Johannesburg's revolving door of mayors and administrations threatens city's recovery
“In the last decade, Johannesburg has had nine different administrations, and eight different mayors," said analyst Ann Bernstein.
Vicky Stark
Johannesburg skyline crop, Joburg. 123rf/Magdalena Paluchowska
Johannesburgers are desperate for a local government that can mend the city.
CapeTalk’s John Maytham spoke to Ann Bernstein, an analyst and Executive Director of the Centre for Development and Enterprise.
“In the last decade, Johannesburg has had nine different administrations, eight different mayors. Every time the coalition changes, people are shuffled around.
“And what we've had in the last three years has been a situation where positions and appointments are bargaining chips in coalitions.”
Bernstein said that if this continues after the local government elections, Johannesburg will keep declining.
“And this will be very bad news for the people who live in Johannesburg, but also for the country.
“It's impossible to imagine getting a much higher growth rate nationally if the most important business city and lead city, gateway to the world economically, is on the front pages of all the international newspapers because the lights don't work and there's no water.”
A different kind of coalition is needed
“One that is committed to reform and actually knows how to do it, that is serious about getting rid of corruption, and that is serious about fixing the city's institutions so that we can get electricity and water sort of flowing reliably. Then we can start looking at the other tough issues that face Johannesburg."
“This is a city with an unemployment rate that is higher than the appalling national unemployment rate. Just think about that for a minute. It's a city which has had a decline in investment. We're not getting growth above 1% per annum, 1.1% per annum. So we're in trouble here,” Bernstein stressed.
Regarding who will win the City of Joburg, she said she’s not an expert in predicting results. She said while the polls consistently say one thing, there may be a different outcome.
“I think there are all sorts of possibilities here, but you have to bear in mind that if you want to fix Johannesburg, you have to have a serious commitment to reform, and it won't be easy. You're going to have to deal with the pushback from all the vested interests in parties and in the council and outside. All the contractors, sort of, with a business model that now helps to keep Johannesburg broken,” said Bernstein.