Johannesburg’s decline spurs business talks on city rescue

Key topics:

• Business leaders may step in to revive Johannesburg

• City faces service failures, protests, and instability

• B4SA partnership aims at fixing infrastructure decline

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By Antony Sguazzin

South African business leaders said they’ve been discussing with the government whether they can help revive the country’s biggest and richest city. The leaders, part of a business grouping known as B4SA, said they’ll assess whether they can assist the government and make a decision on whether to devote their resources to fixing the city. They are already working in partnership with the government to improve logistics and power provision, tackle crime and boost youth unemployment at a national level.

“There’s such a vast interest in the city as an economic hub — to see it decline is very, very problematic,” Adrian Gore, the chief executive officer of South Africa’s biggest health insurer, Discovery Ltd., told journalists in a virtual briefing Thursday. “This initiative in the partnership is specifically about execution, not policy making.” The decline of water, power and roads infrastructure in Johannesburg has become a political flashpoint in South Africa and a symbol of how unstable coalition governments are causing the decline of some of the country’s biggest cities.

The metropolis of 5 million people accounts for about 16% of South Africa’s gross domestic product and is home to the country’s main stock exchange and many of its biggest companies, including Discovery.

“There’s low-hanging fruit. We think there’s a lot of expertise, there’s a lot of involvement in the city anyway from business,” Gore said. “Can it be organised and structured in a way that’s constructive? We think that needs to be investigated.”

Johannesburg has had 10 changes of mayor since the African National Congress Party lost its majority for the first time in 2016, and its suburbs and townships now suffer from regular power and water outages — and the public protests those cause.

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It’s currently run by a coalition led by the ANC. The Democratic Alliance, the second-biggest party both nationally and in the city council, is seeking to take back the city in local government elections next year by highlighting its dysfunction.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in March, expressed disappointment with the state of the city, which is the venue for a number of Group of 20 meetings this year, including November’s gathering of heads of state.

“We’ve identified CEOs who are appropriate and committed to lead that process,” said Martin Kingston, the chairman of the steering committee of B4SA and chairman of Rothschild & Co.’s South African unit. He added that a decision may be made in November as to whether business will help.

Across the other areas that business has involved itself with government, it’s seconded staff to bolster the expertise and capacity of government departments, as well as providing some funding.

“We are not going to become involved in the politics,” Kingston said. “That we’ve made that clear at all levels of government, including at national but also at a provincial level.”

© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.