The ongoing pattern of mismanaging public funds through the City of Joburg’s entities is one of many crises. Residents experience daily power outages, water shortages, uncollected refuse, and deteriorating road infrastructure.
Despite paying billions in rates and taxes, many communities are receiving far less in return. As a result, public confidence in government declines. The reality is that a considerable proportion of public funds are haemorrhaging the city because of municipal entities.
Part of the manufactured chaos is the attempt to govern through a complex web of thirteen municipal entities that were originally created to improve service delivery and professionalise public service. However, the reality is that many of these entities have added layers of bureaucracy that delay basic service delivery and costing millions in board fees.
As ActionSA’s MMC candidate for Finance, I support the urgent review and eventual integration of municipal entities into the City’s departments. Many of them are dysfunctional and need to urgently focus on being accountable, efficient, financially sustainable, and restoring service delivery.
Entities such as City Power, MetroBus, Johannesburg Social Housing Company and Pikitup are responsible for delivering critical services ranging from electricity and water provision, to property management, transport, waste management, and housing.
These entities have their own boards, executive structures, administrative systems, legal departments, procurement units, and management support functions. This fragmentation has contributed to escalating operational costs. Millions of rands are spent annually on duplicated executive functions, board fees, consultants, legal services, administrative overheads, and governance structures that often add little value to frontline service delivery.
The result is a fragmented government where responsibility is often repetitive and unclear. When residents experience interruptions and failures, and need to resolve disputes, they are bounced between departments and entities. With this kind of confusion, accountability becomes elusive as responsibilities have been passed between officials who are not held directly responsible. As I have mentioned before – this is manufactured chaos intended to evade accountability. Meanwhile, residents continue to suffer.
The argument often made in defence of entities is that they allow specialised management and operational independence.
In theory, that is a reasonable position. However, the frustration of Johannesburg residents tells a different story. These numerous entities don’t contribute positively to service delivery indicators. Infrastructure maintenance backlogs have increased. Revenue collection challenges persist. Financial sustainability remains under pressure. Public confidence continues to erode.
The existence of separate entities has not insulated the City from governance failures. In many cases, it has simply made those failures harder to identify and correct. The question residents should ask is simple: if the current model is working, why are services deteriorating?
In terms of bringing government closer to the people, ActionSA believes government administration should be simple, transparent, and accountable. When a service fails, residents should know exactly who is responsible. When infrastructure projects are delayed, there should be a clear chain of command.
When budgets are approved, councillors and residents should be able to directly track performance and expenditure. By integrating municipal entities into City departments, Johannesburg can establish a single governance structure where accountability flows directly through the City administration and political leadership.
Residents would no longer be forced to navigate a maze of boards, CEOs, and independent management structures. Instead, they would be able to hold their elected government directly accountable. That is how a legitimate democracy is supposed to work.
As MMC candidate for Finance, I am particularly concerned about Johannesburg’s long-term fiscal health. Every rand spent on unnecessary administration is a rand that cannot be spent on fixing roads, replacing water pipes, upgrading substations, improving public safety, or supporting economic growth.
Imagine if millions currently spent on overlapping executive positions and governance structures were invested instead in repairing aging infrastructure, expanding maintenance teams, modernising billing systems, or improving response times to service failures. That is the type of financial reform Johannesburg urgently requires.
Collapsing entities should not be confused with dismantling services. ActionSA is clear that jobs will not be lost in the process of this review and integration. Electricity must continue to be delivered. Water systems must continue to operate. Waste collection must continue uninterrupted. Transport services must continue functioning. What must come to an end is the millions that are being lost to management and executive functions that have proven to not show any value to improving services.
The integration process will be carefully planned, professionally managed, legally compliant, and implemented in phases. Critical technical skills will be retained. Operational continuity must be protected. Labour stakeholders must be consulted.
The objective is not disruption. The objective is improvement. Successful reform requires a detailed transition plan, strong leadership, and a commitment to protecting service delivery throughout the process.
Learning from international best practice, many successful cities around the world operate through streamlined municipal administrations rather than large networks of semi-autonomous entities. These cities demonstrate that strong internal departments, supported by professional management and clear accountability structures, can deliver services effectively while maintaining financial discipline.
Johannesburg should not be afraid to re-evaluate structures that are no longer serving residents effectively. Good governance requires the courage to reform institutions when they stop delivering the outcomes for which they were created.
The debate about municipal entities is ultimately not about organisational charts. It is about whether Johannesburg works for its people. Residents do not care whether a service is delivered by a department or an entity.
They care whether the lights stay on. They care whether water comes out of their taps. They care whether potholes are repaired. They care whether refuse is collected. They care whether their rates and taxes are being spent wisely. They want to live in safe neighbourhoods. They want to live in places that offer them the opportunity to for upward mobility.
ActionSA believes COJ can no longer afford a governance model that prioritises bureaucracy over delivery. The time has come to build a municipal government that is easier to manage, easier to oversee, and easier for residents to hold accountable. Because Johannesburg’s future depends not on how many entities we have, but on how effectively we serve the people who call this city home.
