Media Statement: Johannesburg- Fix-Up the City or Exit.

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation is deeply concerned with the rapidly accumulating issues that
continue to affect the residents of the City of Johannesburg. The issues stack up for the city
and in recent days, an accumulation of crisis points have darkened the mood of residents.
These include, among many others:

• Continued water outages either for lengthy periods, or consistently during certain periods in
  a day. Despite numerous response plans, none of them have been successfully implemented.
  Water security continues to decline on a daily basis. The latest plan that was announced by
  the Minister of water and Sanitation is yet another plan that begs for implementation.
• The threat of a switch-off by Eskom due to the long running account dispute with the city
  raised the anxiety levels of residents and businesses to new heights. The immediate threat has
  been averted by the intervention of Provincial and National Government and is indicative of a
  city that is unable to get on top of its challenges. The city lives in a constant survive-for-today
  mode.
• The visible and accelerated decline of basic infrastructure such as roads, bridges, streetlights,
  sidewalks etc. shows no sign of being arrested.
• Weaknesses in waste collection and maintenance of streets open spaces has led to a dirty,
  litter strewn and dysfunctional city.
• A failure to administer informal trading by-laws and health inspections to businesses. This has
  now contributed to a growing number of children getting sick and or dying because of food
  poisoning. The linkage between the use of pesticides to deal with a rodent infestation problem
  and the lack of adequate measures to deal with waste and litter is perhaps at the heart of this
  problem.
  It is concerning that previous appeals to the President to prioritise intervention in Johannesburg did
  not take place. If Johannesburg collapses, South Africa collapses.
  As we head to final weeks of 2024, the overwhelming conclusion is that the city is unable to usher in
  a better year next year. The AKF with its partners in the Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) will step up efforts
  through civil society activism to hold duty bearers accountable for the state of the city. With no signs
  of a credible plan to fix the city, residents and business must be mobilised to create a fresh vision for
  the city. This must be implemented by strong leadership and a hard-working and dedicated
  bureaucracy.
  The message is clear, fix the city or exit sooner, rather than later.
  ***END***

For media inquiries, please contact:
Anele Gcwabe
Communications Manager
Ahmed Kathrada Foundation
083-278-8832
anele@kathradafoundation.org