Good morning, Johannesburg.
In a few hours’ time, the Executive Mayor will deliver the State of the City Address.
We can expect another polished presentation this afternoon. Another rosy picture of Johannesburg. Another speech that sounds completely disconnected from the lived reality of residents.
But before that happens, I believe the residents of Johannesburg deserve something far more important.
They deserve honesty.
This morning, I speak to you not only as the President of ActionSA.
And not only as a former Executive Mayor of this city.
I speak to you as a resident of Johannesburg.
A man whose life was changed by this city.
Johannesburg gave a young man from Hammanskraal the opportunity to build a business, create jobs, raise a family and contribute to the country he loves.
This city gave me opportunity. It gave me dignity.
And it gave me the honour of serving its residents as Executive Mayor from 2016 to 2019.
That is why what we are witnessing today is deeply painful.
Because Johannesburg is more than buildings, roads and infrastructure.
Johannesburg has always been the city of opportunity. The economic heart of South Africa. The city where millions of people came searching for work, dignity, safety and a better future for their children.
For generations, Johannesburg represented hope. And yet today, too many residents feel abandoned by the very government meant to serve them.
The truth is this: Johannesburg is visibly in decline.
No amount of political spin can change what residents experience every single day.
Residents do not need politicians to tell them whether Johannesburg is working.
They live the reality every day.
They sit in traffic at broken intersections because traffic lights are not working.
They drive on roads filled with potholes and collapsing infrastructure.
They wait days – sometimes weeks – for basic service failures to be addressed.
They experience water outages, electricity interruptions, sewage spills and growing lawlessness in their communities.
Businesses struggle with unreliable infrastructure.
Families struggle with rising costs.
Communities no longer feel safe.
And every year, residents are paying more while receiving less in return.
This is not the Johannesburg our residents deserve.
And it is certainly not the Johannesburg people voted for.
What makes this even more painful is that Johannesburg remains one of the most important cities on the African continent.
This city still has enormous potential.
Johannesburg should still be leading economic growth in this country.
A city with this much potential should not look like this.
A city with this much talent should not be deteriorating in front of its residents.
A city with this much opportunity should not leave millions of people frustrated, exhausted and slowly losing hope.
And now even National Treasury has formally warned that Johannesburg faces severe financial distress.
The city’s financial statements remain delayed.
Confidence in Johannesburg is weakening.
And once confidence collapses in a city, recovery becomes far more difficult.
But long before Treasury issued warnings, residents already knew the City is broken.
Because residents live the reality every day.
They can see that Johannesburg has lost momentum.
Over the past several years, the city has experienced instability, endless political disruption and a revolving door of leadership.
And while politicians fought amongst themselves, residents were left carrying the burden.
The city lost direction.
It lost focus.
It lost momentum.
And slowly, Johannesburg stopped moving forward.
Fellow residents,
What makes this decline even more frustrating is that residents have already seen what progress looks like.
The tragedy is that Johannesburg had already begun recovering once before.
When I took office as Executive Mayor in 2016, Johannesburg was already facing a deep infrastructure and financial crisis.
In 2017, we released one of the most comprehensive infrastructure assessments ever conducted by the City. It exposed the true scale of the neglect and underinvestment that had built up over many years.
What we found was alarming.
The City was facing an infrastructure backlog of more than R170 billion.
Roads were deteriorating.
Water and sewer infrastructure had been neglected for decades.
Electricity infrastructure was operating far beyond its intended lifespan.
Corruption had become entrenched.
And basic service delivery was steadily collapsing.
We did not inherit a stable or functional city.
We inherited a city already in decline.
And we did not pretend these problems could be solved overnight.
No administration can reverse decades of decay in just three years.
But what we proved is that Johannesburg can move in the right direction again.
We restored financial discipline and redirected spending back towards infrastructure, housing and frontline service delivery.
Capital expenditure on infrastructure services and housing increased from 58% of the capital budget in 2016/17 to more than 70% by 2019/20.
We also began rebuilding confidence in the City and attracting investment back into Johannesburg.
