Living in Joburg: Paper shortages, phone lines down and now your roads ‘can’t be fixed’

Just weeks after The Citizen reported on paper shortages at major service delivery centres and telephone lines to the city being down, councillors have warned that broken roads will not be fixed for the foreseeable future.

All of this is over unpaid service providers as the city battles a mounting debt crisis.

Ward 72 councillor Daniel Schay briefed his ward in a circulating video about what he described as a disastrous situation in the city of Jburg. He told them that he had attended a Councillor’s Forum with city officials this week, where they were told that the city’s financial problems are affecting service delivery.

“We also got told by the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) that their cell phones have not been working for two weeks, only WhatsApp is working. They can’t make calls or receive calls with their city phones because they are apparently changing service providers.”

He said the officials gave them a list of roads that need resurfacing but told them that the same roads will not be fixed because the suppliers have not been paid.

“They kind of said we have budget on paper and nothing in the bank account. That kind of tells you where we are as a city. It’s a disastrous, disastrous situation,” he said.

Schay says the situation is so bad that the City could not provide a paper register at their meeting because a supplier had not been paid.

“Council operated without printed agendas and attendance had to be recorded on a handwritten register,” he said.

Poor service delivery

Service delivery is set to be a big topic in campaigns for this year’s local government elections.

DA Joburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku told The Citizen that JRA is not the only municipal entity that is struggling to pay its service providers.

“This is extremely concerning. When the city cannot pay the companies it relies on to maintain roads, collect refuse, repair infrastructure and provide essential services, the consequences are ultimately felt by residents.

“Delays in maintenance can quickly become backlogs, deteriorating infrastructure and even greater costs for the city in the future.”

Kayser-Echeozonjoku called on the city to be transparent with residents.

“We also need to ask where the city intends to find the money to settle these outstanding obligations and restore services. If the city is experiencing cash-flow pressures, residents deserve to know the extent of the problem and what has been affected.”

Trips overseas

She said she is concerned that the city can find money for international travel for members of the mayoral committee, while basic services are under severe pressure.

“The mayor was able to fund an MMC’s trip to Brazil for an Aids conference, despite their portfolio having no direct responsibility for health, while residents are dealing with piles of refuse, water leaks, prolonged electricity outages and deteriorating roads,” she said.

JRA denies ‘disastrous situation’

However, JRA CEO Zweli Nyathi denied that JRA is failing to carry out its duties because of the non-payment of service providers.

“Payments are being made as we speak,” he told The Citizen on Thursday.

Meanwhile, The Citizen further questioned the mayor’s office about the metro’s failure to pay service providers on time. This query was referred to the municipality’s group communications department. Their comment will be added to this story when it is received.

Service delivery backlogs

Moneyweb reported this week that 23 572 potholes were reported to the Johannesburg Roads Agency in the last half of 2025, averaging about 3 900 a month.

It also claimed Joburg Water has an infrastructure backlog of R26.6 billion due to years of underinvestment and is replacing just 60-70km of piping a year for a network of 12 500km.

“At current rates, it will take two centuries to replace all ageing pipes,” said the report.