on what has been happening in the city over this last term. But as you know me, I don't play the man, I play the ball. Before I continue, please remember the next five figures: 50 billion, 72 billion...

01:42:02Hold on, Councillor. Councillors in the corner there, please. We need to hear what Councillors are saying. Thank you.

01:42:13Madam Speaker, before we continue, can you please restart? Because you've now taken 30 seconds, I'm not going to get through my speech.

01:42:20No, your time has stood still, don't worry.

01:42:22Okay, because every time I must start again. Thank you. Madam Speaker, these five figures, remember it: 50 billion, 72 billion, 150 billion, 167 billion, and the Mayor was honest yesterday, 220 billion. The Mayor spoke about a caring society and the forgotten people of Johannesburg. So my question is: these days, ratepayers are the forgotten people of Johannesburg. He spoke about resilience and a future foundation. Madam Speaker, this foundation shows serious long-term damages.claim

01:42:56Remember those figures I spoke about. Further, Madam Speaker, the Mayor mentioned 6.2 million people in Johannesburg with 34.7% unemployed. Let's run the numbers. That takes us to 2.1 million people that are unemployed in the city. If we create 23,000 jobs at 1% growth, that takes us to 1.1% of the unemployed that was employed in the city. Further to this, even if the economy in the city grows at 5%, Madam Speaker,claim

01:43:26215,000 jobs, this is obviously not the solution. Madam Speaker, next week we must pass a budget for 89.4 billion. This is 81 billion for OPEX and 7.5 billion for CAPEX. We are almost close to the 8% of the golden standard set by Treasury. The problem is with these compound percentages, Madam Speaker, if you don't maintain that over many, many years, it comes back to bite you.claim

01:43:57Further to this, Madam Speaker, he spoke about energy. 1,800 streetlights were implemented over this period. The problem is, Madam Speaker, what about the leafy suburbs where the taxpayers stay? These people's maintenance on streetlights, I'll speak about it just now, are years behind. Lanseria Smart City: does the city really have the finances to provide the bulk services? Madam Speaker, about six weeks ago, I was extremely excited.claim

01:44:28For three days in Region C, we didn't see any power failures or interruption, and I finally thought that City Power has got it right. The late seasonal rains came and I had three power outages in my area in three weeks. Madam Speaker, on a more personal note, when I drop my daughter off at school quite early in the morning, I drive down Ontdekkers for only 2 km. 50% of the streetlights are not working. When I drive back through the suburbs, even though JRA has fixed the potholes twice this year,claim

01:44:58most of those potholes has resurfaced through the rains that came late this year. Further to this, Madam Speaker, on the 3.2 km drive that I take back, three traffic lights are not working and it adds about 20 minutes to my trip. Now back to the numbers. 2020, I saw a report that the city is 167 billion behind on maintenance. Currently, the city is owed 72 billion rand.claim

01:45:2850 billion behind on Joburg Water maintenance, 150 behind on City Power maintenance, and then luckily the Mayor was honest, combined 220 billion rand behind on combined maintenance. Madam Speaker, in closing, the solution—and the bomb squad must get their Prozac and whiskey out for this last act of mine—Madam Speaker, what we should do: we must get a honest, transparent,claim

01:45:58put-the-people-first government in place. We must collect 20%, which is 14.4 billion rand of the outstanding debt of 72 billion rand on a yearly basis, and we must cut the OPEX with 10 billion rand. Madam Speaker, that will take us to 24.4 billion rand over a term, and we might cover more or less 50% of the outstanding maintenance in the city. I thank you.claim

IFP debate response by MMC Mabaso

01:46:27Thank you so much, Councillor, you kept well within your time. Can we have MMC Mabaso from the Inkatha Freedom Party.

01:46:52isiZuluHawu, ngeke ngikwenze lokho EM.

01:46:57Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. Greetings to yourself, the Executive Mayor, the Deputy Executive Mayor, MMC Mgcina—I almost said members of the Mayoral Committee, but it's the two of us, so MMC Mgcina—Councillors, guests at the gallery, members of the media, colleagues. Yesterday we attended the last State of the City Address for the political term 2021–2026.claim

01:47:29The current political administration suffered instability, which resulted in four different administrations in five years. Service delivery and the overall performance of the municipality suffered the consequences of this instability due to changes in priorities and changes in management. The lesson learned for 2026–2031 political term is that we must prioritize our communities and stability in governance.

01:48:03We appreciate, EM, that you acknowledged the challenges and the interventions that have been deployed to mitigate them and improve services to ensure development of our communities. The IFP has always maintained its position that municipalities must lead infrastructure development to enable businesses to grow, stimulate economic growth, and create jobs. Infrastructure development remains imperative for both service delivery and economic expansion.

01:48:36We understand that as the municipality we cannot, EM, enact a foreigners ban, but we can place strict restrictions to protect our local economy. Local economy is a backbone of our economy, and we cannot allow those that are not assisting the country to create employment to continue controlling our economy in the economic hub of the country. We must intensify by-law enforcement to protect our infrastructure from illegal connections.

01:49:11However, we must also be in cognizance that the best way to eradicate illegal connections is to roll out development for proper provision of these services. Let's continue to clean the inner city, EM. All these court applications are a demonstration that we are on the right path. Inner city rejuvenation requires a dedicated funding to address the provision of alternative accommodation, dedicated capacity for by-law enforcement,

01:49:41a tactical response unit that will work with intelligence agencies to arrest drug operations and hijacking of building syndicates. We appreciate the acknowledgement of human settlements projects that are meant to provide subsidized housing and social amenities. Honestly, EM, these mega-developments contribute substantially to bulk infrastructure investment through the construction of roads, power stations, reservoirs, and other related infrastructure components.

01:50:13Housing is a constitutional imperative. Even the Freedom Charter, even though I don't really subscribe to it, states that there shall be houses for all. We have a housing backlog that dates back to 1996. If we do not recognize this, we will have failed our residents. We need to build houses for our people. We need to construct roads and stormwater infrastructure to support the proclamation of old townships and the effective roll-out of title deeds.

01:50:47EM, Human Settlements mandate is funded through Urban Settlements Development Grant. EM, very soon, together with the affected Ward Councillors, you will receive a date from the Department of Human Settlements for the introduction of a program manager that will lead the hostel redevelopment project. The department will continue to roll out the program to formalize and upgrade our informal settlements.

01:51:21The policy for effective management of the informal settlements is on its way to council for approval. EM, we have to roll out the programs to electrify the informal settlements, to provide water in the informal settlements, to provide sanitation in the informal settlements. Working together with the GPF, we are going to roll out the alternative sanitation in the informal settlements.

01:51:52EM, we will continue to work in the department to make sure that the livelihood of our residents are improved, to make sure that services are delivered, to make sure that underdeveloped communities are developed. Thank you very much.

Patriotic Alliance debate response

01:52:05Thank you, MMC. Chair D. Ponsonby from the PA.

01:52:20Good morning, Madam Speaker. I will be speaking on Councillor Ponsonby; he had to leave for an emergency.

01:52:26Okay, you can carry on.

01:52:28Thank you so much. Good day, Madam Speaker, Executive Mayor, Councillors in the chambers, and our guests, City of Johannesburg residents. Madam Speaker, while we have noticed and sat and listened to the State of the City's Address presented by the Mayor, let me acknowledge the work and progress that has been done. However, Madam Speaker, the response we continue receiving from communities in the City of Joburg is:

01:52:59"Which Johannesburg are you guys living in?" Ordinary residents are not experiencing the same improvements as what's on the ground as what we received on paper. Basic service delivery remains a daily challenge for our people. City Power takes up to 15 days to restore electricity, not even talking about streetlights. Joburg Water's turnaround time for repairs and outages are the same, very concerning. These are the things, the basic services our communities are crying for every day.

01:53:32Madam Speaker, we have been sitting in these chambers for months on end, yet we as Councillors, we are neither being heard or being seen. We are the voice of our communities. We are the direct link between residents and this administration, but we are not being acknowledged. As disciplined members of the GNU, we also expected to hear the process and implementation plan regarding the debt write-off,

01:54:01but sadly, nothing. The Joburg 11 has handed over a memorandum in March 2026 calling for the implementation of the debt write-off after this has been passed in this very council in November 2023. To date, we are still waiting for a response. Nothing. Madam Speaker, we want to know: is the residents of City of Johannesburg being undermined? Are the Patriotic Alliance being undermined?

01:54:31Or is this council being undermined, or all of the above? Where is the truth, where is the dignity, and where is the urgency in responding to the real struggles faced by people of Johannesburg? In closing, Madam Speaker, let us give the residents of Johannesburg what they deserve rightfully. The implementation of debt write-off is long overdue for the people of this city called Johannesburg. This council has already taken the decision and communities are waiting for action.

01:55:02The time for delays has passed. Our residents deserve dignity, relief, and a municipality that responds to needs with urgency and compassion. Let us not fail the people who entrusted us with leadership. And I thank you.

ACDP debate response (begins)

01:55:19Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Mkhonza from the ACDP.

01:55:27Shalom, shalom once again, Madam Speaker. Thank you very much. Allow me to first acknowledge our Almighty God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Madam Speaker, I stand to respond on the State of the City Address delivered by the Executive Mayor, Councillor Dada Morero.

01:55:57Allow me to first quote from my carry-manual, the Holy Bible, from 1 Corinthians 13, verse 11 from the Passion Translation, from which the Mayor's speech... picking up from the Mayor's speech on collective action and willingness to work together, of which we agree with him 100% as the ACDP. We further congratulate him for having improved from mentioning apartheid in each and every page

01:56:31to now blaming an inherited broken city. The scripture reads as follows in 1 Corinthians 13:11: "When I was a child, I spoke about childish matters, for I saw things like a child and reasoned like a child. But the day came when I matured, and I set aside my childish ways." Madam Speaker, as the ACDP caucus, we continue to submit once again that collective action and willingness to work together requires maturity,

ActionSA/ACDP response to SOCA: renewal, economy and public safety

01:57:05not these childish ways we have experienced in this 2021–26 term. Let me go back to the SOCA speech, which I will subdivide into themes. And the less said about the illegal bomb squad, the better. The first theme: the city's renewal agenda. We sincerely hope that this is not yet another publicity stunt aimed at positioning the administration ahead of LGE 2026. Residents of Johannesburg have heard many commitments over the years regarding the revitalization of the inner city,

01:57:40yet the lived reality on the ground often tells a different story. We will therefore continue to closely monitor the city's urban core renewal program, particularly the condition of the Metro Centre and the implementation of the Orange Farm renewal program. The Executive Mayor indicated that the Metro Centre is non-negotiable and that change is imminent. Residents deserve timelines, implementation plans, and financial clarity.

01:58:11By when exactly will the Metro Centre restoration be completed? What procurement processes are in place, and from which funding source will this project be financed, particularly in light of the city's acknowledged financial distress and infrastructure backlog estimated at over 250 billion? The second theme is economic revitalization. We acknowledge the completion of the electric vehicle charging station program in Booysens as part of the city's broader energy sustainability strategy.

01:58:44However, what is noticeably absent from the Executive Mayor's address is meaningful detail on grassroots economic empowerment interventions aimed at township economies and informal traders. Particularly concerning is the omission of the recently launched Spaza Shop National Empowerment Fund in Soweto, valued at approximately 500 million. Out of the 47 spaza shops reportedly assisted in Gauteng, how many beneficiaries are residents of the City of Joburg, and what criteria were used in their selection?