Investment facilitated through the City increased from approximately R4.5 billion in 2016/17 to R17.3 billion by 2018/19, as Johannesburg once again became open for business.
We turned the inner city into a construction site by releasing hijacked and underutilised properties for redevelopment – unlocking billions in investment, affordable housing and job opportunities.
We confronted the infrastructure crisis head-on instead of pretending it did not exist.
We invested in rebuilding roads, electricity infrastructure, water systems and sewer networks that had been neglected for years.
We strengthened public safety and rebuilt law enforcement capacity by recruiting 1,500 additional JMPD officers to improve visible policing, by-law enforcement and crime prevention across Johannesburg.
We invested in healthcare for residents who had been neglected for far too long.
We introduced 10 mobile clinics and expanded healthcare access into underserved communities that had long felt forgotten.
We confronted corruption directly and dismantled systems that allowed politically connected individuals to profit while residents suffered declining services.
We also believed workers deserve dignity.
That is why we launched one of the largest insourcing programmes in local government.
By the end of our administration, 4,185 security guards had been insourced, with take-home salaries increasing by at least 50%, together with the protections and dignity of full-time employment.
We also insourced 1,879 cleaners, whose salaries nearly doubled at no additional cost to the City.
And importantly, we built a constructive working relationship with organised labour because stable service delivery depends on partnerships between government and workers.
That is why we signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with SAMWU and IMATU to stabilise labour relations and keep the City focused on serving residents.
We also introduced a debt rehabilitation programme to help struggling residents recover financially and return to good standing on their municipal accounts instead of trapping them permanently in debt.
And residents began to feel the difference.
The city was not fixed.
But it was improving.
There was momentum.
There was direction.
And perhaps most importantly, residents were beginning to believe that Johannesburg could work again.
Fellow residents,
I mention these areas because I am proud of what we achieved, and because they proved that progress is possible.
But recognising past progress is not enough.
Johannesburg now needs stable leadership capable of finishing the work.
Because much of the work that had already begun in this city simply stalled.
The pace of infrastructure renewal slowed down.
The clean-up of the inner city slowed down.
The rebuilding of law enforcement capacity slowed down.
And slowly, Johannesburg slipped backwards again.
So the task now is not to start from the beginning.
The task is to continue the recovery of this city properly, consistently and decisively over a full term of stable government.
The first thing that has to happen is that Johannesburg must get back to maintaining infrastructure properly.
For too long, this city has waited for systems to collapse before action is taken.
That approach has failed residents.
Maintenance cannot continue being reactive.
It must be planned, funded and monitored properly.
Under ActionSA’s Operation Fix Joburg, we will implement a focused Infrastructure Recovery Plan that prioritises water, electricity, roads and sewer infrastructure.
We will apply urgent infrastructure triage where the risks are greatest, particularly in our water and sewer systems.
And because residents deserve honesty and accountability, we will publish clear infrastructure targets and report progress openly.
When we previously governed Johannesburg, more than 200 kilometres of water pipes and 160 kilometres of sewer pipes were replaced in just three years.
Over the same period, 938 lane kilometres of roads were resurfaced.
When we return to office, that pace of infrastructure renewal must at least double over a full five-year term.
Johannesburg also needs financial discipline again.
Right now, the city’s finances are under growing pressure because leadership instability and poor governance have weakened accountability.
That cannot continue.
Residents are now even being warned that parts of Johannesburg could be plunged back into darkness because the City has failed to pay its debt to Eskom.
Imagine that.
At the very moment South Africans are finally beginning to experience relief from loadshedding, Johannesburg residents now face the possibility of power cuts because of financial mismanagement and failed leadership.
In the first 100 days, we will conduct a full financial health audit of the City and all its entities so that residents can finally know the true financial condition of Johannesburg.
At the same time, the Diphetogo approach must return.
Money must once again be redirected away from waste, unnecessary political excess and bloated bureaucracy back into infrastructure and frontline service delivery.
That is how more than R2 billion was previously redirected back into infrastructure investment.
