The countries that make up the African continent have been trying to develop for many years. In fact, there were projects, such as the one in Johannesburg (South Africa), which remained half-finished despite their efforts to improve. After having built facilities of all kinds, it has now become useless due to supply problems of all kinds.
This situation has been repeated since 2016, when the African National Party lost the Government and since then, it has gone through different coalition groups. Many agreements have taken place between political parties, but no one has been able to strengthen, thus the city has been left in a position of misgovernance, where chaos, corruption and crime are the main protagonists.
The lack of electricity is the result of delays in the construction of coal plants or irregularities in supply contracts, among other reasons. South African President Cyril Ramphosa noted earlier this year: “We are plunged into a deep energy crisis.”
Former mayor Mpho Phalatse, who held this position from October 2022 to January 2023, reported that Johannesburg needs $16.3 billion to take care of its lacking infrastructure, which mainly focuses on energy, water and sanitation. The current City Council plans to spend the budget on grants to overcome delays in works.
“While we are aware of increasing delays, our capacity to respond is limited due to the suppression of revenue performance in recent years,” said the former mayor and member of the ANC’s finance committee.
The unemployment rate reached 32.9% and 18 million out of nearly 60 million people are dependent on public subsidies. The city is the scene of all kinds of vandalism, for example, abandoned buildings are occupied by criminal groups, who dismantle the infrastructure and then sell the materials in illegal markets.
Power outages enforced by the state company, Eskom Holdings, are frequent. In this way, bad traffic lights become a driving hazard where potholes, open sewers and many other factors are added. In many respects, homeless people take on the role of the police to control traffic.
Losses due to theft and electrical malfunctions total $27 million, according to City Power, the company that distributes electricity. However, the central bank continued and estimated the daily expenditure at $ 48.7 million. Likewise, the same organization estimates that the country’s growth rate has fallen by two percentage points this year.
“We may not be at a point where South Africa is a failed state, but we are certainly a failed government,” said Tessa Dooms, policy director of the Rivonia Circle, an association dedicated to building a “strong and sustainable democracy” in this country.
