By S’thembile Cele.
National Treasury will stage a three-year intervention to stabilise the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on Monday.
Implementation of the plan will continue beyond the municipal elections on 4 November, even if a new administration takes control of the city, Godongwana said at an event to mark the announcement of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) financial results.
“Any government that comes out of Johannesburg will need our support, so we’ll be there for the next three years,” he said.
“We’re working together with the DBSA and all the other relevant institutions to give effect” to the turnaround plan.
Johannesburg is South Africa’s biggest city, accounting for about 15% of the country’s economic output, but years of political instability and mismanagement have left it unable to pay its bills or provide reliable basic services.
The city is currently run by a coalition led by the ANC, the biggest political party, but some opinion polls show power could change after the vote.
Treasury’s intervention follows other failed efforts by the national government to get the city’s finances back on track.
Meanwhile, the DBSA said profit rose 47% to R7.8 billion ($478 million) in the year to the end of March 2026.
It said municipal credit risk remains elevated due to financial mismanagement, poor audit outcomes, the vandalism of infrastructure, poor service delivery and budgetary constraints.