Johannesburg – DA Joburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille has claimed that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has effectively declared the City of Johannesburg bankrupt in a leaked letter addressed to Mayor Dada Morero.
According to Zille, the letter stated that Johannesburg owes creditors R25.2 billion while holding only R3.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents, leaving a shortfall of R21.3 billion.
BREAKING: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana sends a scathing letting to Jhb Mayor, Dada Morero.
Some key issues / concerns from Treasury:
“The adjustments budget was assessed by National Treasury to be unfunded; revenue collection was overstated while expenditure was… pic.twitter.com/XtQUh9nXYl
— Katy Katopodis (@KatyKatopodis) May 6, 2026
Zille said the financial crisis was “the core reason” behind the city’s worsening infrastructure failures, including ongoing power and water outages and declining service delivery.
“This is the core reason behind the city’s inability to repair or maintain infrastructure, leading to consistent power and water outages and the failure to fix breakdowns, resulting in the steady collapse of service provision across the board,” Zille said.
She further alleged that Godongwana warned the city had violated municipal finance laws and engaged in actions with the “potential to destroy the sustainability of the City of Joburg”.
🚨‼️ In a leaked letter dated 23 April, the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana formally declared Johannesburg to be in severe financial distress.
In the letter, he ordered the Mayor to explain how the massive SAMWU R10 billion wage deal will be paid for. This is the same wage… pic.twitter.com/e1xrRh2A36
— Zille for Mayor (@HelenZille4Jozi) May 6, 2026
The minister reportedly warned that National Treasury could invoke Section 216(2) of the Constitution and withhold more than R8 billion in funding if the situation was not urgently addressed.
Zille also highlighted several recent financial setbacks facing the city, including the suspension of Johannesburg’s bonds by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, a possible credit downgrade by Moody’s, and the rejection of a R2.5 billion loan request by the Agence Française de Développement.
She said the DA had warned for years that the metro was heading toward a financial crisis and vowed to pursue accountability against councillors who supported allegedly unlawful financial decisions.
“Joburg is bankrupt”, says Democratic Alliance’s Joburg mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, citing a letter from Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, blaming the city’s financial collapse on its own unlawful decisions. Tune in to #eNCA, channel #DStv403. pic.twitter.com/C7GSZUMXYC
— eNCA (@eNCA) May 6, 2026
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
