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ActionSA notes with grave concern the credit rating outlook downgrade of the City of Joburg by the Global Credit Rating Company. The GCR cites material uncertainty in the city’s audit process, after failing to publish its annual financial statements. 

Earlier this month, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange suspended the city from trading over this matter. This development signals an escalation of the city’s protracted misgovernance crisis. Given this circumstance, residents should expect continued neglect in terms of service delivery in their communities. 

Joburg is Africa’s economic giant. It possesses the largest budget of any municipality in South Africa, at R90-billion in the current financial year. Should the city’s finances implode, it’ll cascade throughout the rest of the country. Residents simply cannot afford a governance and financial management crisis of this magnitude. I can assure you that this would never happen under an ActionSA led municipality. 

Now more than ever, residents should hold its leaders accountable for their failure to adhere to regulatory obligations and uphold fiscal discipline. Residents are grappling with poor service delivery, infrastructure backlogs, and economic strain. This downgrade undermines investor confidence and erodes public trust in the city’s leadership and administrative systems.

Issued by ActionSA Joburg Mayoral Candidate Herman Mashaba