City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero discusses plans to improve the city’s infrastructure and water issues. Image: Central News.
(The Post News)– In an interview with Radio 702, City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has acknowledged serious concerns in the city’s coordination with its key entities following a report by the Auditor-General (AG), which flagged governance lapses and weak enforcement of service delivery agreements.
According to AG’s report, the city did not coordinate effectively with its entities, specifically citing Johannesburg Water and City Power. Furthermore, the report stated that the “key clauses from service delivery agreements were not enforced to foster a culture of transparency.”
Responding to AG’s findings, Mayor Morero said the city has taken the report seriously and has already begun implementing measures. “The Auditor-General’s findings are indicating those weaknesses in the city, and in the last month or so we have been busy responding to each of the queries to strengthen where the Auditor-General has exposed the gaps and the weaknesses,” Morero said.
Morero Highlights Poor Coordination
The mayor confirmed that there has been poor coordination among the city’s entities, saying this has hampered effective service delivery. “Yes, it is true there has been a lack of coordination amongst the entities. We have made the recommitment that we would run the city better,” he said.
Morero also highlighted the city’s financial challenges, admitting that expenditure currently exceeds income, while the collection rate remains low. “The bigger issue is the expenditure. Our expenditure is much higher than our income, but we have a team that is reporting to us as leadership every two weeks on how we are responding to the matters raised by the auditor,” said Morero.
Additionally, Mayor Morero reported that Johannesburg Water has prioritized replacing leaking pipes, as it is a major contributor to water losses, and refurbishing key systems to improve water supply reliability. “Most of our water is lost due to leaking pipes. We have started fixing 19 out of the 24 in this financial year. We are also fixing the pump station at the Commando system to ensure that we can pump water to high-lying areas,” he said.
Speaking on the Brixton Reservoir Tower, which was expected to be fully fixed by April, the mayor acknowledged equipment delivery and payment delays, saying that the tower will be fully fixed by the end of October. He further stated that it should be fully functional by mid-November.
Unauthorized Expenditure
Morero said a disciplinary board was established in 2024 to tackle the issue of unauthorized expenditure–it is aimed at dealing with individuals “found to have been negligent” in managing the city finances. He explained the process of dealing with unauthorised expenditure, saying that the law requires the matters to be firstly presented to the council for investigation approval, the council will ten transferred to the disciplinary board.
The mayor also highlighted that a couple of cases have been referred to the board and have dealt with a matter involving about R12 billion of unauthorized expenditure. Moreover, Morero clarified that unauthorized expenditure does not indicate that the “money has been lost in the city.” “It means the city would have received the goods and services,” but the spending or adjudicating process was “not consistent with the rules and regulations of the city,” the mayor elaborated.
The city is currently clearing unauthorized expenditure. The mayor also highlighted that they are also tackling “wasteful expenditure,” where they are required to “act decisively against those who acted outside of the supply chain management.” According to Morero, the city uncovered about R720 million in wasteful expenditure.
However, the GA’s report accused the city’s disciplinary board of not doing its part in investigating financial misconduct claims and not monitoring the disciplinary hearings. Meanwhile, Morero noted that the report may have been conducted before the board was formed. He said the board consists of “credible individuals” who have dealt with a few of those implicated, resulting in the resignation of one of the individuals who appeared before the board.
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