Johannesburg is dangerously short of cash. And the consequences are visible across the city.

Please join us for the online launch of Joburg’s Broken Budget, the second report in CDE’s Johannesburg Matters series.

The report shows how years of unrealistic budgeting have helped drive Johannesburg into a chronic financial crisis. The City budgets for revenues it cannot collect, while failing to keep its costs in line with the cash actually coming in.

The pressures are mounting. Over the past five years, average remuneration in the City has risen by about 10% a year – an extraordinary increase for a municipality under such severe financial strain.

The result is a City that remains technically solvent but is increasingly cash starved. Johannesburg owns billions of rands’ worth of roads, pipes, electricity infrastructure and other assets, but does not generate enough dependable cash to maintain and expand them. And, increasingly, it is not able to meet its obligations in full and on time.

What went wrong? What needs to change if the City is to fund the basic services and infrastructure on which its future depends?

Online launch

Daniel Mminele, chairman, Nedbank Group and CDE Board Member chaired the event.

Ann Bernstein, CDE’s executive director, presented the report’s key findings and recommendations.

Antony Altbeker, independent consultant with considerable experience in public finance, and author of a research paper commissioned by CDE, Johannesburg’s Finances (2026).

This was followed by Q&A.

PS: If you missed Report One: Joburg in Jeopardy, see here