01:59:18The Executive Mayor repeatedly referred to creating a supportive environment for businesses within the inner city. However, many small businesses, informal traders, township entrepreneurs, and emerging enterprises continue to face serious barriers in accessing certificates of acceptability, business licenses, trading permits, zoning compliance approvals, and municipal support. What concrete interventions is the city implementing to streamline these processes and reduce red tape for local entrepreneurs?

01:59:50How many SMMEs have been assisted with licensing and compliance support over the financial year? What support mechanisms exist for youth-owned businesses, township...

02:00:00enterprises, women-led cooperatives, and informal traders who continue to struggle. The third theme, Enhance Public Safety. One of the most glaring omissions in the State of the City Address was the lack of clarity regarding the political leadership for public safety portfolio. We did not hear the Executive Mayor indicate who will lead this critical important MMC portfolio at a time when Johannesburg continues to face escalating crime, hijacked buildings, cable theft, illegal occupation, drug syndicates, and lawlessness in parts of the inner city and townships.

02:00:34The fourth theme, Restoring financial stability to deliver sustainable services. It is a well-known and deeply concerning fact that the city's debtor's book is estimated to be sitting at approximately 72 billion. While we acknowledge the city's intention to dispose of certain non-strategic assets including the proposed sale of vacant land linked to the debtor's book valued at approximately 3.2 billion, this cannot become a substitute for long-term financial discipline and sustainable revenue management.

02:01:05We further acknowledge the city's commitment to implementing the ring-fencing of utility revenues in line with National Treasury reforms, and we will monitor this process closely to ensure that revenues collected by Johannesburg Water, City Power, and Pikitup are indeed reinvested into infrastructure maintenance and service delivery as promised.

02:01:25However, one of the biggest concerns

02:01:2710 seconds left.

02:01:28Uh. Madam Speaker. Okay. However, one of the biggest concerns remains continue to be the failure by certain departments, government institutions, businesses, and even city employees to service their municipal debt obligation.

DA response to the State of the City Address

02:01:48Thank you, Councillor Mkhonza. Can we have Councillor B. Echeozonjoku? I tried. I tried, Councillor Belinda.

02:02:02Well done, Madam Speaker.

02:02:04Thank you so much.

02:02:06Madam Speaker, Executive Mayor, Deputy Executive Mayor, fellow councillors, and most importantly, the residents of Johannesburg, good afternoon. We gather today not merely to respond to the Mayor's speech, but to respond to the lived reality of the people of Johannesburg. Yesterday, we went to church to listen to the Mayor's farewell speech,

02:02:37that was littered with untruths, Madam Speaker. A State of the City Address, Mr Mayor, should be an honest account of where our city stands. It should tell residents the truth about the conditions of their roads, their water supply, their electricity network, their finances, their safety and their future. It should not be an exercise in political theatre.

02:03:07It should not be a celebration of slogans while communities wait in the dark, taps run dry, refuse piles up and businesses lose confidence. Today, on behalf of the Democratic Alliance, I arise to respond with honesty, with facts and with a clear alternative. Because Johannesburg does not need more excuses, Mr Mayor. Johannesburg does not need more recycled promises.

02:03:38Johannesburg does not need another speech about foundations while the walls are crumbling around its residents. Johannesburg needs a government that works, Madam Speaker. And that is a choice before the city as we look towards 2026 local government elections. More decline under a failing coalition of chaos, or a DA-led government that restores basic services,

02:04:08stabilise the finances, rebuilds infrastructure, attracts investments, and put residents first. Mr Mayor, you chose to compare Johannesburg with Cape Town. That was a huge mistake, Mr Mayor. You relied on a selective quarter-on-quarter unemployment comparison, and hoped that Johannesburg residents would not look at the full picture, Mr Mayor.

02:04:38So, let's look at the full picture. According to the latest Stats SA Quarterly Labour Service Survey, Cape Town's unemployment rate declined year-on-year from 21.9% to 21.4%, Mr Mayor.claim

02:05:00Johannesburg's unemployment rate increased from 34.3% to 34.7%, Mr Mayor. But even that is not the most important picture, or the figure. The real test is whether a city can massage an unemployment rate. The real test is whether a city is creating jobs. And on that test, Mr Mayor,claim

02:05:31the contrast is very clear. Year-on-year, Cape Town gained 35,000 employed people. Johannesburg lost 40,000 employed people. That's the truth, Mr Mayor, that you did not tell the residents of Johannesburg, because in Cape Town, unemployment fell while more people entered employment.claim

02:06:00In Johannesburg, Madam Speaker, the number of unemployed people barely moved. Not because people found work, Mr Mayor, but because too many people have stopped looking for jobs. That is not success. That is not resilience. That is not a foundation for the future of Johannesburg. That is a story of a city where opportunities are shrinking, where confidence is collapsing, where residents are being pushed out of the economy.

02:06:31Mr Mayor, Cape Town is a city where more people are finding jobs. Johannesburg is becoming a city where people, too many people, are giving up looking for work. That is the difference between hope and despair. That is the difference between a government that enables growth and a government that explain why it has declined. And if this is the success you are proud of, Mr Mayor,

02:07:03then Johannesburg residents have every reason to demand a different government in 2026. Mr Mayor, you then asked whether residents can trust healthcare services in Johannesburg, and your answer was yes. But your evidence was not the condition of our clinics. It was not the waiting times at hospitals. It was not the number of cancelled surgeries.

02:07:32It was not whether patients can access clean water, working toilets, medicines, doctors, nurses and emergency care at our clinics. The evidence was that fewer people in Johannesburg are on private medical aid than in Cape Town. Mr Mayor, that is not a vote of confidence in public healthcare. Mr Mayor, that is a measure of affordability. A pensioner waiting in a queue from before sunriseclaim

02:08:04has not cast a vote of confidence. A mother sitting with a sick child in an overcrowded clinic has not endorsed the system. A family that cannot afford private healthcare has not praised government. They have been left with no alternative, but to go to a government clinic. And when we look at what is happening in Johannesburg health facilities, Mr Mayor, the picture is not one of confidence, it is one of a crisis.

02:08:32At Malvern Clinic in east of Johannesburg, patients again suffered low water supply in January 2026. Despite earlier promises by yourself that a JoJo tank would be connected to internal pipes. Staff were forced in a clinic to use bucket toilets. Toilets were closed and infection risk increased. This came after the same clinic had already gone six weeks without piped water in 2025.

02:09:04While serving around 5,000 patients in a month. Mr Mayor, how can a clinic protect public health when it cannot flush the toilets at the clinic? How can nurses uphold hygiene standards when there is no running water? How can residents trust a system where the most basic requirements of healthcare are treated as an option? Mr Mayor, you also spoke about reclaiming the city.

02:09:34You spoke about lawlessness, bylaw enforcement, and making Johannesburg safer. But once again, Mr Mayor, the words in your speech do not match the conduct of the government delivering it. Because while residents are asking for law and order, this executive has been fighting fires inside its own executive in the Mayoral Committee. One MMC allegedly faces criminal charges over alleged discharge of a firearm in a public space.

02:10:05Another have been arrested in connection with allegations of kidnapping, assault and pointing a firearm at a child, which was later withdrawn due to ANC leadership intervention. A third has faced media scrutiny over alleged construction mafia links and alleged

02:10:23Councillor Belinda. Councillor Belinda. Can both the left and the right, can both of you on the left and the right allow the councillor to finish her speech? No, colleagues, colleagues. I'm asking both sides. I'm asking left and right.

02:10:53Someone is going to No, no, no, Councillor, no. I'm not giving an opportunity for anything. I'm saying both sides, can we respect? Since this morning we've been having disrespect. There were some councillors that asked to have caucus and they arrived a half an hour later. And now some of us are making noises. Can we stop? There are people in the gallery looking at all of us. You can continue.

02:11:24I've ruled on this, please.

02:11:29Thank you, Madam Speaker. A third has faced media scrutiny over alleged construction mafia links, and alleged facilitation fee payments. Allegations that are very serious enough to form part of a Hawks investigation, Madam Speaker. Mr Mayor, this is not how a government restores trust. We need to be confident that when you go out to enforce bylaws that your own executive follow the same rules, and that all of us

02:12:01can trust you. Madam Speaker, how can the resident trust a Mayor that presides over these kind of allegations? That creates a perception that MMCs are above the law. So when the Mayor speaks about a safer Joburg, residents are entitled to ask a simple question: Who is expected to obey the law? Only the residents? Only small businesses? Only informal trader?

02:12:32Or does accountability also apply to the people sitting around the Mayor's table? Because a city that wants to fight crime must first have a government that is serious about fighting crime among themselves. And on the test, Mr Mayor, this government unfortunately is failing. Yesterday, the Mayor talked about disposing of non-strategic assets with vacant land valued at 3.2 billion.

02:13:03Mr Mayor, the city cannot just look at selling its own crown jewels. It must consider leveraging such assets by more affordable and profitable constructive means while still retaining the assets. Madam Speaker, yesterday the Mayor assured the people of Johannesburg that the city's finances are under control. But the city's balance sheet tells a very different story.

02:13:34The AFD, France's national development bank, declined further financing, Mr Mayor, to the city in its current funding cycle after concerns over Joburg's compliance with the conditions of the previous 2.5 billion rand loan. That is what loss of confidence look like, Mr Mayor. Then the Johannesburg Stock Exchange suspended trading in the city's listed debt instruments after Johannesburg failed to meet its annual reporting deadline.

02:14:09That is what financial misgovernance, or failed governance, look like. Then Eskom warned that Johannesburg's electricity supply could be restricted because City Power owes it billions of rands. That is what a broken municipal entity looks like, Mr Mayor. Then National Treasury warned that Johannesburg is in severe financial distress with concerns over liquidity, governance, compliance,

02:14:41rising debt, unpaid creditors, and commitments a city may not be able to sustain. And this council has seen the last Section 71 report in December. That is what a financial crisis looks like, Mr Mayor. Madam Speaker, so when the Mayor tells residents that the foundation is solid, the evidence, unfortunately, says otherwise.

02:15:10A financially stable city does not lose the confidence of development financiers. A financially stable city does not replace paying residents and put them at risk because City Power cannot settle its Eskom account. A financially stable city, Mr Mayor, does not have its debt instruments suspended by the JSE. This is not sound financial management, Mr Mayor.

