South Africa’s richest city is in talks with the National Treasury to address mounting financial troubles ahead of local government elections expected to be the most closely contested in Johannesburg’s history.
The fact that officials “can’t provide any basic services at the moment, whether it’s water or anything else, must be a red flag,” Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in an interview with Bloomberg.
He added that the city’s administration has approached his team to explore possible remedies and that discussions are ongoing.
“National government cannot remain a spectator” and will have to step in at some point, Godongwana said in separate comments a day earlier.
“What form that will take is a matter of detail, but we have no option but to go to Johannesburg.”
The engagement with National Treasury follows a warning last year from Godongwana to Mayor Dada Morero that key grants could be withheld if Johannesburg fails to address worsening financial mismanagement.
The city has been governed by a series of fragile coalitions since the African National Congress lost its outright majority in 2016, with no party able to secure control on its own.
The ANC currently leads a coalition government in Johannesburg.
Mounting fiscal and service-delivery challenges, including water shortages, have heightened the stakes ahead of municipal polls due within the next year.
The Democratic Alliance, the country’s second-largest party, has fielded former Western Cape Premier Helen Zille as its mayoral candidate, while ActionSA has nominated Herman Mashaba, a former Johannesburg mayor, setting up what is expected to be a fiercely contested race for control of the economic hub.
Godongwana said placing Johannesburg under administration is one option, but questioned whether it would resolve the city’s problems. Any intervention would require a legal instrument, he said.
