Africa’s wealthiest city faces $12b repair backlog

Johannesburg, known as Africa’s richest city, requires 221 billion rand ($12 billion) to address maintenance and upgrade backlogs in its deteriorating road, power, and water networks, according to city council documents obtained by Bloomberg.

The city faces frequent power outages due to infrastructure breakdowns, unresolved potholes, and prolonged water shortages, as evidenced by an 11-day water outage in March.

The backlog poses “significant risks to public safety, economic stability, and the environment,” according to the documents. Political instability, with eight mayors since 2019 due to shifting coalitions, has further complicated matters.

The current mayor is from the Al-Jama-ah party, despite the ruling coalition’s majority coming from the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

Johannesburg’s council recently approved above-inflation increases for utilities and a 2.5 billion-rand loan from the Agence Francaise de Developpement, amid opposition.

The city has repeatedly missed annual water-infrastructure investment targets since 2008, and City Power requires urgent upgrades. Additionally, Johannesburg is struggling to collect revenue, with 6.1 billion rand in overdue payments from major customers, including government departments.

The City of Johannesburg has not responded to requests for comment.

Attribution: Bloomberg