02:15:43This is a government running from crisis to crisis, from one unpaid creditor to the next, from one missed deadline to the next, from one warning letter, Mr Mayor, to the next. And residents are paying for all of this. They pay through higher tariffs, which you're about to introduce next week. They pay through unreliable electricity. They pay through delayed repairs. They pay through collapsing infrastructure. They pay

02:16:14through city that collects more, owes more, borrows more, and delivers less. Mr Mayor, Johannesburg cannot build a future on one financial crisis after the other. The lenders can see the crisis. The JSE can see the crisis. Eskom can see the crisis. National Treasury can see the crisis. Residents can see the crisis. The only people who still refuse to see the crisis, Mr Mayor,

02:16:46is you and your executive, who is responsible for it. And yet, after all of this, Mr Mayor, you still marked your own homework and gave yourself and this government 82.3%, Mr Mayor. Mr Mayor, Johannesburg residents are also marking the same paper. And they are not finding a distinction, unfortunately. They are finding debt,

02:17:18decay, delays, and denial. The marks of a government that has lost control of a city that they were elected to serve. Well, Johannesburg is not crumbling because its people have failed. The residents have not failed. It is crumbling because this government, Mr Mayor, your government, has failed. Residents have done their part. They pay their bills, they build businesses, they report faults,

02:17:49they wait for repairs, even though it takes seven days or 12 days, they store water, they sit in traffic, they go over potholes, they buy generators and solar panels and still get charged for the solar panels. They keep the city alive while this government lets it decay. Less reliability, Mr Mayor. Less safety, less accountability, and less dignity

02:18:20for the residents of Joburg. Mr Mayor, you spoke about water. But you forgot to tell the residents that the Brixton Reservoir construction was put on hold due to non-payment for quite some time. And only when the DA pressure with our mayoral candidate Helen Zille did construction resume. Mr Mayor, you failed to reassure

02:18:51the businesses in Selby when they will have constant water supply. These businesses are at risk of closing, and 4,000 people could be losing their jobs. Residents of Johannesburg, it does not have to be this way. The DA does not accept this. We are offering a Johannesburg and you as the residents a clean break.

02:19:23A city that works, run by a government that cares. A DA government will stop the rot, fix what is broken, and rebuild Johannesburg into a city its resident can once again be proud of. We will start with the basics: reliable water and electricity. We will end corruption and the wasting of public money.

02:19:53We will ring-fence revenue for essential services, so money paid for water, electricity and refuse go back into water, electricity and refuse. Not into waste, corruption, and political mismanagement. We will fix the roads, Mr Mayor. The DA will fix the roads. We will fix the potholes within 72 hours, Mr Mayor.

02:20:25We will fix the traffic lights, and it will work. Road markings will be repainted, Mr Mayor. Major intersections will be protected with modern technology, Mr Mayor. And lawlessness on our roads will be confronted. Mr Mayor, you have to sit up and listen for this one. We will attract 200,000 new jobs in Johannesburg.

02:20:58Because jobs, Mr Mayor, does not come from slogans. It comes from creating an environment where jobs can be created. Jobs come from business, when businesses have confidence in the City of Joburg. When the lights stay on, Mr Mayor, when the water flows, when roads work, when billing is fair, when public spaces are safe, Mr Mayor, and when the city is a partner,

02:21:30not an obstacle with red tape. Mr Mayor, we will restore law and order. We will reclaim hijacked buildings, not only in an election year and in the Joburg CBD. We will stop land invasions, make public spaces safer, Mr Mayor, and take corruption head-on. We will not just manage corruption and small-anyana skeletons. We will take it head-on.

02:22:02We will not explain it. We will not redeploy it. We will end it, Mr Mayor. We will build a professional, modern government. Johannesburg does not need more empty promises, Mr Mayor. It needs engineers, it needs planners, it needs financial managers, project managers, and competent public servants who can do the job, not cadre deployment.

02:22:35Good governance will be rewarded, Mr Mayor. We have very good officials in the city, and good governance will definitely be rewarded. Poor performance will have consequences. Billing will be fixed. Systems will be simplified for our residents, so they don't have to go from pillar to post and they're told they have to be in this region when they're supposed to be in another region to report simple things. That is the choice that residents have in 2026.

02:23:09The government that gives itself 82.3% while the city falls apart, Mr Mayor, or a DA government that will be judged by results. A government of excuses, or a government of delivery. A standard that normalises collapse, or a government that restores standard, Mr Mayor. Johannesburg has waited long enough.

02:23:43In conclusion, Madam Speaker, the DA is ready. We believe in Johannesburg. And together, we will get Johannesburg working, Mr Mayor. Working with Helen Zille as Mayor on 5 November 2026. Thank you very much.

COPE supports the address

02:24:17Thank you, councillors. Thank you, councillors. Thank you, councillors. Thank you, councillors. Can I have Councillor Mokome from COPE? Thank you, colleagues.

02:24:36Thank you. Thank you, Madam Speaker, and good day. The Executive Mayor Councillor Sello Dada Morero, Deputy Executive Mayor, Councillor Loyiso Masuku, Whip of Council, Councillor Chauke, Members of the Mayoral Committee, Chair of Chairs, Councillor Adolph Marema and Section 79 Chairpersons,

02:25:06Councillors, City Manager Dr Floyd Brink and the officials, guests in the gallery, residents of the City of Johannesburg, ladies and gentlemen, good day. Madam Speaker, the State of the City Address is premised on the fact that a solid foundation

02:25:36has been laid to meet future infrastructural challenges for the City of Johannesburg. May I reflect on studies done by Edgar Pieterse, who is the Chair of the South African Research Urban Policy, in his book co-authored

02:26:07by AbdouMaliq Simone, The Rogue Urbanism. The core message out of that research is rethinking complex urban developmental dynamics, with a view to build future resilient and dynamic cities.

02:26:38This is also supplemented by the Municipal Watch reports, which shows a Joburg city that is becoming stable after interventions through the District Development Model and the Section 154 clause of the Constitution, that is the Presidential Support Intergovernmentalclaim

02:27:08Intervention Package, rather. Flowing from the above research articles therefore, the speech focused on urban management plan, inner city revitalisation strategy, mega housing projects, service delivery mandates through the IDPs, the CBPs,claim

02:27:39and, Madam Speaker, on a personal basis, I sometimes take walk through the city, from the City Library onto Gandhi Square, onto Rissik Street, the Legislature, and indeed one would meet the age factor which the Mayor alluded to yesterday.claim

02:28:10The old post office in Rissik Street, Madam Speaker, is one of those age factors. You go down to Wembley Stadium in Rosettenville, indeed that becomes also a sore factor. But we take pride in the fact that, Madam Speaker, on the 22nd

02:28:40February, we were at the Anglican Church precinct during the induction of the Bishop of Johannesburg. What a refreshing experience in that precinct. And indeed, yesterday once again, Madam Speaker, we were there. Thank you for reclaiming that precinct. But a walk down about

02:29:10100 metres down into Smal Street, Methodist Church needs attention. Once again, in Doornfontein, the Roman Catholic Church, also that precinct and the neighbouring churches need that kind of strategy in terms of reclaiming their old glory. Yes, once again,

02:29:39past Doornfontein onto Hillbrow, Yeoville, those are age factors.

02:29:4750 seconds left, Councillor.

02:29:50Yes, indeed, Madam Speaker, we are rebuilding the Johannesburg we want, the African world-class city. We

02:30:00We therefore support the State of the City Address as Congress of the People. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

ANC response: inner-city renewal, War Room and service delivery

02:30:08Thank you so much, Councillor Mokome. Um, Councillor N Mazibuko from the ANC.

02:30:31Thank you, Speaker. Um, good afternoon to the Speaker of Council, Councillor Arnolds, Executive Mayor Dada Morero, Deputy Executive Mayor, Councillor Loyiso Masuku, the Chief Whip of Council, Councillor Chauke, and Councillors, and residents of the City of Johannesburg. Honourable Speaker, the African National Congress

02:31:01acknowledges the deliberate choice of venue for the delivery of the State of the City Address. The choice of a sacred space for this constitutional function reminded us that governance is ultimately about people, dignity, and moral accountability. Today we continue these deliberations within this council chamber. The movement from prayer to policy, from reflection to resolution,

02:31:30captures the essence of democratic governance. People of Johannesburg do not ask for miracles. They ask for water that flows, electricity that is stable, roads that are safe, and a government that listens. Honourable Mayor, on behalf of the African National Congress, we acknowledge your address and commend the Mayoral Committee for providing leadership under difficult fiscal

02:32:00and operational conditions. We also recognise the progress achieved in the revitalisation of the inner city. For many years, urban decay, hijacked buildings, and a declining public infrastructure created the perception that the centre of Johannesburg was beyond recovery. That perception is changing under your leadership. The Urban Management Plan is producing measurable outcomes across precincts.

02:32:29Cleaning services have intensified, law enforcement visibility has increased, and unlawfully occupied buildings are being reclaimed through lawful processes. The Archbishop Desmond Tutu Precinct now stands as a symbol of peace, inclusion, and renewal. We affirm the objective of positioning Johannesburg as a world-class African city

02:32:59of the future. However, this vision cannot be measured by the skyline of Sandton alone. It must be measured by the lived experience of residents in every ward. A globally competitive African metropolis is one where a child in Rockville can walk safely to school, where a trader in the city can work with dignity, and where a family in Orange Farm has access to reliable water,

02:33:28electricity, and sanitation. To achieve this, departments must be held accountable, not only for expenditure, but for measurable outcomes. The ANC supports the War Room model as a mechanism of accelerated and coordinated service delivery. Persistent challenges remain in Soweto, Orange Farm, and other historically marginalized communities. Residents continue to experience delays in the repair of water leaks,

02:33:59sewer backlogs, and electricity outages caused by aging infrastructure, illegal connections, and cable theft, but you're addressing that matter. Road infrastructure in Dobsonville, Moletsane, parts of Rockville, and sections of Orange Farm also require urgent rehabilitation. We nevertheless acknowledge measurable operational improvements.

02:34:28The operational improvements are beginning to produce measurable outcomes. In Pimville, response time of blocked drains have significantly improved, while Meadowlands has benefited from more frequent street cleaning operations. In Diepkloof, the roll out of prepaid electricity meters has contributed to a reduction in billing disputes and strengthened revenue collections. These interventions directly improve

02:34:58the daily lives of residents. For a family in Rockville, a repaired water pipe means dignity. The ANC therefore supports the War Room as a permanent operational structure with clear reporting lines and accountability measures. Transparency must remain central to this process. Johannesburg remains the economic

02:35:28engine of South Africa, contributing significantly to the national economic output. However, growth without inclusion is unsustainable. Township economies must become a strategic focus area for procurement, infrastructure investment, and skills development. The municipal supply chain must increase opportunities for youth-owned, women-owned, and township-based enterprises. Infrastructure projects must maximize

02:35:59local employment and local procurement so that communities benefit directly from development taking place in their areas. The ANC supports the Executive Mayor's request for independent investigation into the financial affairs of this municipality. Corruption under service delivery weakens public trust and diverts resources away from residents who need them most. Johannesburg's diversity

02:36:30remain one of our greatest strength. The stabilization of labour relations and continued engagement between political party demonstrate a shared commitment in maintaining institutional stability. As Arch Desmond Tutu said, and I quote, "If you want peace, do not talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies." The ANC notes that 14 out of the 17 undertakings from the previous

02:37:00financial year have been implemented. While this reflects progress, the remaining shortcomings continue to affect residents who still experience challenges in water provision, electricity stability, and public safety. We must deepen transparency and accountability through public accessibility, ward-level based dashboards that allow residents to monitor service delivery progress in real time.

02:37:29These interventions are not merely administrative commitments. They are practical steps towards building a more responsive, inclusive, and capable City of Johannesburg. Johannesburg remains a city of strategic national and continental importance. When Johannesburg works like we've been doing, South Africa feels it. History will not judge us by the speeches we deliver in the chamber, by whether

02:37:59residents experience meaningful changes outside of it. And residents in Bryanston have felt the presence of the Mayor, as well as residents in Zandspruit. And we've experienced it first-hand, the positive response from residents. Mayor, we can say to you, we rise together or fall together. Let us therefore

02:38:29continue to build a city that is not only world-class in aspiration, but world-class in delivery, which you have demonstrated. May God bless Johannesburg. God bless our Mayor. God bless the City of Johannesburg. Thank you, Speaker.