And that is why spending on roads, housing, water, sanitation and electricity increased significantly during our administration.
But financial discipline also requires institutional reform.
Over time, many municipal entities that were meant to improve service delivery have instead become layers of bureaucracy, duplication, waste and political deployment.
Residents do not care which entity is responsible for failure.
They simply want services to work.
That is why ActionSA will conduct an urgent institutional review of the City and move to reintegrate a number of entities back into the core administration under direct executive accountability.
Because money spent on bureaucracy is money taken away from residents.
And Johannesburg cannot afford a system where accountability is fragmented while infrastructure continues collapsing.
Johannesburg also cannot recover while corruption continues hollowing out the City from within.
The anti-corruption capability that previously investigated thousands of cases involving billions of rand must be properly restored and resourced again.
Lifestyle audits for senior officials and political office bearers will become mandatory.
Major tenders and contracts will be opened to greater public scrutiny.
And there must once again be real consequences for corruption and maladministration.
Johannesburg also needs to restore law and order.
Residents cannot continue living in a city where criminal syndicates, hijacked buildings, cable theft and illegal connections are allowed to spread unchecked.
The work of reclaiming hijacked buildings and restoring order in the inner city must continue.
Municipal courts must become functional again so that by-laws are enforced properly and consequences become real again.
And over a five-year term, we will recruit an additional 2,500 JMPD officers so that law enforcement capacity can finally begin matching the scale of the crisis facing Johannesburg.
But government alone cannot rebuild Johannesburg.
Residents must become active partners in restoring this city.
That is why we will reintroduce A Re Sebetseng so that communities, businesses and residents can work alongside government to clean up neighbourhoods, restore public spaces and rebuild pride in our city.
Because cities recover faster when residents stop feeling powerless and begin feeling ownership again.
The recovery of Johannesburg must also include economic recovery.
Johannesburg should be the economic engine of Africa.
Instead, businesses are losing confidence because of instability, unreliable infrastructure and declining governance.
That must change.
Johannesburg must become open for business again.
Business licensing and permit delays must be reduced dramatically.
Investment approvals must move faster.
And the Inner-City Revitalisation Programme must be relaunched and expanded.
When we previously governed Johannesburg, 154 city-owned properties were released for redevelopment, unlocking plans for more than R32 billion in private investment and thousands of housing and job opportunities.
That momentum must return.
At the same time, township economies must become a far greater priority.
Across Johannesburg, small business owners, township traders and informal entrepreneurs are fighting every day to survive under extremely difficult conditions.
They are not asking government for favours.
They are asking for a fair opportunity to work, trade and grow their businesses safely and legally.
ActionSA believes township economy opportunities and support programmes must prioritise South African citizens and lawful residents who are trying to build businesses, support families and contribute to their communities.
We will support local entrepreneurs, formalise informal trading where possible, reduce unnecessary barriers and help rebuild township economies that have been neglected for far too long.
The recovery of Johannesburg must also restore dignity to residents.
Dignity is restored when government works.
It is restored when workers are treated fairly.
It is restored when families receive title deeds to homes they have waited years for.
And it is restored when communities receive the same quality of services regardless of their postcode.
That is why the insourcing programme must return.
That is why partnership with organised labour must return.
And that is why frontline services must be the priority of the City budget.
We must also urgently accelerate the formalisation and upgrading of informal settlements so that more families can finally live with proper services, security of tenure and dignity.
Because no resident should spend decades living without the basic recognition and infrastructure that every South African deserves.
And that is why Johannesburg must once again become a city where residents can see government improving their daily lives.
We are already seeing in Tshwane, under the leadership of Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and an ActionSA-led government, that when leadership is stable, when finances are disciplined, and when delivery is placed ahead of politics, a city can begin to recover again.
After years of instability, Tshwane now has a funded budget, growing cash reserves, renewed investor confidence, and visible progress in infrastructure, law enforcement and service delivery.
The work is far from finished. But the people of Tshwane can already feel that their city is moving forward again.
