Overview
- Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Mayor Dada Morero, who met Friday in what both called a productive session, agreed the City of Johannesburg will file a formal response and consider remedial actions flagged by Treasury.
- Godongwana warned the city faces severe liquidity pressure, citing about R25 billion owed to creditors against roughly R4 billion in cash, while Morero disputed insolvency and said current creditors stand at R6.8 billion with most invoices still within 30 days.
- Independent audits and council oversight reports point to structural strain, including a weak current ratio near 0.6:1, less than a month of cash on hand, heavy reliance on short‑term borrowing, and large utility losses from failing networks and theft.
- Auditors also flagged widespread use of emergency procurement under Regulation 36 worth about R4.9 billion in 2023/24, which bypassed competitive bidding and fed irregular spending after poor planning.
- Oversight pressure is rising as the DA formally asked Treasury to probe executive and board pay in city entities, citing roughly 26% pay growth since 2022 and multimillion‑rand CEO packages, while the affordability of a R10.3 billion wage deal remains in dispute.