Is Joburg ready to host G20? Gauteng on frenzy to repair potholes and streetlights [VIDEO]

With just over 100 days left before the City of Johannesburg hosts world leaders at the crucial G20 Summit, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi believes the city will be ready for the event in November, despite a lot of work that still needs to be completed.

The city of Johannesburg has been on a frantic rush to repair roads and potholes, dysfunctional traffic lights, which cause heavy traffic congestion and raw sewage flowing in the streets ahead of the G20 Summit.

Ramaphosa disappointment

In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his disappointment with the state of Johannesburg during his meeting with Lesufi’s government and the municipality’s leaders at the Johannesburg city council.

“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.”

Apology

Following Ramaphosa’s comments on the state of Johannesburg, Lesufi apologised to the president and vowed to take action.

“I apologise to the president that he had that particular experience, and we felt that we identified venues for other meetings. It will identify areas that will leave a lasting impression and a lasting legacy to those who are visiting our country,” Lesufi said.

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Inspections

At a media briefing in Midrand on Sunday, Lesufi told journalists that his administration would embark on visits every Tuesday to ensure the city of Joburg is ready for the G20 Summit in November.

“Sometimes we say we are ready or we are going to be ready, but I think society is not sure because they’ve seen the potholes and the streetlights that are not functional,” Lesufi said.

“We are now ranking each and every municipality in terms of their readiness for us to attend to all this.”

With just more than 100 days left before the City of Johannesburg hosts world leaders at the G20 Summit, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi believes the city will be ready for the event in November, despite a lot of work that still needs to be completed. @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/c8a8lQmAUj

— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 ⚡️ (@FaizelPatel143) August 4, 2025

Progress report

Lesufi also released a detailed report outlining the city’s readiness

“This is a detailed report of each and every street, each and every traffic light. It’s quite a detailed report. I summarised it, and you will see each and every municipality what we’ve done thus far, so that they have an idea, an appreciation of the work when we say we are ready.”

The report details the progress in Joburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane, the West Rand and Sedibeng as of 23 July, 115 days before the G20 summit.

Ekurhuleni

It paints a grim picture of the situation in the City of Ekurhuleni, home to the OR Tambo International Airport.

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According to the report, some of the City’s identified defects include the R23 sinkhole, the Rondebult mineshaft collapse, litter, and graffiti. Most have yet to be tackled, with progress marked at 0%.

Johannesburg

In Johannesburg, pothole repairs were at 72% while streetlight repairs were between 71% and 93% completed.

The document also includes a plan to restore 40 vandalised traffic signal intersections between August and October.

Tshwane

In the city of Tshwane, street light repairs were 32% complete, with poles reported missing or broken. Grass cutting, road marking and pothole repairs were marked as ongoing.

Lesufi said they have been active in resolving the issues in Gauteng.

“We have started late. We are now conducting a physical check because we’ve been receiving mixed reports. Sometimes, you get good information when you go on the ground, but it’s often different. So want to satisfy ourselves that what we’ve been receiving thus far is indeed being implemented on the ground.”

Midrand

Lesufi also claimed that Midrand has been lit up.

“I mean, the M2 between Midrand and Sandton, it was a dark city. The main road has the lights. If you come from OR Tambo R24, the lights are back. If you check the grass cutting, we’ve almost 70% started working on that.”

‘For the residents’

Lesufi said all the work being done is not only for the G20, but for the residents of Gauteng.

“My only limitation, and I’ve emphasised it to the mayor, I don’t want to do this thing for G20, I’m doing it for the citizens of Gauteng. It’s just that we are hosting this important activity. We must go beyond the G20 itself.

“So there will be potholes there and there, and there will be areas where people believe that we’ve not touched that area. It’s natural, if you start to make such a huge intervention, you have to start somewhere, and those who have not started from there will think that there’s no meaningful change, and that’s the reason why some people say that they don’t see the changes that we’ve made,” Lesufi said.

Lesufi said the interventions, including Ramaphosa’s task team, the provincial government, and Joburg Mayor Dada Morero’s “bomb squad”, would be enough to ensure the city’s state meets the expectations when world leaders descend onto Joburg, which was once described as a “world-class city”.

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