Living in Joburg: Paper shortages, phone lines down, and now your roads ‘can’t be fixed’
According to the DA, the City of Joburg is broke.
Living in Joburg: Paper shortages, phone lines down, and now your roads 'can't be fixed'
Recent reports have highlighted the dire situation faced by residents of Johannesburg, with paper shortages, disrupted telecommunications, and now, roads that are deemed unfixable. These issues have emerged due to unpaid service providers and a mounting debt crisis faced by the city.
Councillor Daniel Schay, addressing his ward through a video, revealed that the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) has been without working phone lines for two weeks, with only WhatsApp functioning. He expressed concern over the city's financial troubles, stating that service providers have not been paid, rendering budgetary plans on paper only. This dire financial state of affairs has led to the cancellation of a printed agenda during council meetings, forcing officials to record attendance on a handwritten register.
The situation appears to be worsening, with service delivery a significant concern in the upcoming local government elections. Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, the DA caucus leader in Johannesburg, stated that the city's inability to pay service providers for essential services like road maintenance, refuse collection, and infrastructure repair will ultimately affect residents.
She urged the city to be transparent about its financial struggles and the extent of the problem, questioning how the city intends to settle these outstanding obligations and restore services.
Additionally, Kayser-Echeozonjoku criticized the city's prioritization of international travel, questioning why funds available for a municipal committee member's trip to Brazil were not allocated to address residents' basic service needs. She expressed disbelief at the mayor's ability to fund such an overseas trip while residents grapple with refuse piles, water leaks, power outages, and deteriorating roads.
JRA CEO Zweli Nyathi, however, denied that the agency is unable to perform its duties due to unpaid service providers, claiming that payments are being made. Despite this denial, Moneyweb reported on the city's growing backlog of potholes, with 23,572 reported in the last half of 2025, averaging about 3,900 a month, and Joburg Water's infrastructure backlog of R26.6 billion, with only 60-70km of piping replaced annually.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