And that should give the residents of Johannesburg hope.
Because it proves that decline is not inevitable.
Cities can work again.
Government can deliver again.
And Johannesburg can recover too.
But only if we are prepared to finish the work properly.
Fellow residents,
Johannesburg now faces a simple choice.
We can continue down the current path of instability, decline and endless excuses.
Or we can choose a government that is serious about fixing this city again.
Because the truth is that Johannesburg is too important to lose.
Too many people depend on this city to survive.
Too many families depend on this city for work and opportunity.
And too many young people still come to Johannesburg believing they can build a better future here.
That is why we cannot afford more wasted years.
And that is why this election matters.
Over the coming weeks, I will be announcing a team of experienced and credible public servants who will help lead the recovery of Johannesburg.
People with the experience, professionalism and commitment required to rebuild this city properly.
They will engage residents directly and outline the recovery plans required across infrastructure, public safety, financial reform, economic growth and service delivery.
Because this campaign will not be built around slogans, political theatre or empty promises.
It will be built around a credible plan.
Measurable delivery.
And a capable team that residents can hold accountable.
In the weeks ahead, ActionSA will also launch a detailed Johannesburg manifesto that sets out our full programme for fixing this city.
But today is where that work begins.
Because Johannesburg will not fix itself.
Recovering this city will require difficult decisions.
It will require discipline.
It will require stable leadership.
And it will require a government prepared to put residents ahead of politics.
The reality is that the crisis facing Johannesburg is serious.
But I refuse to accept that decline is inevitable.
I refuse to accept that the economic heart of South Africa must simply be allowed to collapse.
We have already seen what happens when leadership is stable, disciplined and focused on delivery.
We have already seen Johannesburg begin to recover.
My fight to fix this city was interrupted.
But the residents of Johannesburg know something important now.
They know this city can work again.
Because they have seen it happen before.
That work was interrupted.
Now it must continue.
We already proved Johannesburg can work.
Now we must finish the job.
Thank you.
Mayoral Candidate, Herman Mashaba Delivers The Real State of the City Address
Good morning, Johannesburg.
In a few hours’ time, the Executive Mayor will deliver the State of the City Address.
We can expect another polished presentation this afternoon. Another rosy picture of Johannesburg. Another speech that sounds completely disconnected from the lived reality of residents.
But before that happens, I believe the residents of Johannesburg deserve something far more important.
They deserve honesty.
This morning, I speak to you not only as the President of ActionSA.
And not only as a former Executive Mayor of this city.
I speak to you as a resident of Johannesburg.
A man whose life was changed by this city.
Johannesburg gave a young man from Hammanskraal the opportunity to build a business, create jobs, raise a family and contribute to the country he loves.
This city gave me opportunity. It gave me dignity.
And it gave me the honour of serving its residents as Executive Mayor from 2016 to 2019.
That is why what we are witnessing today is deeply painful.
Because Johannesburg is more than buildings, roads and infrastructure.
Johannesburg has always been the city of opportunity. The economic heart of South Africa. The city where millions of people came searching for work, dignity, safety and a better future for their children.
For generations, Johannesburg represented hope. And yet today, too many residents feel abandoned by the very government meant to serve them.
The truth is this: Johannesburg is visibly in decline.
No amount of political spin can change what residents experience every single day.
Residents do not need politicians to tell them whether Johannesburg is working.
They live the reality every day.
They sit in traffic at broken intersections because traffic lights are not working.
They drive on roads filled with potholes and collapsing infrastructure.
They wait days – sometimes weeks – for basic service failures to be addressed.
They experience water outages, electricity interruptions, sewage spills and growing lawlessness in their communities.
Businesses struggle with unreliable infrastructure.
Families struggle with rising costs.
Communities no longer feel safe.
And every year, residents are paying more while receiving less in return.
This is not the Johannesburg our residents deserve.
And it is certainly not the Johannesburg people voted for.
What makes this even more painful is that Johannesburg remains one of the most important cities on the African continent.
This city still has enormous potential.