ATM response and questions on the Bomb Squad

02:38:46Thank you, Councillor Mazibuko. I want to check whether Councillor Mokwena has arrived. I don't think he has. So can we have Chair Magwentshu from the ATM? Colleagues, while Chair Magwentshu is getting himself ready, we are going to close all the doors, 'cause people are standing outside making a noise and it has an echo with us. Can we close all the doors, please,

02:39:18Protocol. Councillor Magwentshu, you may go.

02:39:26Greetings, Speaker. Greetings, Executive Mayor. Greetings to the Deputy Executive Mayor. Greetings to the Whip of Council. Greetings to our Chair of Chairs. Greetings to all councillors. Executive Mayor, I want to congratulate you on being able to deliver your last SOCA.

02:39:53isiZuluPhela it was not easy Sbonda. Nawe ubonile sicishe saqumba phansi.

02:40:00isiXhosaAs we fare thee well, kufuneka wazi ukuba the next SOCA speech will be delivered by the Executive Mayor that will be coming from the ATM.

02:40:17In preparation for this, this coming weekend, the 23rd of May, the ATM will be having its manifesto launch in KuGompo City, formerly known as East London. We are ready to serve and ready to govern. Mr. Mayor, as I move across the city, I saw the wonderful work that was being done by you and your Mayoral Committee.claim

02:40:44isiZuluI said to myself, I said to myself, iyakhuba lensizwa.

02:40:50And all those who thought he was doing it because of the G20 will eat a humbling pie. I said to myself, by the end of the year, we'll have a good story to tell. Little did I know that this was the work of your illegitimate Bomb Squad. You ghosted the Section 79 Committee when it wanted you to come and account on matters around the establishment of this Bomb Squad.

02:41:22I will therefore not promote lawlessness by commenting on the work that is apparently done by the Bomb Squad. I wonder how demoralising this is, I wonder how demoralising this is to the officials who are hard at work when other people are credited for their hard work.

02:41:44isiXhosaLento indenza ndizibuze ukuba why are you not firing all these MMCs for failing the people of Johannesburg? Kuba kaloku according to you, it is the Bomb Squad that has been effective in addressing critical service delivery challenges.

02:42:03I will, however, give you a message from a resident who was present at the SOCA, uKhonzaphi Mbhele. Khonzaphi Mbhele from Ward 4 in Drieziek said, when you spoke about the forgotten people of Johannesburg, you were referring to the people of Drieziek. He's asking for your intervention in transformer issues with Eskom. People were asked to pay R500 for their transformers, which they did,

02:42:33isiXhosabut those transformers they still have not received, ene kuyabanda kuse-winter.

02:42:39He says Drieziek is a dark city with no working street lights. Crime is rife in the area, and as such, the community organised itself and is patrolling the area, but doing so in the dark is also not safe for them. He's asking for your intervention to ensure that the abandoned housing project in the ward is completed. Mr. Mayor,

02:43:09when you said something is coming, referring to the Metro Centre, what were you saying? What is something? How long must we wait for that something?

02:43:20isiXhosaULusizo Mbhoyiya, who was also in attendance, uthi SOCA is not a true reflection, as residents have to persevere load reductions now and again, which also affect black businesses, as most do not afford to invest in alternative provision of electricity such as solar.

02:43:41The water crisis is also a concern, depriving residents of a right to dignity. Residents cannot afford to go to hotels to take showers. Lastly, what is the plan of the city to address hijacked buildings?

02:43:59isiXhosaAyindim lo uthetha ngomntu, mntakwethu. Ayindim. Egameni le-speech uzawusithatha ngeminye imini.

02:44:06Lastly, what is the plan of the city to address hijacked buildings? These buildings are a contributing factor to crime. Lastly, Mr. Mayor, for how long are you going to evade accountability by ignoring letters inviting you to come and account to Section 79 on the Bomb Squad? There has been six months since the letters were sent to your office. I thank you.

AIC response: legacy of the Government of Local Unity

02:44:33Thank you, Chair. Can we have, um, Councillor T Mhlongo from the African Independent Congress?

02:44:53Uh, Madam Speaker, good afternoon to yourself. Good afternoon to the Executive Mayor, Councillor Dada Morero, the Deputy Executive Mayor, Councillor Loyiso Masuku, Chief Whip of Council, uSotswebhu, ubab' uKazamula Chauke, Chair of Chairs, Councillor Marema, fellow councillors, Section 79 chairpersons, members of the public in the gallery,

02:45:24and, uh, our guests, good afternoon to all of you. The African Independent Congress welcomes the 2026 State of the City Address delivered by the Executive Mayor, Councillor Dada Morero, yesterday. Madam Speaker, today's debate is not merely another procedural engagement in council. It is a moment of reflection, a moment of accountability, a moment to honestly assess where we have come from as the city,

02:45:54what we have endured as a government, and what legacy this administration leaves behind as we conclude 2021-2026, uh, term. This has been one of the politically demanding terms in the democratic history of local government in Johannesburg. We have witnessed instability, coalition shifts, economic strain, infrastructure failures, public frustration, and at times, a growing,

02:46:23uh, loss of confidence in local government institutions. There were moments when many predicted the collapse of governance in Johannesburg. Yet despite these, uh, realities, the city endured. The city stood the test of time. The institution of local government continued to function. The budget was passed, services were continued, infrastructure projects, uh, continued.

02:46:53The city remained standing. And that, Madam Speaker, did not happen by accident. It happened because political parties within the Government of Local Unity understood the seriousness of the responsibility entrusted to us by the residents of the City of Johannesburg. As the African Independent Congress, we are proud to have been part of the Government of Local Unity. We are proud to have contributed to stability, governance continuity, and cooperative leadership

02:47:23in one of the most complex metros in the country. The AIC did not enter government to occupy seats; we entered government to ensure that the voice of ordinary people remains at the centre of governance. That is why our message has always remained consistent: people taking centre stage in governance. You've got to listen to that one, it is so nice slogan. And indeed, it is all about you. Madam Speaker,

02:47:53in many parts of the world, coalition governments, uh, collapse because political interests become more important than needs of the citizens. But here in Johannesburg, the Government of Local Unity demonstrated that cooperation is possible when leadership chooses maturity over egos, governance over grandstanding, and delivery over political theatre. The AIC believes this administration must be remembered for choosing stability

02:48:23in a time where instability would have been easier. The residents of Johannesburg did not vote for chaos. They voted for solutions. They voted for accountability. They voted for government that works. And while challenges remain, this administration has laid important foundations for the future. Madam Speaker, the Executive Mayor's State of the City Address correctly reflected both achievements and the realities facing Johannesburg.

02:48:54I could not understand when Councillor Echeozonjoku said he was not honest when he was delivering this speech because he touched on both the failures and the achievements. We appreciated the honesty, uh, contained in the address because leadership requires honesty with the people. The Mayor acknowledges the city's infrastructure backlog, water losses, electricity losses, service delivery pressures,

02:49:23and financial constraints. But the Mayor also demonstrated that interventions are underway: the revitalisation of the inner city, investment in roads and bridges, water infrastructure updates, uh, housing developments, digital transformation initiatives, public-private partnerships, and measures, uh, aimed at improving governance and financial stability. These are not small interventions.

02:49:50These represent deliberate attempts to reposition Johannesburg as a functional and globally competitive African city. Madam Speaker, the AIC also takes pride in the contribution it has made within government during the term. The Mayor spoke extensively about partnerships between government, business, labour, and civil society. The AIC strongly supports the approach because local government cannot succeed in isolation.

02:50:20Communities themselves must become active participants in government. Too often, residents only interact with government during election periods or during a crisis. Participatory governance requires, uh, continuous engagement between communities and government. Residents know where illegal dumping occurs. Madam Speaker, as I conclude, Madam Speaker, as this term comes to an end, history will judge all of us, not by speeches we delivered,

02:50:52by whether we protected the institution of local government and whether we improved the lives of our residents. The African Independent Congress remains committed to ethical

EFF response: inequality, public safety, health and Eskom

02:51:05Thank you so much, Councillor. Uh, next councillor, Councillor G Mkasi from the EFF.

02:51:18Uh, thank you very much, uh, Speaker. Uh, let me firstly acknowledge the acting

02:51:26Please speak into the mic, Councillor.

02:51:28Acknowledge the

02:51:29Just before you go, Councillors, can we stop the movement while we have councillors on the podium? Thank you, Councillor. Your time stopped; it's starting now. Thank you.

02:51:44Alright, thank you very much, uh, Speaker. Let me firstly acknowledge the acting caucus, uh, leader of the EFF today, uh, Councillor Mosehla, uh, fellow progressive, uh, councillors, residents of the City of Johannesburg. The EFF rises in this house today not to participate in empty ceremonial politics, but to speak on behalf of the forgotten people of Johannesburg: the poor, the unemployed, workers, informal traders, pensioners, young people, and black communities

02:52:15who continue to suffer the daily brutality of inequality in the richest city in Africa. Executive Mayor, can you clarify the rationale behind hosting the State of the City Address at church instead of city-owned venue, and further indicate the total expenditure sustained by the city for the event? Speaker, the people do not live inside speeches. The people live inside communities. Communities tell the truth better than you.

02:52:46The truth is that Johannesburg remains deeply unequal. The wealth of this city continues to be controlled by a small elite, while the black majority remain trapped in poverty, unemployment, and landlessness. The EFF warned years ago in our 2021 local government election manifesto that municipalities had become machinery for tenders, corruption, and primitive accumulation instead of instruments for service delivery. We warned that municipalities were outsourcing everything while communities

02:53:14were receiving nothing. Today's conditions confirm exactly that reality. We cannot speak about solid foundation without also speaking honestly about the crisis confronting Johannesburg. The Mayor himself admitted that Johannesburg faces an infrastructure backlog of more than 220 billion. We also heard that non-revenue water losses stand at 44.7%, while electricity losses stand at 27.1%. These are not ordinary administrative

02:53:44problems. These are indicators of a city under serious pressure. How can residents celebrate progress while almost half of the water entering our system is lost before reaching them? How do we speak of resilience while aging infrastructure continues to deteriorate? The EFF believes that honest leadership requires confronting these realities directly because problems that are softened politically rarely receive the urgency they deserve administratively. Speaker,

02:54:14despite those realities, the EFF remains honest enough to acknowledge progress where progress exists. We are proud of the work being done by departments under the EFF leadership within the City of Johannesburg. The EFF leadership in Public Safety, the Johannesburg Metro Police Department has intensified visibility policing, multidisciplinary operations, bylaw enforcement campaigns, and crime prevention initiatives across the city. The reclaiming of public spaces, coordinated inner-city operations,

02:54:45anti-crime interventions, and visible law enforcement demonstrate what becomes possible when revolutionary leadership is placed at the centre of governance. Bylaws are now being enforced at a level residents have not witnessed in a long time. We are seeing stronger intervention against illegal dumping, hijacked buildings, non-compliance, illegal occupation of public spaces, and disorder in the city. Slowly but surely, the CBD is becoming safer and more functional for businesses,

