Cape Town — President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the establishment of a presidential Johannesburg Working Group to address the pressing issues affecting the city.
Expressing concern over Johannesburg’s deteriorating state on Thursday, Ramaphosa called for urgent improvements in South Africa’s financial hub.
“Sometimes it’s good to be direct and say it as it is. I should say that one or two meetings of the G20 that I attended here were not very pleasing. The environment that one observed was not a pleasing environment. I say this so that we can improve immensely,” he said.
Ramaphosa was in Johannesburg to assess the city’s readiness to host the G20 Summit in November 2025.
He said Johannesburg represented the nation’s success as the economic and cultural heartbeat of South Africa and said when the city struggles to overcome issues, it is felt across the country.
“Johannesburg today faces enormous challenges, ranging from financial and governance instability to rapidly deteriorating infrastructure. Water and electricity interruptions have become the norm. This has an enormous impact on the quality of life of citizens and the operations of businesses. The road infrastructure faces tremendous challenges. These include vandalism of traffic lights, dysfunctional street lights and rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges,” the president said during a meeting between the National Executive and the Johannesburg Executive Council on Friday.
[WATCH] President Cyril Ramaphosa cracks the whip on the Johannesburg city council. He says the city has failed the first test run to see if it is ready to host the G20 leaders summit in November.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/imDLMNlGAW
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 7, 2025
He said that it was of utmost importance that these challenges were remedied to see improvements in the city’s key challenges.
To overcome these challenges, Ramapphosa proposed the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group, which would bring all levels of government together to accelerate service delivery, stablise finances and operations and enable economic growth and job creation.
“A special focus of our efforts should be the rejuvenation of the inner city. This historic part of our city has been allowed to deteriorate for much too long. Efforts must be taken to make it a liveable, thriving and safe space for all citizens. We must work to ensure the inner city is primed to attract new investment and jobs,” Ramaphosa said.
He looked forward to working alongside the Executive Mayor, Dada Morero and his team to unlock Johanensburg’s role as the engine of growth for South Africa’s economy.
“When our visitors leave after the G20 Leaders’ Summit, let them leave inspired by what they saw and experienced in Johannesburg. For our citizens, let us make them proud once again to call Johannesburg their home,” he concluded.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cabinet members are on a two-day visit to Gauteng, assessing the state of the province. Ramaphosa has proposed a provincial task team to address Johannesburg’s challenges, expressing disappointment with the state of the province and its… pic.twitter.com/6G5xb8Rkml
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 7, 2025
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: X/@EducationGP1
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Matthew Petersen