Johannesburg should still be leading economic growth in this country.
A city with this much potential should not look like this.
A city with this much talent should not be deteriorating in front of its residents.
A city with this much opportunity should not leave millions of people frustrated, exhausted and slowly losing hope.
And now even National Treasury has formally warned that Johannesburg faces severe financial distress.
The city’s financial statements remain delayed.
Confidence in Johannesburg is weakening.
And once confidence collapses in a city, recovery becomes far more difficult.
But long before Treasury issued warnings, residents already knew the City is broken.
Because residents live the reality every day.
They can see that Johannesburg has lost momentum.
Over the past several years, the city has experienced instability, endless political disruption and a revolving door of leadership.
And while politicians fought amongst themselves, residents were left carrying the burden.
The city lost direction.
It lost focus.
It lost momentum.
And slowly, Johannesburg stopped moving forward.
Fellow residents,
What makes this decline even more frustrating is that residents have already seen what progress looks like.
The tragedy is that Johannesburg had already begun recovering once before.
When I took office as Executive Mayor in 2016, Johannesburg was already facing a deep infrastructure and financial crisis.
In 2017, we released one of the most comprehensive infrastructure assessments ever conducted by the City. It exposed the true scale of the neglect and underinvestment that had built up over many years.
What we found was alarming.
The City was facing an infrastructure backlog of more than R170 billion.
Roads were deteriorating.
Water and sewer infrastructure had been neglected for decades.
Electricity infrastructure was operating far beyond its intended lifespan.
Corruption had become entrenched.
And basic service delivery was steadily collapsing.
We did not inherit a stable or functional city.
We inherited a city already in decline.
And we did not pretend these problems could be solved overnight.
No administration can reverse decades of decay in just three years.
But what we proved is that Johannesburg can move in the right direction again.
We restored financial discipline and redirected spending back towards infrastructure, housing and frontline service delivery.
Capital expenditure on infrastructure services and housing increased from 58% of the capital budget in 2016/17 to more than 70% by 2019/20.
We also began rebuilding confidence in the City and attracting investment back into Johannesburg.
Investment facilitated through the City increased from approximately R4.5 billion in 2016/17 to R17.3 billion by 2018/19, as Johannesburg once again became open for business.
We turned the inner city into a construction site by releasing hijacked and underutilised properties for redevelopment – unlocking billions in investment, affordable housing and job opportunities.
We confronted the infrastructure crisis head-on instead of pretending it did not exist.
We invested in rebuilding roads, electricity infrastructure, water systems and sewer networks that had been neglected for years.
We strengthened public safety and rebuilt law enforcement capacity by recruiting 1,500 additional JMPD officers to improve visible policing, by-law enforcement and crime prevention across Johannesburg.
We invested in healthcare for residents who had been neglected for far too long.
We introduced 10 mobile clinics and expanded healthcare access into underserved communities that had long felt forgotten.
We confronted corruption directly and dismantled systems that allowed politically connected individuals to profit while residents suffered declining services.
We also believed workers deserve dignity.
That is why we launched one of the largest insourcing programmes in local government.
By the end of our administration, 4,185 security guards had been insourced, with take-home salaries increasing by at least 50%, together with the protections and dignity of full-time employment.
We also insourced 1,879 cleaners, whose salaries nearly doubled at no additional cost to the City.
And importantly, we built a constructive working relationship with organised labour because stable service delivery depends on partnerships between government and workers.
That is why we signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with SAMWU and IMATU to stabilise labour relations and keep the City focused on serving residents.
We also introduced a debt rehabilitation programme to help struggling residents recover financially and return to good standing on their municipal accounts instead of trapping them permanently in debt.
And residents began to feel the difference.
The city was not fixed.
But it was improving.
There was momentum.
There was direction.
And perhaps most importantly, residents were beginning to believe that Johannesburg could work again.
Fellow residents,
I mention these areas because I am proud of what we achieved, and because they proved that progress is possible.
But recognising past progress is not enough.
Johannesburg now needs stable leadership capable of finishing the work.