02:55:15workers, residents, commuters, and visitors. This is important because the CBD is not just a geographical space; it is an economic engine. If the CBD collapses, small businesses collapse, public transport becomes unsafe, investment retreats, and ordinary citizens or residents suffer. Speaker, we are equally proud of interventions within the Health portfolio. The opening of Naledi Clinic in Soweto as a fully operational 24-hour clinic is not a small achievement;

02:55:46it is a restoration of dignity to the people. For years, poor communities suffered because clinics closed while sicknesses continued through, uh, the night. Today, a mother carrying a child at midnight can receive assistance. A worker injured after hours can receive treatment. An elderly resident in distress can access healthcare without travelling dangerous distances. That is what people-centred governance looks like. Healthcare must never be treated as a luxury

02:56:16reserved for those with medical aid. Healthcare is a right; dignity is a right. More clinics are being built and upgraded, and this must be welcomed because municipal health systems are the first line of defence for the poor and the working class. Johannesburg will not only become safer... uh, maintained that Social Development is an economic development because a hungry child cannot learn, a sick worker cannot, uh, be productive,

02:56:47and a young person trapped in poverty or substance abuse cannot participate meaningfully in the economy. A city that neglects social development will later pay through crime, homelessness, family breakdown, and community instability. If the city wants economic growth, then it must invest in the human beings who are expected to build that economy. Speaker, we must also address the city's handling of the Eskom matter. The EFF must speak frankly. The failure by the city to honour the settlement

02:57:17agreement with Eskom was irresponsible and unacceptable. Government cannot behave with a gangster mentality. You cannot sign agreements and then disappear until public warnings are issued. That is not governance; that is recklessness. City and City Power currently face approximately 6.8 billion in electricity arrears, and Eskom has already indicated possible interruption of electricity supply. Leadership means confronting

02:57:47problems before they explode. The people of Johannesburg cannot become victims of institutional arrogance and poor financial management. If the city is in financial crisis, let us say so clearly. If City Power is under pressure, let us say so clearly. If there are weaknesses in revenue collection, billing, infrastructure protection, and financial controls, let us say so clearly. Crisis that is hidden behind comforting language will not be resolved. Speaker, the reality is that

02:58:16communities are tired. They are tired of water shortages. Reservoirs without water is not service delivery; it is a concrete symbol of failed governance and broken infrastructure management. They are tired of sewer spillages. They are tired of broken traffic lights. They are tired of potholes. They are tired of overcrowded informal settlements. They are tired of unemployment. They are tired of watching billions move through Johannesburg while their own living conditions remain unchanged. The Mayor tells us Johannesburg contributes

02:58:4615% to the national GDP and remains the economic heartbeat of Africa. But what does GDP mean to a young graduate sitting at home without work? What does economic growth mean to a family living without reliable electricity? What does investment mean to communities drowning in sewage? The economy of Johannesburg cannot exist only in reports, conferences, and speeches; it must exist inside communities. The EFF supports development and investment where it is a genuine benefit to the people.

02:59:16We are not opposed to partnership; we are opposed to exploitation. Public-private partnership must never become a cover for privatization and looting. Partnership must benefit communities directly. They must create jobs, upgrade infrastructure, industrialize townships, and restore the inner city, bring roads, clinics, housing, and economic opportunities closer to the people. The poor must feel development physically in their communities. Speaker, the EFF 2024

02:59:46manifesto correctly identified landlessness, unemployment, and economic exclusion as the central crisis facing black communities. You cannot solve Johannesburg's crisis without confronting spatial, uh, apartheid planning.

03:00:00The poor continue to live far away from economic opportunities while wealth and investment remain centered in a few areas. Johannesburg cannot continue developing Sandton while informal settlement continue expanding. A city that leaves millions without dignity cannot call itself world-class. The EFF welcome housing project and infrastructure projects where progress is taking place. However,

03:00:28we must be honest that the scale of delivery remains far below the scale of need. Residents require more than announcements and future commitments. Residents require houses, service stands, road, water, sanitation and electricity. Mega projects must not become annual speeches repeated every year without changing the material conditions of our people. The city must accelerate affordable public housing closer to economic centers to reverse apartheid spatial planning injustices.

03:00:58Speaker, the issue of water requires urgent intervention. The city has admitted that nearly half of the water entering its system is being lost. We cannot continue asking residents to pay more to pay more while losing almost half of the product before it reaches them. This is not merely a technical challenge. It is a governance challenge, a maintenance challenge and a financial challenge. Water is not a privilege. Water is life. Water is dignity.

03:01:24The EFF therefore calls for aggressive investment in water infrastructure, pipe replacement programs, leak detection system, maintenance programs, and a stronger protection against illegal connections and infrastructure vandalism. We must also speak honestly about electricity infrastructure. Substations, transformers, and maintenance system in working-class communities must be modernized urgently. It is unacceptable that poor communities are made to live

03:01:52eh, to live with repeated outages while the city continue to speak of smart city ambitions. A smart city is meaningless if basic electricity infrastructure is failing. Energy security must benefit township, informal settlement, and working-class communities, not only wealthy suburbs and business districts. Speaker, we must also speak honestly about governance. The mayor spoke about the reform turnaround plans and building a robust administration.

03:02:20The EFF support genuine reform. We must we support consequence management, we support fighting corruption. However, residents are tired of hearing about turnaround plans while same problems continue year after year. Good governance is not about producing beautiful reports or new slogans. Governance is about ensuring that system functions, officials are held accountable, corruption is confronted decisively, and every rand spent produces visible results for our communities.

03:02:51The EFF remains guided by the revolutionary principles outlined in our 2021 and 2024 manifesto: building state capacity, ending corruption, expanding infrastructure, creating jobs, restoring dignity, and ensuring that government service the black majority rather than the elites. That is why we place before this house urgent interventions necessary to restore dignity and transform poor communities. Johannesburg must massively invest in water infrastructure

03:03:20to end recurring water shortages. Electricity infrastructure must be modernized urgently. Informal settlements must be upgraded with proper roads, sanitation system, drainage, and streetlights. The city must continue expanding 24-hour clinics. JMPD visibility and technology-driven policing must be strengthened across all regions, and public-private partnerships must remain transparent and directly infrastructure development.

03:03:49Speaker, the future of Johannesburg cannot belong only to capitalist private wealth. It must belong to workers. We therefore say to residents of Johannesburg, organize, participate, and vote for change. Vote for the city where safety receives resources. Vote for a city where healthcare is expanded. Vote for a city where development reaches township and informal settlement. Vote for a city where public resources service the people.

03:04:16The EFF will continue supporting every intervention that restore dignity of our people, but we will never become praise singers while community continue suffering. We will continue speaking boldly. We will continue demanding accountability, because

Al Jama-ah response

03:04:37Thank you, Councillor. Can we have Councillor G. Gwamanda from Al Jama-ah. Can we settle, colleagues? Can we settle, colleagues? Councillor G. Gwamanda, your time starts.

03:05:02Good afternoon, Madam Speaker. Good afternoon to the councillors present in the chambers. Good afternoon to our guests in the gallery. Allow me to say all protocol observed. Having taken note of the State of the City as delivered by the Executive Mayor, Councillor Dada Morero, Al Jama-ah would like to take this opportunity to place on record, as a reminder,

03:05:32to the children of the sun that we as a people only have political power.

03:05:37Councillor, can you just hold on? Just hold on. Councillors, there's a councillor that's moving up and down and she's making a noise with her movement. She's in between Councillor Johannes and the councillor that just spoke. Councillor Gwamanda, can you carry on?

03:06:00I would like to take this opportunity, Madam Speaker, to place on record, as a reminder to the children of the sun, that all we have as a people is political power. In a democratic dispensation whose preoccupation for the past 30 years remains our freedom instead of independence. I register the following with great concern, Madam Speaker, because,

03:06:30despite the City of Johannesburg's strategic objectives of a world-class African city, as outlined in the GDS 2040, which is outward-looking, we are confronted by vintage-style leaders of conservative political parties, and to some extent, their mayoral candidates whom, for inconceivable reasons, appear nostalgic about having the city go back to its former glory.

03:07:03This notion on its own borders on misconception, that is a regression to a draconian-style minority rule with segregated service delivery across racial line and a perpetuated sense of class antagonism by the state. That this, Madam Speaker, this will serve as a solution to the city addressing its current challenges

03:07:32that remain distant from insurmountable. The fact of the matter is that South Africa is a unique country whose preservation of its liberty hangs on the balance due to the subversion of distinction between oppressor and liberator through a widespread advocacy of an elusive sense of inequality. Madam Speaker, it is indeed evident

03:08:03that peace without victory is surrender. Yet we use the dying tree of liberty as wood to ignite fiery politics of grandeur as a means for self-preservation at the expense of the future. But maybe it's by design, because it cannot be correct that we cling onto revolutionary rhetoric,

03:08:33such as the advocacy for economic emancipation in our lifetime through Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, the Employment Equity Act, and amongst other mechanisms, land expropriation. However, reality dictates otherwise. In fact, through this political power that has been entrusted to us by the people, Madam Speaker, we as the government of local unity

03:09:03preside over what is known as the richest square mile in Africa, with a 15% GDP contribution to the South African economy, as alluded by the Executive Mayor. We are home to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, which is the largest and oldest stock exchange in Africa, operating as the main financial marketplace. Yet, Madam Speaker,

03:09:34the unemployment rate in the city is estimated at 26.5%. And the youth unemployment is estimated to be sitting at a staggering 46.6%. Can somebody explain the disparity between the strategy and tactics of our liberation movement, which prescribes the use of state power for the complete emancipation of our people,

03:10:07and the average black and previously disadvantaged resident of Johannesburg whose discretionary budget is subject to an unreasonable choice between electricity and food, or the granny who doesn't qualify for ESP on electricity subsidies because Soweto's power is supplied directly by Eskom? Is this the state of the city in view of a textbook?

03:10:3750 seconds.

03:10:40Madam Speaker.

03:10:41Councillor Gwamanda.

03:10:42isiZuluHayi, ithathe. Hayi, ithathe. Ngiyabonga, hayi ithathe.

UDM response: governance stability and infrastructure backlog

03:10:47No, you still have 50 seconds to go on. You still have that 50 seconds, we are holding it for you. Okay, you are fine? UDM Chair Zigebe.

03:11:11isiXhosaKwasukuma umabonabulale.

03:11:14Honorable Speaker, the Executive Mayor, Deputy Executive Mayor, MMCs, honorable councillors, good afternoon. I would like to acknowledge the presence of the representatives from the Ayo Socio-Economic Research Institute, ASRI, who formally handed over the Little Readers, Big Dreams libraries draft bylaw to MMC of Community Development,claim

03:11:44Councillor Thapelo Amad, this morning. The proposed bylaw advocates for safer, more accessible and child-friendly library spaces to help address South Africa's reading crisis and improve literacy outcomes for children. I welcome you, colleagues. Honorable Speaker, the State of the City Address delivered by the mayor correctly reminded us of the strategic importance of Johannesburg, not only as the economic heartbeat of South Africa,

03:12:12but as a city whose success or failure carries consequences for the entire country. And because Johannesburg matters this much, this debate cannot be reduced to blind praise or reckless destruction. The UDM, as a member of the Government of Local Unity, carry a responsibility to protect the stability of the city, defend democratic governance, and ensure that Johannesburg succeeds. But equally, Madam Speaker, we have a duty to speak honestly, because the residents of Johannesburg

03:12:42do not experience governance through speeches, slogans, or press conferences. They experience governance through whether water comes out of their taps, traffic lights do function, roads are repaired, electricity infrastructure is stable, refuse is collected, and whether government responds when communities are in distress. That is the real state of the city. Honorable Speaker, there are areas where progress must be acknowledged fairly. The city has continued driving catalytic infrastructure projects, there has been movement

03:13:13around inner-city revitalization, the city has succeeded in attracting investment and hosting major global platforms, including G20 engagements. There are visible interventions around the energy sustainability, digital transformation and infrastructure rehabilitation. And under extremely difficult financial and governance conditions, the administration has continued to function.

