JOHANNESBURG, Tuesday 15 September 2026 — National Treasury is developing a three-year intervention for the City of Johannesburg that will continue regardless of which party or coalition takes control after the 4 November local government elections, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced.
Godongwana said Treasury would work with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and other institutions to support the incoming municipal administration as Johannesburg confronts severe financial, infrastructure and service-delivery pressures.
“We have started to develop a plan for an intensive intervention in the City of Johannesburg,” Godongwana said during the DBSA’s annual-results presentation on Monday.
He said Treasury intended to remain involved for three years “irrespective of the outcome of the elections”, adding that any administration emerging from November’s vote would require national support.
The announcement is a significant election-period development because it means the national government is preparing a structured intervention that will extend across Johannesburg’s political transition rather than relying on the current ANC-led administration remaining in office.
Treasury intervention crosses election boundary
Godongwana did not set out the complete structure of the Johannesburg programme, which Treasury is still developing.
His comments nevertheless establish two important parameters: the intervention is intended to last approximately three years and will continue irrespective of the political composition of the next council.
That could make Treasury and the DBSA significant institutional participants in Johannesburg’s recovery programme through much of the next municipal term.
The city is currently governed by an ANC-led coalition under Mayor Dada Morero, but polling and the fragmented Johannesburg political landscape make another hung council a significant possibility after 4 November.
The DA, ANC, ActionSA, EFF, MK Party and several smaller parties are competing for representation in the 270-seat council.
No party needs to win an outright majority of votes for the Treasury programme to proceed.
Johannesburg’s financial problems predate election campaign
The intervention follows months of increasingly serious exchanges between National Treasury and the city over Johannesburg’s financial position.
In an April letter to Morero, Godongwana warned about an unfunded adjustments budget, liquidity problems, unpaid creditors and failures to comply with municipal financial regulations.
The city owed creditors approximately R25.2 billion while holding about R3.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents, according to figures contained in the Treasury correspondence reported at the time.
Godongwana also objected to implementation of the city’s politically facilitated wage agreement with the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, warning that the financial commitment was unaffordable.
Those earlier warnings provide the immediate financial context for Treasury’s decision to move towards a longer intervention.
DBSA expected to play central role
Godongwana said the DBSA would be an important partner in addressing infrastructure weaknesses nationally and specifically in Johannesburg.
The development bank already has a substantial financial relationship with the metro.
The DBSA said in 2024 that Johannesburg was its single largest municipal client and that it had disbursed more than R13 billion to the city during the preceding six years. It also established a five-year infrastructure partnership with Johannesburg covering areas including water, sanitation, electricity, waste, health and human settlements.
Monday’s announcement suggests that relationship could now become part of a broader Treasury-led recovery framework.
The DBSA separately reported on Monday that its net profit increased 47% to R7.8 billion for the financial year ended March 2026.
The bank cautioned that municipal credit risk remained elevated because of weak financial management, infrastructure vandalism, poor audit outcomes, budget constraints and service-delivery failures.
Infrastructure financing forms part of broader strategy
Godongwana said South Africa’s infrastructure problem was not solely caused by a lack of available money.
Government has budgeted about R1.07 trillion for infrastructure over the next three years, including approximately R205 billion expected to flow through municipalities.
The minister argued that inadequate planning and implementation capacity risked leaving some of that money unspent.
Treasury is consequently considering partnerships involving the DBSA, Government Employees Pension Fund and Public Investment Corporation to mobilise capital for viable infrastructure projects.
Godongwana said government needed structures capable of converting available funding into functioning infrastructure rather than simply allocating larger budgets.
Water infrastructure likely to be major Johannesburg test
Johannesburg’s water network illustrates the scale of that challenge.
The city requires an estimated R64 billion over 10 years to rehabilitate its water infrastructure, while close to half of its water is lost through leaks, burst pipes and illegal connections.
The 2026 national budget allocated R27.7 billion to Johannesburg Water over the coming three years.
Godongwana said on Monday that government needed to move beyond repeatedly repairing leaks and towards systematic rehabilitation of ageing water infrastructure nationally.
Electricity networks, roads and other municipal infrastructure are also expected to require substantial investment.
Intervention changes stakes of Johannesburg election
The announcement creates an unusual degree of continuity across the election.
Parties campaigning to replace the current Johannesburg government are promising different approaches to finances, infrastructure and municipal administration, but whichever grouping secures control is likely to inherit an existing Treasury recovery programme.
That could constrain some policy choices while providing the next administration with access to national financial and technical support.
It could also make relations between the incoming mayor, council, Treasury and DBSA an important element of Johannesburg governance after November.
Godongwana’s explicit commitment to work with whichever administration voters produce distinguishes the initiative from a party-political intervention.
Earlier national interventions have struggled
National government has previously attempted to stabilise Johannesburg through financial oversight and intergovernmental cooperation.
President Cyril Ramaphosa established the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group to improve coordination between national government, Gauteng and the municipality.
Despite that intervention, Treasury subsequently raised increasingly serious concerns about Johannesburg’s finances.
Godongwana’s new proposal therefore appears to represent a more sustained financial and infrastructure-focused phase of national involvement.
The detailed mechanism — including whether the programme will impose specific financial conditions or performance requirements — has not yet been publicly released.
Incoming council inherits national recovery programme
Johannesburg voters will still determine the composition of the council on 4 November, and councillors will subsequently elect the city’s next executive mayor.
But the incoming government will not begin with an entirely blank policy slate.
Treasury is preparing to remain directly engaged for roughly three years as Johannesburg attempts to stabilise its finances and rebuild infrastructure.
That makes the programme consequential not only for the current administration but for every party campaigning to govern the city.
The next significant development will be publication of the detailed intervention plan, including its funding arrangements, governance structure, infrastructure priorities and conditions imposed on the municipality.