Because much of the work that had already begun in this city simply stalled.
The pace of infrastructure renewal slowed down.
The clean-up of the inner city slowed down.
The rebuilding of law enforcement capacity slowed down.
And slowly, Johannesburg slipped backwards again.
So the task now is not to start from the beginning.
The task is to continue the recovery of this city properly, consistently and decisively over a full term of stable government.
The first thing that has to happen is that Johannesburg must get back to maintaining infrastructure properly.
For too long, this city has waited for systems to collapse before action is taken.
That approach has failed residents.
Maintenance cannot continue being reactive.
It must be planned, funded and monitored properly.
Under ActionSA’s Operation Fix Joburg, we will implement a focused Infrastructure Recovery Plan that prioritises water, electricity, roads and sewer infrastructure.
We will apply urgent infrastructure triage where the risks are greatest, particularly in our water and sewer systems.
And because residents deserve honesty and accountability, we will publish clear infrastructure targets and report progress openly.
When we previously governed Johannesburg, more than 200 kilometres of water pipes and 160 kilometres of sewer pipes were replaced in just three years.
Over the same period, 938 lane kilometres of roads were resurfaced.
When we return to office, that pace of infrastructure renewal must at least double over a full five-year term.
Johannesburg also needs financial discipline again.
Right now, the city’s finances are under growing pressure because leadership instability and poor governance have weakened accountability.
That cannot continue.
Residents are now even being warned that parts of Johannesburg could be plunged back into darkness because the City has failed to pay its debt to Eskom.
Imagine that.
At the very moment South Africans are finally beginning to experience relief from loadshedding, Johannesburg residents now face the possibility of power cuts because of financial mismanagement and failed leadership.
In the first 100 days, we will conduct a full financial health audit of the City and all its entities so that residents can finally know the true financial condition of Johannesburg.
At the same time, the Diphetogo approach must return.
Money must once again be redirected away from waste, unnecessary political excess and bloated bureaucracy back into infrastructure and frontline service delivery.
That is how more than R2 billion was previously redirected back into infrastructure investment.
And that is why spending on roads, housing, water, sanitation and electricity increased significantly during our administration.
But financial discipline also requires institutional reform.
Over time, many municipal entities that were meant to improve service delivery have instead become layers of bureaucracy, duplication, waste and political deployment.
Residents do not care which entity is responsible for failure.
They simply want services to work.
That is why ActionSA will conduct an urgent institutional review of the City and move to reintegrate a number of entities back into the core administration under direct executive accountability.
Because money spent on bureaucracy is money taken away from residents.
And Johannesburg cannot afford a system where accountability is fragmented while infrastructure continues collapsing.
Johannesburg also cannot recover while corruption continues hollowing out the City from within.
The anti-corruption capability that previously investigated thousands of cases involving billions of rand must be properly restored and resourced again.
Lifestyle audits for senior officials and political office bearers will become mandatory.
Major tenders and contracts will be opened to greater public scrutiny.
And there must once again be real consequences for corruption and maladministration.
Johannesburg also needs to restore law and order.
Residents cannot continue living in a city where criminal syndicates, hijacked buildings, cable theft and illegal connections are allowed to spread unchecked.
The work of reclaiming hijacked buildings and restoring order in the inner city must continue.
Municipal courts must become functional again so that by-laws are enforced properly and consequences become real again.
And over a five-year term, we will recruit an additional 2,500 JMPD officers so that law enforcement capacity can finally begin matching the scale of the crisis facing Johannesburg.
But government alone cannot rebuild Johannesburg.
Residents must become active partners in restoring this city.
That is why we will reintroduce A Re Sebetseng so that communities, businesses and residents can work alongside government to clean up neighbourhoods, restore public spaces and rebuild pride in our city.
Because cities recover faster when residents stop feeling powerless and begin feeling ownership again.
The recovery of Johannesburg must also include economic recovery.
Johannesburg should be the economic engine of Africa.
Instead, businesses are losing confidence because of instability, unreliable infrastructure and declining governance.