03:13:34Councillor, can you just hold on? Councillor Nkonyeni and Councillor Kyle. Thank you. Thank you, Chair.

03:13:47isiZuluNgabe ngiyaku-addressa Nkonyeni kodwa isikhathi anginaso.

03:13:51Those realities must be acknowledged with fairness and honesty. However, acknowledging progress must not blind us to the seriousness of the crisis this city is still confronting, because the lived reality of many residents remains one of frustration, uncertainty, collapsing infrastructure, worsening outages, urban decay, crime, unreliable municipal systems, and declining trust in local government institutions. The challenge before us is therefore not whether work is being done;

03:14:22the challenge is whether the pace, discipline, coordination, and governance stability required to rescue Johannesburg are sufficient. And if we are honest enough with ourselves, they are not yet sufficient. Honorable Speaker, one of the most important moments in the Executive Mayor's address was the acknowledgment that Johannesburg faces an infrastructure backlog exceeding 220 billion. That figure alone tells us the true story of Johannesburg. It tells us that our crisis is structural. It tells us

03:14:52that decades of under-investment, poor maintenance, aging infrastructure, governance instability, rapid urbanization, illegal connections, and administrative weaknesses have all converged at once, and it tells us that there are no easy solutions. But what residents expect from leadership is not perfection; they expect urgency, accountability, visible improvement in their daily lives. Honorable Speaker, the latest Eskom developments should concern every single one of us, not because Johannesburg is the only municipality

03:15:23facing financial pressure, because it is not, but because these developments expose how fragile municipal sustainability has become. The Executive Mayor is correct that this is a national challenge affecting municipalities across the country. However, it would equally be irresponsible for us not to acknowledge that governance instability, operational inefficiencies, weak revenue management, and declining institutional confidence have worsened pressure in the City of Johannesburg.

03:15:53Financial sustainability and governance stability are interconnected. When governance weakens, confidence weakens. When confidence weakens, investment slows. And when investment slows, infrastructure deteriorates further. And when infrastructure deteriorates, residents suffer the consequences first. That cycle is dangerous for Johannesburg. This is why governance stability is no longer optional; it is fundamental to the future of this city. The Executive Mayor strongly defended the work of the Mayoral High Impact Program

03:16:23and what has become known as the illegal Bomb Squad and its bridesmaid, the Mayoral Committee. Communities appreciate visible interventions. Residents want leadership that is present and responsive. And where rapid interventions have assisted communities facing service delivery failures, that must be acknowledged. However, Johannesburg cannot permanently govern itself through emergency interventions, ad hoc structures and war room government. The long-term success of this city depends on building

03:16:53capable institutions, strengthening entities, restoring administrative discipline, improving interdepartmental coordination, and most importantly, it depends on creating sustainable governance systems that function consistently beyond political cycles and personalities. I thank you.

Chair of Chairs Marema: apartheid spatial planning and the DA

03:17:11Thank you, Chair Zigebe. Chair of Chairs, Councillor Marema, on behalf of ANC.

03:17:32Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, Executive Mayor, Deputy Executive Mayor, Chief Whip of Council, members of the Executive Committee, whips of political parties, councillors, distinguished guests seated in the gallery, members of the media, the youth of Johannesburg and fellow residents of our city. I rise today from Alexandra,

03:18:04a township that carries the full weight of South Africa's unfinished liberation. Townships are not merely places of residence. It is a historical wound, a site of resistance, and a living reminder of what apartheid spatial planning did to black people. Townships in Johannesburg are never poor by accident. Its poverty was engineered.

03:18:34Its overcrowding was engineered. Its exclusion was engineered. Apartheid did not only separate black people from white people. It separated black people from land, opportunities, decent housing, economic centers, and the right to live with dignity. And yet, Madam Speaker, townships like Alexandra stands just across from Sandton, one of the richest square mile on the African continent.

03:19:05That distance is not simply a road or a taxi route. It is the distance between poverty and wealth, between labor and capital, between those who built the city and those who inherited its comfort. The people in these townships of Johannesburg built Johannesburg. They cleaned its homes. They guarded its gates. They drove its taxis, worked its factories. They raised its children and carried the city on their backs.

03:19:40But the city they built was never designed to return dignity to them. That is the cruelty of apartheid spatial planning. It used black labor, but rejected black humanity. These townships are not only pain; they are a pride. Townships are a memory, they are a defiance. It is a place where poverty never defeated political consciousness, and where the working class learned that struggle

03:20:09was never only about services, but about land, power, ownership and justice. So when we speak about Johannesburg today, we must speak honestly. Every leaking pipe, every blocked drain, every dark street, every overcrowded yard, and every pothole is not merely a municipal failure. It is also the afterlife of apartheid spatial planning. It is the unfinished business of liberation. Good morning, Madam Speaker,

03:20:40and welcome to the class struggle. This is why we must reject those who speak about Johannesburg as if history does not matter. Poverty in townships like Alexandra, overcrowding in Diepsloot, and the distance between Orange Farm and economic opportunity are not natural. They are the product of apartheid spatial planning, land dispossession, and an economy designed to use black labor while denying black people dignity.

03:21:16Chair, I'll keep your time. I'll keep your time. Councillor Belinda, I am not sure what was said that was so wrong, but can we hear?

03:21:33Madam Speaker, I feel like you are prejudiced towards me before I even said anything.

03:21:37No, no, no, it's fine, carry on.

03:21:39Madam Speaker, I just want to remind the ANC that they were in power for 32 years.

03:21:43Ah, Councillor, no.

03:21:47Apartheid denialists!

03:21:52That was no point of order, as I predicted. Thank you, Chair. Chair, carry on.

03:21:58Madam Speaker.

03:22:00Colleagues on my right.

03:22:03Madam Speaker, that is why we must be careful when Helen Marie Antoinette Zille and her party comes here with their lectures. They want to lecture Johannesburg about governance while hiding the contradictions of where they govern. They want South Africans to believe that Cape Town is a model city, that everything works where the DA governs. But which Cape Town are they speaking about? The Cape Town of Waterfront, Camps Bay,

03:22:34Sea Point, or Cape Town of Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain, Cape Flats? Are they speaking about the city sold to tourists, or the city lived by the poor? Helen Marie Antoinette Zille politics is the politics of facade. It polishes privilege and hides poverty. It says a city works when the rich are comfortable, even if the poor remain far away, unseen

03:23:05and unheard. That is not transformation. That is not justice. That is not the city we are building. The DA has perfected the art of managing inequality without dismantling it. They protect elite spaces, create the image of order, and ensure that poverty does not disturb the comfort of those who already have. And now we hear the walls being proposed in Cape Town. In a country whose history

03:23:36is warning against separation, a wall is not neutral. A wall carries ideology. It says that poor must be separated, controlled, hidden, and contained. It says that the problem is not inequality; the problem is that inequality has become too visible. That is the same logic we see in apartheid Israel, where walls are used to separate people from land, movement, and dignity of freedom. Let us be honest: if the swimmer

03:24:06and her party wants to govern Johannesburg with the same imagination, they will not transform places like Alexandra, Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Kliptown, Ivory Park, Soweto, and many more townships in Johannesburg. They would manage it from a distance. They will not integrate Diepsloot or Zandspruit. They will police it. They will not bring poor close to opportunity; they would push them far away and call it good governance.

03:24:36Madam Speaker, Johannesburg does not need walls from the swimmer. Johannesburg needs justice. Johannesburg needs land. Johannesburg needs housing. Johannesburg needs reliable services. Johannesburg needs safety. Johannesburg needs government that does not fear the poor, but serve them. The old legal architectures of apartheid has fallen, but economic geography of apartheid continues to breathe. It breathes in the distance between Alexandra to Sandton. It breathes in the distance

03:25:06between Diepsloot to Dainfern. It breathes in the distance between Orange Farm and the economic centers of opportunity. It breathes in every worker who must wake up before sunrise to travel to the suburb they help sustain, but cannot afford to live in. Madam Speaker, this is why the mayor's speech must be understood in its proper historical context. We are not simply managing a municipality; we are trying to transform a city

03:25:36that was designed to exclude the majority of the people. The mayor has correctly reminded us that the foundation has been laid. A foundation is not a final house, but without a foundation, no house can stand. The ANC-led city has been working to stabilize Johannesburg, restore confidence, improve service delivery, and rebuild capacity of local government. We must acknowledge the gains. The speech tells us

03:26:07that 99.3% of residents receives water. Is that true? Checklist, yes! 96% receive sanitation services. 92% receives electricity for lighting. They are not just statistics. They are households, families, elderly people, children, workers and communities who depend on government for basic services that makes life possible. But access alone is not enough

03:26:37if services are unreliable. A tap that runs dry humiliates our people. A street light that does not work still endangers women and children. A pothole still damages the vehicle of a worker who cannot afford a repair. A billing crisis still causes anxiety in households already under pressure. So our task is clear: we must move from access to reliability, from plans to implementation, from commitments to visible service delivery.

03:27:07Streetlights must be fixed urgently. This is not only about infrastructure; it's about safety, dignity, freedom of movement. When a streetlight works, a woman coming home from work walks with less fear. A learner returning from school is safer. A community becomes less vulnerable to crime. We must intensify bylaw enforcement and reclaim unsafe spaces, hijacked building, illegal dumping sites, abandoned properties that are neglected.

03:27:37Madam Speaker, the mayor's speech only points to improved coordination of service deliveries. We are told that 724 service delivery cases were processed, with an 86% resolution rate within six week, involving entities like your City Power, Joburg Water, Road Agencies, and Pikitup. These matters because

03:28:0020 seconds, Chair. You can carry on, 20 seconds.

Executive Mayor's reply: labour data and video presentations

03:28:07Johannesburg is not without challenge.

03:28:11So come November, on the other side, because the term ends. So it's important that we help those who just recently came to council in green and white, on the other side of the fighters, to understand that, yes, the term is ending, so we are all outgoing.

03:28:42Perhaps I'm just going to give you a quote, and I hope revolutionaries on the right will forgive me for having chosen the words that was uttered by a right-winger from the Republican Party in the United States. But I guess I'm responding to a right-winger in the Republic of South Africa. Perhaps he then says,

03:29:14I quote JD Vance, who's a Republican in the United States, I quote, "It's not easy, especially in our political polarized world, to recognize both the structural and the cultural barriers that so many poor kids face. But I think that if you don't recognize both, you risk being heartless and condescending,

03:29:46and often both." Close quote. Now, this image above is a representation of the arguments made by the blue brigade.

