Morero launches CEO clean-up drive to revive Joburg

By Akani Nkuna

Joburg Mayor Dada Morero has launched the City CEO Clean-Up Campaign, also known as the CEO-City Partnership Programme, in a bid to tackle urban decay, service delivery backlogs, and declining public trust.

Morero was speaking at the launch held at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein on Tuesday, where he emphasised that a thriving Johannesburg leads to a thriving nation.

He said the campaign responds to the President’s call for bold measures to revitalise cities and improve service delivery.

“The CEO–City Partnership Programme is a commitment to collective leadership, shared accountability and practical action. It is proof that when we unite government, business and communities, we unlock the real power of Johannesburg,” he said.

The campaign, a collaboration between the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), the private sector, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), seeks to encourage the active participation of top business leaders and CEOs in clean-up efforts across the city and its surroundings.

The initiative will extend into Soweto’s townships before concluding on Friday, 15 November, with a focus on strategic sites identified as transport hubs, cultural centres, and heritage landmarks — which the mayor described as the city’s “economic engines.”

Morero assured that the campaign’s objectives would extend beyond the three-day period, serving as a benchmark for how the CoJ manages partnerships and sustains efforts to revitalise the inner city.

“It represents the foundation for public–private cooperation that is long overdue, and it is the first step in rebuilding a city that is clean, safe, functional, and globally competitive,” Morero said.

The mayor also commended the recently established “Bomb Squad,” a rapid-response unit whose framework cuts across key city functions to reduce backlogs and address issues often overlooked by executives.

Relying largely on volunteers and contributions from private entities and individuals, the Squad has achieved an 86% resolution