The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA), WaterCAN and JoburgCAN have told the City of Johannesburg to publish its Financial Turnaround Plan for public vetting and to provide further clarity on how it intends to meet its targets and improve service delivery in the 2026/27 financial year.

“This budget should not be judged by the promises it contains, but by the results it delivers. Johannesburg’s residents are being asked to pay more for services while enduring infrastructure failures, water insecurity, electricity losses and declining confidence in the City’s governance,” said the alliance in a joint statement on Wednesday.

“The real test will be whether the City can translate this budget into measurable improvements in people’s daily lives.”

JCA, WaterCAN and JoburgCAN released a statement outlining several key concerns with the city’s final budget, while acknowledging that public participation had helped secure some changes. However, the alliance also raised concern

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A water-sector anti-corruption forum has called for political parties to sign a public ethics pledge on clean procurement and accountable governance, raising the stakes around water and sanitation failures ahead of the November 4 local government elections.

The proposal emerged from a high-level roundtable convened by WaterCAN, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Water Integrity Network (WIN) this week, as corruption, infrastructure collapse and weak municipal governance deepen public anger over failing basic services.

“Accountability cannot rest with oversight institutions alone,” said Dr Ferrial Adam, of WaterCAN. “Communities, civil society, business and ethical public servants must be brought much closer to the systems where decisions are made, and money is spent.”

The roundtable brought together representatives from civil society, academia and business, as well as senior officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation, the SIU, the Auditor-General of South Africa and the Department of Cooperative Governance

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Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero is expected to outline plans to address Johannesburg’s worsening service delivery and financial challenges when he delivers the 2026 State of the City Address (SOCA) on Wednesday.

The address comes as residents continue to complain about water shortages, electricity outages, potholes and deteriorating infrastructure across the city, with growing scrutiny from National Treasury over the metro’s finances.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana recently intervened over a controversial R10.3 billion wage agreement between the city and the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, warning about Johannesburg’s worsening financial position.

Godongwana raised concerns about the city’s debt levels and cash flow problems, while Eskom has threatened to reduce or interrupt electricity supply to some bulk supply points over debt said to have climbed to R5.2 billion.

The city has also faced criticism over multimillion-rand salary packages at municipal entities, including the Johannesburg Property Company and City Power,

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The City of Johannesburg has shut down a non-compliant inner-city hotel following a multi-disciplinary service delivery operation targeting by-law enforcement and unsafe buildings.

The operation, conducted on Friday in the Desmond Tutu and Ellis Park precincts across Wards 59, 60, 123, and 124, was led by Acting Executive Mayor Loyiso Masuku and City Manager Dr Floyd Brink, alongside several Members of the Mayoral Committee.

Officials carried out street-level inspections focusing on illegal business activity and unsafe building conditions, which the City said remain persistent challenges in the inner city.

ALSO READ: WATCH: Diepkloof residents in Soweto protest over electricity outages

A key outcome was the immediate closure of

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Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has reaffirmed his commitment to sustained service delivery, insisting that the city’s recent clean-up efforts were not just a show for the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

“Check us on Tuesday.”

Speaking at Nasrec during the G20 Leaders’ Summit on day two, Morero said, “We will be able to sustain this. It is simple, check us on Tuesday, if we are not on the ground on Tuesday, then it means that we were doing it for the G20.”

His statement was a direct challenge to naysayers, despite his promise that the city’s leadership would continue to deliver beyond the global event.

On Tuesday, Morero was leading the Mayoral High Impact Service Delivery Programme in Roodepoort alongside multiple city entities.

The initiative brought together several city departments, including the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), City Power, Johannesburg Water, Pikitup, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ), and the

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ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has issued a stern warning to municipalities, urging them to confront corruption and maladministration head-on or risk further eroding public trust in government.

Speaking during the ANC’s special national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Boksburg, Ramaphosa said that corruption was “most prevalent within municipalities” and stressed that political will to hold officials accountable remained lacking.

“The ANC, therefore, needs to be bold in taking action to resolve the dysfunctionality at local government by dealing with this elephant in the room of corruption and malfeasance,” he told NEC members.

The two-day gathering, attended by mayors, municipal managers, and ANC deployees, was convened to assess the state of local government.

The discussions come amid rising service delivery protests across several provinces and ahead of the crucial 2026 municipal elections, where the ANC will be battling declining support.

Ramaphosa emphasised that the lack of accountability and

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The Johannesburg Bomb Squad (JBS), which will tackle lawlessness, urban decay and the service delivery backlog, was launched in the metro on Thursday.

It follows commitments made by Mayor Dada Morero in his State of the City Address last month.

Speaking during the launch at the Soweto Hote in Kliptown, Morero told reporters that the unit aimed would also help enforce by-laws and restore order across the metro as part of a broader push to improve urban management and responsiveness to community needs.

He said business intelligence gathering would be at the core of the work of the JBS.

“This will be executed by having meetings with the relevant parties/authorities to isolate areas of potential land and or building invasions and to propose proactive intervention,” the mayor added.

The unit would focus on removing barriers that stalled the city’s progress and delayed the fulfilment of its long-term

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eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s budget has been trimmed to R70.9 billion, down from the initially proposed R71.3 billion, following tariff adjustments aimed at aligning spending with updated revenue forecasts.

eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba spoke about the revision during a post-budget business breakfast in Durban on Wednesday, emphasizing that the adjustment, though modest, reflects the municipality’s commitment to fiscal discipline without compromising core service delivery in infrastructure, healthcare, and education.

“We fully appreciate the challenges our people face as a result of the difficult economic climate, we were able to make changes to the final budget and reduced our tariffs,” said Xaba.

Following negotiations with Umgeni-uThukela Water—which reduced its tariff increase from 13% to 11%—eThekwini has lowered its proposed water and sanitation tariff hikes.

The domestic water tariff increase was reduced from 15% to 13%, and the business water tariff from 16% to 14%. Sanitation tariffs were also

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The 14% increase in trade to the US, which totalled $202-million, comes as South Africa braces for the imposition of a 30% tariff on exports to the country by the Trump administration when a 90-day grace period expires in July.

“From now on a great deal hinge on whether South Africa succeeds in securing favourable terms with the US,” Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, said in a note to clients on Monday.

South African farming exports rose for a sixth consecutive year in 2024 to a record $13.7-billion, as the industry expanded output of crops such as citrus, avocados and nuts, and sought new markets.

While it account for only 2% of total gross domestic product, the sector is

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As part of its accelerated service delivery programme, North West government officials are in Moses Kotane Local Municipality on Friday where a number of events have been planned.

Premier Lazarus Mokgosi’s spokesperson, Sello Tatai, said seven events were planned, including handing over of school furniture, funding of R1.5 million to three non-profit organisations, and  giving keys to three new homeowners.

“Lesedi Modderkuil Home-Based Care, Arise and Shine and Ithuso Disability Community Centre will each receive a dummy cheque worth over R500,000,” Tatai said in a statement. 

Residents who would benefit from the service delivery programme included Manamakgoteng, Modderkuil, Mabele-a-podi, Ledig, Mogwase, and Segakwaneng areas. 

The accelerated service delivery programme, known as Thuntsha Lerole Reloaded, aims to improve the quality of life for residents, promote economic growth and foster a sense of community.

Tatai said two more local women farmers “will become bulls’ beneficiaries in line with the

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