Billions of Public Funds That Are Lost To Mismanagement of Municipal Entities Must End To Put Residents First
The ongoing pattern of mismanaging public funds through the City of Joburg’s entities is one of many crises. Residents experience daily power outages, water shortages, uncollected refuse, and deteriorating road infrastructure.
Despite paying billions in rates and taxes, many communities are receiving far less in return. As a result, public confidence in government declines. The reality is that a considerable proportion of public funds are haemorrhaging the city because of municipal entities.
Part of the manufactured chaos is the attempt to govern through a complex web of thirteen municipal entities that were originally created to improve service delivery and professionalise public service. However, the reality is that many of these entities have added layers of bureaucracy that delay basic service delivery and costing millions in board fees.
As ActionSA’s MMC candidate for Finance, I support the urgent review and eventual integration of municipal entities into the City’s departments. Many of them are dysfunctional and need to urgently focus on being accountable, efficient, financially sustainable, and restoring service delivery.
Entities such as City Power, MetroBus, Johannesburg Social Housing Company and Pikitup are responsible for delivering critical services ranging from electricity and water provision, to property management, transport, waste management, and housing.
These entities have their own boards, executive structures, administrative systems, legal departments, procurement units, and management support functions. This fragmentation has contributed to escalating operational costs. Millions of rands are spent annually on duplicated executive functions, board fees, consultants, legal services, administrative overheads, and governance structures that often add little value to frontline service delivery.
The result is a fragmented government where responsibility is often repetitive and unclear. When residents experience interruptions and failures, and need to resolve disputes, they are bounced between departments and entities. With this kind of confusion, accountability becomes elusive as responsibilities have been passed between officials who are not held directly responsible. As I have mentioned before – this is manufactured chaos intended to evade accountability. Meanwhile, residents continue to suffer.
The argument often made in defence of entities is that they allow specialised management and operational independence.
In theory, that is a reasonable position. However, the frustration of Johannesburg residents tells a different story. These numerous entities don’t contribute positively to service delivery indicators. Infrastructure maintenance backlogs have increased. Revenue collection challenges persist. Financial sustainability remains under pressure. Public confidence continues to erode.
The existence of separate entities has not insulated the City from governance failures. In many cases, it has simply made those failures harder to identify and correct. The question residents should ask is simple: if the current model is working, why are services deteriorating?
In terms of bringing government closer to the people, ActionSA believes government administration should be simple, transparent, and accountable. When a service fails, residents should know exactly who is responsible. When infrastructure projects are delayed, there should be a clear chain of command.
When budgets are approved, councillors and residents should be able to directly track performance and expenditure. By integrating municipal entities into City departments, Johannesburg can establish a single governance structure where accountability flows directly through the City administration and political leadership.
Residents would no longer be forced to navigate a maze of boards, CEOs, and independent management structures. Instead, they would be able to hold their elected government directly accountable. That is how a legitimate democracy is supposed to work.
As MMC candidate for Finance, I am particularly concerned about Johannesburg’s long-term fiscal health. Every rand spent on unnecessary administration is a rand that cannot be spent on fixing roads, replacing water pipes, upgrading substations, improving public safety, or supporting economic growth.
Imagine if millions currently spent on overlapping executive positions and governance structures were invested instead in repairing aging infrastructure, expanding maintenance teams, modernising billing systems, or improving response times to service failures. That is the type of financial reform Johannesburg urgently requires.
Collapsing entities should not be confused with dismantling services. ActionSA is clear that jobs will not be lost in the process of this review and integration. Electricity must continue to be delivered. Water systems must continue to operate. Waste collection must continue uninterrupted. Transport services must continue functioning. What must come to an end is the millions that are being lost to management and executive functions that have proven to not show any value to improving services.
The integration process will be carefully planned, professionally managed, legally compliant, and implemented in phases. Critical technical skills will be retained. Operational continuity must be protected. Labour stakeholders must be consulted.
The objective is not disruption. The objective is improvement. Successful reform requires a detailed transition plan, strong leadership, and a commitment to protecting service delivery throughout the process.
Learning from international best practice, many successful cities around the world operate through streamlined municipal administrations rather than large networks of semi-autonomous entities. These cities demonstrate that strong internal departments, supported by professional management and clear accountability structures, can deliver services effectively while maintaining financial discipline.
Johannesburg should not be afraid to re-evaluate structures that are no longer serving residents effectively. Good governance requires the courage to reform institutions when they stop delivering the outcomes for which they were created.
The debate about municipal entities is ultimately not about organisational charts. It is about whether Johannesburg works for its people. Residents do not care whether a service is delivered by a department or an entity.
They care whether the lights stay on. They care whether water comes out of their taps. They care whether potholes are repaired. They care whether refuse is collected. They care whether their rates and taxes are being spent wisely. They want to live in safe neighbourhoods. They want to live in places that offer them the opportunity to for upward mobility.
ActionSA believes COJ can no longer afford a governance model that prioritises bureaucracy over delivery. The time has come to build a municipal government that is easier to manage, easier to oversee, and easier for residents to hold accountable. Because Johannesburg’s future depends not on how many entities we have, but on how effectively we serve the people who call this city home.