That must change.
Johannesburg must become open for business again.
Business licensing and permit delays must be reduced dramatically.
Investment approvals must move faster.
And the Inner-City Revitalisation Programme must be relaunched and expanded.
When we previously governed Johannesburg, 154 city-owned properties were released for redevelopment, unlocking plans for more than R32 billion in private investment and thousands of housing and job opportunities.
That momentum must return.
At the same time, township economies must become a far greater priority.
Across Johannesburg, small business owners, township traders and informal entrepreneurs are fighting every day to survive under extremely difficult conditions.
They are not asking government for favours.
They are asking for a fair opportunity to work, trade and grow their businesses safely and legally.
ActionSA believes township economy opportunities and support programmes must prioritise South African citizens and lawful residents who are trying to build businesses, support families and contribute to their communities.
We will support local entrepreneurs, formalise informal trading where possible, reduce unnecessary barriers and help rebuild township economies that have been neglected for far too long.
The recovery of Johannesburg must also restore dignity to residents.
Dignity is restored when government works.
It is restored when workers are treated fairly.
It is restored when families receive title deeds to homes they have waited years for.
And it is restored when communities receive the same quality of services regardless of their postcode.
That is why the insourcing programme must return.
That is why partnership with organised labour must return.
And that is why frontline services must be the priority of the City budget.
We must also urgently accelerate the formalisation and upgrading of informal settlements so that more families can finally live with proper services, security of tenure and dignity.
Because no resident should spend decades living without the basic recognition and infrastructure that every South African deserves.
And that is why Johannesburg must once again become a city where residents can see government improving their daily lives.
We are already seeing in Tshwane, under the leadership of Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and an ActionSA-led government, that when leadership is stable, when finances are disciplined, and when delivery is placed ahead of politics, a city can begin to recover again.
After years of instability, Tshwane now has a funded budget, growing cash reserves, renewed investor confidence, and visible progress in infrastructure, law enforcement and service delivery.
The work is far from finished. But the people of Tshwane can already feel that their city is moving forward again.
And that should give the residents of Johannesburg hope.
Because it proves that decline is not inevitable.
Cities can work again.
Government can deliver again.
And Johannesburg can recover too.
But only if we are prepared to finish the work properly.
Fellow residents,
Johannesburg now faces a simple choice.
We can continue down the current path of instability, decline and endless excuses.
Or we can choose a government that is serious about fixing this city again.
Because the truth is that Johannesburg is too important to lose.
Too many people depend on this city to survive.
Too many families depend on this city for work and opportunity.
And too many young people still come to Johannesburg believing they can build a better future here.
That is why we cannot afford more wasted years.
And that is why this election matters.
Over the coming weeks, I will be announcing a team of experienced and credible public servants who will help lead the recovery of Johannesburg.
People with the experience, professionalism and commitment required to rebuild this city properly.
They will engage residents directly and outline the recovery plans required across infrastructure, public safety, financial reform, economic growth and service delivery.
Because this campaign will not be built around slogans, political theatre or empty promises.
It will be built around a credible plan.
Measurable delivery.
And a capable team that residents can hold accountable.
In the weeks ahead, ActionSA will also launch a detailed Johannesburg manifesto that sets out our full programme for fixing this city.
But today is where that work begins.
Because Johannesburg will not fix itself.
Recovering this city will require difficult decisions.
It will require discipline.
It will require stable leadership.
And it will require a government prepared to put residents ahead of politics.
The reality is that the crisis facing Johannesburg is serious.
But I refuse to accept that decline is inevitable.
I refuse to accept that the economic heart of South Africa must simply be allowed to collapse.
We have already seen what happens when leadership is stable, disciplined and focused on delivery.
We have already seen Johannesburg begin to recover.
My fight to fix this city was interrupted.
But the residents of Johannesburg know something important now.
They know this city can work again.
Because they have seen it happen before.
That work was interrupted.
Now it must continue.
We already proved Johannesburg can work.
Now we must finish the job.
Thank you.