Business titans plot rescue mission for SA’s richest crumbling City

Johannesburg – South African business leaders, under the B4SA grouping, are reportedly considering whether to step in to help revive Johannesburg amid worsening infrastructure and service delivery failures.

Already partnering with government nationally on logistics, power, crime, and youth unemployment, they are now assessing if their expertise and resources can be directed to fixing the city itself, Daily Investor reported.

Johannesburg — home to 5 million people, 16% of South Africa’s GDP, and its main stock exchange — has suffered severe water, power, and roads decline under unstable coalition governments, with 10 mayoral changes since 2016.

The city is currently run by an ANC-led coalition, while the DA hopes to win control in 2026 local elections.

Discovery CEO Adrian Gore said the initiative is about “execution, not policy,”

“There’s such a vast interest in the city as an economic hub — to see it decline is very, very problematic,” the report quoted Gore as saying.

Execution, not policy making

“This initiative in the partnership is specifically about execution, not policy making.”

In March, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed concern over Johannesburg’s deteriorating state, and called for urgent improvements in South Africa’s financial hub.

“Sometimes it’s good to be direct and say it as it is. I should say that 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,” he said.

At that time, Ramaphosa was in Johannesburg to assess the city’s readiness to host the G20 Summit in November 2025.

He said Johannesburg represented the nation’s success as the economic and cultural heartbeat of South Africa and said when the city struggles to overcome issues, it is felt across the country.

“Johannesburg today faces enormous challenges, ranging from financial and governance instability to rapidly deteriorating infrastructure. Water and electricity interruptions have become the norm. This has an enormous impact on the quality of life of citizens and the operations of businesses. The road infrastructure faces tremendous challenges. These include vandalism of traffic lights, dysfunctional street lights and rapidly deteriorating roads and bridges,” the president said during a meeting between the National Executive and the Johannesburg Executive Council on Friday.