Joburg Mayor, Dada Morero, to deliver his State of City Address on Wednesday.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
As Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero prepares to deliver his State of the City Address (SOCA) residents and political rivals are demanding action on infrastructure collapse, water outages, crime and overall service delivery issues.
Morero will address the city at St Mary’s Cathedral in the Joburg CBD on Wednesday amid mounting pressure to convince residents that his administration can reverse the decline in the country’s economic hub.
The ANC in Johannesburg said the address will focus heavily on accelerating service delivery, infrastructure investment and inner-city rejuvenation projects aimed at restoring confidence in the metro.
Service delivery in South Africa remains a big challenge for municipalities. This is largely due to municipalities not having the required resources to fulfil the delivery of basic services.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
ANC Joburg chairperson Loyiso Masuku said the mayor is expected to expand on programmes targeting water, electricity and road infrastructure failures, while intensifying by-law enforcement operations across the city.
“Work has started, it’s about accelerating and making sure that at a high impact level we do that,” said Masuku.
She argued that improving infrastructure and reclaiming the inner city are central to Johannesburg’s economic recovery.
“The more work that is done and businesses stay in the city centre, then we know that the economy is moving,” she said.
Masuku also pointed to the city’s Inner City Rejuvenation Programme and safer city initiatives as critical interventions aimed at improving safety and restoring economic activity in crime-ridden areas.
But opposition parties say residents have heard ambitious promises before while conditions on the ground continue deteriorating.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg says financial instability, weak governance and poor accountability remain major concerns ahead of the address.
DA caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku questioned how the City plans to finance large-scale infrastructure projects while basic services continue to buckle under pressure.
She also criticised what she described as selective by-law enforcement operations in the Johannesburg CBD days before the mayor’s address.
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero led a major law enforcement operation in the CBD on Tuesday, targeting illegal structures, undocumented immigrants and municipal bylaw violations.
Image: X/@PublicSafetyMMC
“It’s an election year, it’s a few days before the State of the City Address and the mayor’s all over the place doing by-law enforcement,” she said.
Meanwhile, ActionSA is holding a counter gathering in Alexandra to deliver the “Real State of the City Address”.
For many Johannesburg residents, however, Wednesday’s address will not be judged by political speeches or ambitious plans.
It will be judged by whether taps run, streets are safer and the city finally begins to function again.
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