03:30:00They want to monopolize data, and if it is not created by them, then you as black and African men, you don't know what you are talking about. So numbers don't lie. Numbers don't lie.

03:30:31Councillor Belinda, look at the Quarterly Labour Force Survey. Read to your master at least on page rather on Table 2.3 on page 30 printed for you, and read on page 38

03:31:02Table 2.3 printed for you by the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg. Now, at this stage, I would like to give you because I went through a trouble of highlighting the pages and what I spoke about yesterday so that this will help umlungu

03:31:32to take time to read. So allow me to give it to you.

03:31:59So this is Quarterly Labour Force Survey, quarter 1, 2026, released 12 May 2026. So this will give facts to Councillor Belinda about what I presented yesterday. Thank you.

03:32:26I've given you a gift, and I've decided to help you and your caucus. I have enough copies for the entire caucus because reading it's important, and I'm told by Councillor Zigebe that today we've got guests who are running a library, and they will at some point tell us of the importance of reading.

03:32:55Let me also deal with the following and I want you to take time to look at this video. Where are the technical people?

03:33:06Executive Mayor, just hold on.

03:33:08Oh, it's gone?

03:33:09They are trying to put up your video.

03:33:13Okay.

03:33:13Yeah.

03:33:15I've got two videos to demonstrate how at times some parties in South Africa believes that if it's not done by black, it has a problem. So let us take it from the top. Madam Speaker, are they winning?

03:33:44They're not winning. No, it's not sabotage. If it's sabotage, it can only come from yourselves. Okay. So I will continue with the speech

03:34:03Executive Mayor?

03:34:04and I will conclude with the video if the Speaker allows.

03:34:08Executive Mayor?

03:34:11I'm here.

03:34:13This councillor over there I simply can't Executive Mayor, there is a power failure on that side. So

03:34:29Yeah, neh? It can only be one side. Executive Mayor? Can I speak? Can I speak? You will be the first to ask why do you not see the screen. Can I speak? By your allowance. Executive Mayor, they are struggling with the power that has failed. Can we ask

03:34:56Can we ask that we delay with about 5 minutes so that we can switch on so that they can just get the electrician to do that if you agree.

03:35:09Speaker, I suspect as I go towards the conclusion of my comments, we might have got the connection so that we don't delay council as we still have to go into another item.

Mayor's reply: finances, Eskom, Metro Centre and Bomb Squad

03:35:19Okay. Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. Yes, thank you so much, Executive Mayor.

03:35:26Allow me therefore, Madam Speaker, that's I just said that let us take it from the top. It is in this council I asked you, "What is the Joburg? What is the Joburg you want to see?" You told me and made inputs on what we should do.

03:35:54When you told us what you want, it became clear that we were in an agreement that the city is experiencing financial, systemic, and financial challenges. We agreed. And in that agreement, we also agreed that you blew it when you were in power. And now we have a responsibility to fix it.

03:36:27When we left, we left with 5 billion cash in the bank, and you blew it. And financial numbers do not lie because financial statements would confirm of August 2026. I know others have joined later, but the responsibility, as they say,

03:36:57also goes to them because they were the mayor of the City of Johannesburg. My speech yesterday dealt with difficult and the harsh realities of the city. We have taken on bad buildings. We are cleaning the city. We are creating a safe city.

03:37:27We are providing services. And the lights are on. The lights are on. Now, it is important, Madam Speaker, that I respond on the basis of where we come from.

03:37:55We come from an environment and a period at which those that came excited agreed with us when we presented here the challenges that we face in the city. And we're in agreement at that time and what needs to be done. And you deposited your suggestions and proposal in this very chamber.

03:38:26Now, Councillor Zigebe says something quite profound. He says whilst we acknowledge the successes that we are seeing in the speech in the city, we still experiencing structural backlog, which are infrastructure backlogs. And by the way, the speech admits to infrastructure backlogs in the city,

03:38:57and it explains the type of infrastructure backlogs that we are faced with and what needs to be done to better the city. The city responds by saying on the water infrastructure, we've already started with building of reservoirs, and in the speech, we confirm

03:39:26the completion of Brixton Reservoir. Yes, it missed the initial target date of delivery. This was as a result of cash flow challenges, which we have also admitted and not denied. Unlike others in 2022 denied that there are financial challenges in the city.

03:39:54Let me also explain, Councillor Zigebe. You are correct that land invasion No, no, you spoke about illegality, that illegal activities continue to affect our ability to attract investments, and you are saying all these things or the decades of challenges are all coming together at one time.

03:40:26Then you are correct, and therefore our challenge is to fix them. Now, when you look at the speech that I presented yesterday, of course others misinterpreted it, and others did not know what their leader said, especially ActionSA. When I spoke about the forgotten people in my foundation in the speech, I was referring to your leader,

03:40:56who when he very first time arrived here in this chamber, he spoke about forgotten people. So that portion of the speech talks about the foundations that have been laid by different administrations in the City of Johannesburg. So better know your leaders better. Even if when they have changed the colour of the T-shirt, it's important to know the content of your leaders.

03:41:30So the foundation that we are referring to is the foundation since the establishment of local government in 1996. And you will see in my speech I say, "Guess who the leader said this?" And it's clear that you did not know it was your leader, who was here this morning. We bumped into each other and we had cordial greetings with Mr. Mashaba.

03:41:59He has now left because I wanted to share something with him, but he has left. So, Councillor Zigebe, you're correct. And you're correct that the latest issue on Eskom, it's a responsibility that together with administration we must deal with it and resolve it to the end. Yes, there we defaulted. We take responsibility for that,

03:42:28but the lights will not be switched off in Johannesburg. And that we can give assurance to our residents and to our councillors. We will give you a full report on Monday when we conclude the new arrangement with Eskom.

03:42:51But what is it that we need to talk to as this collective council is the cost associated with electricity. At peak, we buy expensively from Eskom at about R4.50, meaning in the morning between 6:00 and 9:00, and of course in the afternoon between 5:00 and 7:00, we buy expensively because it's peak.

03:43:21But this council passes a tariff, and in that tariff we say we will charge you R3.00, which therefore means we are unable to raise the balance of the R1.50 that we pay for. So over time, we've been subsidizing residents to a tune of almost 300 million on an annual basis. I'm raising this thing as a discussion that it's not just about the debt,

03:43:52it's also about how we ensure that we structure electricity tariffs such that they are both affordable for the end user and for the municipality, and it's a conversation we must have. The intervention at Kelvin Power Station has also been helpful in a sense that we've been able to reduce the cost. We are also saying a further intervention will be the program that we are busy with in establishing battery storage,

03:44:25working with the private sector so that once you have a battery storage, you can then buy cheaper, store it, and at peak you can sell on what you have already bought during normal hours or whatever they call off-peak. So we will then settle this matter with Eskom quite soon. It's just unfortunate that it happened.

03:44:54Now, as I move on to take on councillor responses in relation to the councillor from the ATM, Councillor Magwentshu, who has also made an unfortunate commitment that come November, they will be installing a mayor in the City of Johannesburg.

03:45:24Just to remind Councillor Magwentshu that your worry now should be: Will you be able to pass the 2% mark? As the new amendments in the White Paper are already saying, you must reach 2% for you to be sitting in this chamber. On a lighter note,

03:45:54and I appreciate your comments on the Governance Committee, and I will attend. Just remind me to attend. I have no intention to act in such a manner that undermines the cohesiveness of this Mayoral Committee.

03:46:27We've been working well as a collective. We've also worked very well with the intervention of the Bomb Squad, which I will explain once again to you without going back to your comments in council when I confirmed and announced the Bomb Squad. You were the first councillor in this chamber to stand up, pledged support

03:46:59to the Bomb Squad and the initiative of the Mayor. We will share the recordings with you. The intention was to help us unlock the constraints that are in the city. The Systems Act says the Mayor is empowered by law to establish partnerships, committees that he believes will be able to help in the execution of his functions.

03:47:33So nothing was illegal whatsoever. And that is why there are courts in South Africa. If we're unable to interpret the law, we then request those in the courts or in the legal field to help us interpret the law. Something soon will happen. We will finalize the PPP, sign off on what was supposed to have been signed off,

03:48:03and we can proceed with the implementation of the space optimization program, which only does not refer to Metro Centre, but covers the entire city and all other seven regions so that we can build institutions or structures that government can house its employees and all other programs. So it's an important program. Whether we like it or not, I know Madam Zille, Mrs. Zille was here with respect,

03:48:36and what she was not briefed on are the following issues: One, the report from Labour, which confirms that the building does no longer comply with health and safety standards. Two, the report from insurers, who confirms that this building is now uninsurable. Thirdly, the report from the engineers that confirms that structurally the building has problems.

03:49:08And we seem to forget so quickly that we ourselves as councillors, where our cars would be parked when we're in council was presenting a risk to our own vehicles. As we know that there was some watery substance that was dripping, and had that substance reached your car, your car would not be fixed in that particular spot. Quite a few of you became victims of that.

03:49:37So let's not pretend as if we don't know the truth. Should anyone have died in this building, then the government and the Mayor would have been told, "But the report said the following, you failed to act." And there will be a march of 25 people here in blue T-shirts saying the Mayor did not act.

03:50:09So it's important that we put the Metro Centre into context. Yes, the delays have been longer. We should have started with the construction and the approvals of the PPP. We will conclude it. We are looking at options of build, operate, and transfer or a PPP. The PPP processes from the point of National Treasury have now been shortened.

Mayor's reply: church venue, clinics, debtors book and ActionSA

03:50:42The church was important, councillor, that

03:50:45isiZulusiye esontweni.

03:50:49We're not going to church. We're going to the CBD of Johannesburg. We're going where we are saying there's urban decay, and how do we reverse the urban decay? And we are confirming the programs that we've already started, whether they are yielding results or not. And all of us had an opportunity to see for ourselves the improvements and the changes

03:51:16around De Villiers Street, where the church is actually located. No, Da Rocha. The problem is that you only saw it yesterday because you have not been going to De Villiers Street. You see, Da Rocha. Secondly, Da Rocha, you don't wear Gucci. So if you were wearing Gucci, you'd know that there was Dunusa there, and you'd have been frequent in going there.

03:51:47So, Da Rocha, let's agree, my brother. Councillor Da Rocha, sorry, sorry, my apology, my apology. No, we've got a good relation with Da Rocha, so maybe I took advantage. So councillors who know where to get a Gucci, a Louis Vuitton, knew that there was a place called Dunusa. There's no more Dunusa in the city. The place is clean.

03:52:17So others saw it for the first time yesterday because they don't go into town. Well, it's our wards where there are difficulties. Where there's easy things, it's in your wards. So I thought I should respond to the church issue.

03:52:34SetswanaJaanong ga e le ya bobedi, re tlhoka le dithapelo, ngwana wa rona. Go boima ko Johannesburg,

03:52:40so I thought

03:52:41Setswanaa re yeng go rapela ganyane ba re tshegofatse gore tiro e re e dirang, re tswelele pele re e dira.

03:52:49And

03:52:50Setswanake rata

03:52:51comment

03:52:51Setswanaya gago

03:52:52on the clinics. We are doing very well in terms of our primary healthcare. We are doing quite well, which is not even our mandate. It's an unfunded mandate. An unfunded mandate in which we are also fighting to get our money back. We are doing it because we are deliberate as a government that we are serving these people in our communities. We will spend the money.

