By Akani Nkuna
Johannesburg has secured new international and domestic funding to advance a waste-to-energy programme intended to bolster fiscal recovery while cutting landfill pressure, Mayor Dada Morero announced this week.
He said the city had concluded discussions to obtain additional funding over three years, from 2026/27 to 2028/29, “through a grant of €27.5 million (about R550 million) from Invest International, a Dutch development finance institution, alongside a R1.6 billion allocation from the National Treasury’s Budget Facility for Infrastructure”.
“These funds will support the implementation of the Alternative Waste Treatment Technology project,” he said, which will convert over 500,000 tons of waste a year into renewable electricity.
“It will create jobs, stimulate local industry, and reduce pressure on our landfills.”
Morero said the collaboration between the city and the Netherlands was “a shining example of how international cooperation can help cities overcome developmental and environmental challenges while advancing the global green transition agenda”.
Morero linked the grants to an improved risk profile. In September, credit ratings agency GCR said the city’s national scale long term and short term ratings were A(SA) and A1(ZA), respectively. The outlook had been revised from negative to stable, it said.
Morero said the rating reflected the “collective effort” of the city’s administration, which was “committed to fiscal prudence and accountability”. It was also a mark of the “trust and resilience of our residents, who continue to believe in Johannesburg’s future”.
“Our comprehensive financial recovery plan is already bearing fruit. We are optimising expenditure, enhancing revenue management, and improving operational efficiencies,” said Morero.
Last month, Morero established a disciplinary board to investigate financial misconduct and unauthorised and wasteful expenditure at the metro, which totals R23.6 billion. The mayor also established a “war room” that meets weekly, to oversee financial matters in the city.
Morero said at the time that most of the unauthorised expenditure was due to bulk purchases of electricity and water that exceeded the approved budget, alongside “both technical and non-technical losses that occur during service delivery”. The irregular expenditure was mainly due to the city acquiring goods and services without fully complying with supply chain regulations, he said.
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