Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) Caucus in the City of Johannesburg has formally written to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, the Minister of Finance, and the Auditor-General of South Africa to demand urgent intervention in the wake of the Executive Mayor’s increasingly questionable decisions that are collapsing the City.
At a time when Johannesburg faces a full-blown water crisis, the Executive Mayor has confirmed to Parliament that R4 billion was diverted away from Johannesburg Water to cover vague “general financial obligations,” including salaries and operating costs. This reckless raid on critical infrastructure funds has already placed thousands of jobs at risk and left residents without reliable water.
This is just one example of a growing pattern of questionable decisions and failures, including:
- Violation of a High Court order, with City resources abused for political purposes.
- Alleged links to the Construction Mafia, with no action taken against compromised MMCS to protect residents or the City.
- Failure to appoint a full-time City Manager, in direct contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act.
- Unlawful establishment of a so-called “Bomb Squad,” created without any legal authority.
- Unlawful executive appointments, including two CEOs at Johannesburg Property Company simultaneously for the month of July 2025.
The Executive Mayor has ignored every warning and allowed service delivery to collapse further, all while protecting compromised colleagues instead of acting in the best interest of residents.
The DA has demanded that national government and the Auditor-General urgently direct the mayor to:
- Provide a full breakdown of the R4 billion reallocation, with all supporting documentation.
- Hold the Mayor accountable for failing to act against compromised Members of the Mayoral Committee.
- Institute an independent investigation into the financial and governance impact of these unlawful decisions, with findings reported to Council.
The City of Johannesburg is sliding towards financial ruin and service delivery collapse; in the event that he fails to do this, he should step down. If national government does not intervene, it will be complicit in the destruction of South Africa’s economic hub. The DA will not allow residents to be held hostage by questionable decisions, political protection rackets, and reckless financial mismanagement. We will continue to fight for accountability, for jobs, and for reliable basic services in Johannesburg because clearly Mayor Morero is not fit to hold office.