03:53:20And we have done so. It's just over about 4 billion that we are owed, and at some point we will get that money Oh, he's whispering that it's actually 7 billion. Thanks, MMC. It can be even more. So we are deliberate as the city that we can't leave our people suffering because it's not our mandate. We took the mandate, which is not ours, and we put the clinics. And by the way, the stats on medical aid,

03:53:52Councillor Belinda, once more, it's an indication in Johannesburg that majority of our people are in public health. It's the truth. It's a fact that they're in public health, and we can't say it's on the basis of affordability. It's on the basis that our people believe that there's something we're doing right in our clinics, and primary healthcare is working in Johannesburg.

03:54:27Now, Councillor Belinda, you're not aware that in Johannesburg, at least we've got about two academic hospitals. Councillor Makhafola, is it two academic hospitals or I'm wrong? Two, which is Bara, Chris Hani, and Charlotte. Those are academic hospitals in Johannesburg, and they've proven over years

03:54:58where I've seen patients myself and friends who said, "Don't take me to Tshepo-Themba, take me to Bara because there are specialists," which is confidence into our system. Yes, there will be challenges, but there's an indication that people have chosen public health. The provincial government has just built a beautiful hospital in Zola,

03:55:30which is a dental clinic focusing on dental issues.

03:55:36SesothoJwale ke kopa ba teng,

03:55:38Councillor Chauke,

03:55:39Sesothomokhotsi wa ka, e ko Zola.

03:55:43It's focusing on dental health. Let me also respond to urban policy and the statements I received from my dear chairperson of the committee. You were spot on. And to confirm to others that work has been done and research has been done to confirm that the work we are doing And by the way, I will take up the issues you have raised to sort out all the church precincts in the inner city.

03:56:18We are going to sort them out, protect them, and make them better. The same way we have done at the Cathedral, we will do all of them. We are not going to fail in reclaiming the inner city. Patriotic Alliance has raised this matter in council to sort out the issues of historical debt, which is uncollectible. And what has also worsened the situation,

03:56:50the majority of those in historical debt are pensioners and old and unable to fund for that historical debt. We have discussed the matter since the memorandum. We have looked at our current debtors book and confirmed that at least 11% of it, not 11%, just around 11 billion of it is uncollectible. So we will come back and confirm those areas

03:57:24so that we can deal with that debtors book. There's no problem in selling a debtors book to collect revenue. Now, let's explain this because maybe the DA would not understand, or Councillor Santana did not give a financial brief to Councillor Belinda. Vacant stands that we have which are owned by individuals in Johannesburg have not been paying for their rates and taxes.

03:57:57And that debtors has increased regardless of the efforts of the city to go after them. Now, there are two things that we'll be doing. One, we're going to sell the debtors book. We've evaluated it. It comes to about R3 billion, and we are going to sell it. And once we sell it, it means the city can then receive cash immediately when the person who's buying the debtors book will then go after those that are owing.

03:58:30So it's money we have never had, and it's money that will then come into the city. Madam Speaker, I know we've got some other items to deal with. I just wanted to deal with ActionSA if you were to give me an opportunity because I love these young people from Fabius, and I will tell you something that you don't know. ActionSA, there's something you don't know.

03:59:04You have never claimed any building in the inner city. We claimed three, and we can account for them. All what you did was PR, and give it, you are the best political party in PR. The ANC, the EFF, we all envy your PR, but practical work, zero. Everybody now will believe

03:59:36that Mashaba took all these illegal buildings. None.

03:59:41SesothoRona di

03:59:43three, and we can account for the three. So be careful. And I know you are also claiming that the elephant in the room is foreigners. The City Manager

04:00:00made it clear that anyone who's illegal and undocumented in the country must leave.

04:00:07From when? From when?

04:00:10In our operation on Tuesday, in our operation on Tuesday, 13 illegals and undocumented were apprehended, handed over to Home Affairs, and are possibly now on their way back home

04:00:31to the country of their origin. So don't claim easy victories. In the term Mashaba was the mayor, not a single undocumented and illegal was sent back home except for PR. You can go back in the videos, in the news recordings, you'll see what he only did

04:01:00was to push the gates and nothing else. Now Mr. Mashaba says we have not done anything as this administration, but he then goes further and say, I only had three years, I could not do anything. Himself. Then he prides himself

04:01:29for firing senior qualified young Black professionals. And in all that they he fired, he lost all the 37 cases. Because he had no case. He fired 126 workers at the testing station in Langlaagte. He lost the case.

04:01:59Because when you act, you must also understand that there's processes. You don't wake up and just decide. Yes, in my house I can wake up and decide

04:02:13isiXhosangokwa mhlali uphuthu namasi.

04:02:16But not here in government. There are processes. You don't act.

Points of order during Mayor's reply

04:02:23isiXhosaNdiyavala ngoku,

04:02:25Speaker.

04:02:31isiXhosaNdiyavala, ndiyavala.

04:02:35Oh, Speaker, there's a hand there. There's a hand there from, uh...

04:02:44Can you press your mic so we see your name? Press your mic.

04:02:53Uh, thank you so much.

04:02:55No, no, no. I've not recognized you as yet.

04:02:57Okay, Speaker.

04:03:02It's Councillor Mposula. Councillor Mposula, ask your neighbor next to you to switch off their mics.

04:03:10That's what you want.

04:03:11There's one of ActionSA that's got a mic on. Tsoadi. From where's Tsoadi? Yes. Thank you. Councillor Mposula, can you switch on your mic?

04:03:23Thank you so much, Madam Speaker. I'm rising on a point of order. Um, and I'm rising on Rule 72. Uh, Executive Mayor, uh, you are misleading this house, and I want to state it categorically that all the mayors, uh, that served under ANC, they cannot match Herman Mashaba. All of them combined!

04:04:12Thanks, uh, Speaker. Let me summarize my conversation with two videos. One trying to address and address a point that at times when things collapse and we all commit to fixing them, others take advantage of those who are affected by those situations.

04:04:41Others believe when things are done by other national groups, they are wrong. So let's prove with one video why other national groups are always reduced to something.

04:05:15Now on the...

04:05:16The Joburg mermaid, Madadzi.

04:05:18Who now has to deal with pulling those that are superior. Thank you, Madam Speaker. The second part is to confess to ActionSA...

04:05:33Mr. Mayor, can you just hold on? Mr. Mayor, can you just hold on? There's a hand. Councillor Christians.

04:05:45Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order that the utterance of the mayor is actually misleading this house. And the reason...

04:06:00Councillor. Can I hear the point of order?

04:06:07Black man, you are on your own.

04:06:08Colleagues, switch off your mic. Can I hear the point of order? Colleagues, can I hear the point of order so that I can rule? Quick, quick.

04:06:23Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the mayor is trying to tell us that, uh, the DA is racist, but what he does is...

04:06:33No, Councillor, no. No. No.

04:06:34Can I... What he did...

04:06:45Switch, switch off your mic. Colleagues. Colleagues. I, I would love to know how do you expect me to rule on the matter. Cause I must rule on it before I tell him to sit down. Councillor Christians.

04:07:12Madam Speaker, I didn't finish cause they shouted...

04:07:13No, no, no, Councillor, you see now you're doing the same. You are doing the same thing. One wrong doesn't fix another wrong. But I didn't allow you to speak. No. I was speaking to them and then I was coming to you. Please, Councillor. Uh, we don't have time. So what did you want to say about racism?

04:07:40Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, the selective video cuts off the fact that Councillor Devon also pulled it. Yet he's perpetuating racism.

04:07:47Okay. Thank you. Thank you. It's not a point of order. Executive Mayor, can you go to your next video?

04:08:06Executive Mayor, can you go to your next video?

Mayor's closing videos and conclusion of debate

04:08:16This one is very important. Unfortunately, there's no sound.

04:08:25Maybe if we keep quiet, we can hear the sound.

04:08:35Okay. Unfortunately, the sound did not come through. Now, this ordinary citizen in the inner city tries to deal with the matter of what the city is doing in Johannesburg CBD. He's saying thank you to the City of Johannesburg, we are seeing the work that you are beginning to do. You are cleaning the city.

04:09:06You are focused on cleaning the city. This video on TikTok is not AI. The problem with their councillors, you thought your leader had done something in the city. No, it's okay. Don't worry about it. And you believe that your leader was able to clean the inner city.

04:09:37isiZuluNgicela ukuncoma

04:09:38Councillor Christians, can we get

04:09:40isiZulungoba okubi kunabanikazi bakho. Ngicela ukuncoma uMayor waseJohannesburg, uBaba uDada Morero. UBaba uDada Morero nguyena onguMayor wedolobha laseJohannesburg. Ngizoncoma okuhle kuphela ngaye. Uyabona uBaba uDada Morero

04:09:56is always on the ground and is always looking to see

04:09:59AI-generated!

04:10:02AI-generated.

04:10:06Councillor Christians, what's the point of order?

04:10:08AI-generated!

04:10:09What is your point of order?

04:10:11Speaker. Can I be protected, Speaker?

04:10:12Remain seated. Remain seated, colleagues.

04:10:17Can I be protected, Speaker?

04:10:18Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker...

04:10:19Yeah, you are protected, Executive Mayor.

04:10:22Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise in terms of Rule 72.

04:10:23Wait, wait. No, no, no, wait, wait. Wait. Mr. Mayor, you are protected. Are you done? I will, I will take hands. Are you done, Mr. Mayor? Colleagues, colleagues, you are very well aware that we have another meeting.

04:10:49Thank you.

04:10:50Thanks, Speaker. Let me conclude, Speaker, to thank councillors as we presented our last State of the City before the ends, the term ends. And say to all of you, thank you very much for this robust engagements. And we will continue to have until the 4th of November.

04:11:20To revolutionaries this side, I want to thank the revolutionaries for the work that we continue to do and more work...

04:11:31Madam Speaker, can you please stop looking down?

04:11:34...that we still going in the inner city and in Johannesburg. And thank you very much.

04:11:40isiZuluYinkomo.

04:11:41Thank you, Executive Mayor.

04:11:45isiZuluSekutheni bahlali? Sekutheni bahlali?

04:11:45Helen for Mayor! Believe in Joburg!

Announcements and adjournment

04:11:51We now proceed with announcements.

04:11:54isiZuluSekutheni behleli nje kangaka? Awubabuze.

04:12:03AI-generated video.

04:12:05isiZuluAwubabuze. Awubabuze, awubabuze. Ningasidubuli. Awubabuze. Awubabuze, awubabuze. Sekutheni

04:12:22isiZuluNingathuka kwayize abantwana bethu, bese niyabadubula.

04:12:26isiZuluAwubabuze.

04:12:28We are moving to announcements. We are moving to announcements. The STC can we, okay, okay. Colleagues, we are well aware that we have another sitting right now. So I am asking this house to give me a way forward. Do we take 5 minutes or do we take 10 minutes? Let's take into, I, before I finish, let's take into cognizance it's one item

04:13:02and there is no lunch as it was said to you. So we are having 5 minutes or 10 minutes? 5 minutes it is, and we come back after 5 minutes. The fives have it. The fives have it. We are coming back at 2:30. This meeting is legally adjourned.

04:14:05Councillor, that's not a point of order. Can you take your seat? It's not a point of order. Take your seat. I agree with the mayor, sometimes we must read. Sometimes we must read.