ActionSA councillor Nasiphi Moya, executive mayor of the city of Tshwane, used her state of the capital address on Thursday to announce six priority areas aimed at shaping the metro as an ideal investment and tourism destination.
Moya’s priority areas include financial stability and revenue enhancement; economic revitalisation and investment attraction; infrastructure development and service delivery acceleration; a safe and clean city; social services and community wellbeing; and strengthening governance and customer care.
The metro’s cash reserves were projected to reach R2.8bn in 2025/26, marking an important step towards financial stability, “with our liquidity coverage improving from 23 days to 43 days over the next two years”, Moya said.
“While there is more work to do, we are moving in the right direction. Our debtors’ book has also seen a meaningful reduction. In just one month, it dropped from R29.6bn to R25.58bn — a 13.56% decrease.”
Moya said this was due to stronger revenue collection and the implementation of targeted debt relief for residents who need it most.
The auditor-general’s report for the 2023/24 financial year gave the city a qualified audit opinion as in the previous year. Tshwane incurred R2.3bn in irregular expenditure in 2023/24, up from R1.9bn in the previous financial year.
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure was largely unchanged at R347m, while unauthorised expenditure increased from R423m to R2.1bn.
Moya, who succeeded DA councillor Cilliers Brink as mayor in October 2024, has been praised for her efforts to turn around a metro bogged down by service delivery challenges, high municipal debt, water and electricity outages and disparities in service delivery between affluent areas and townships, or informal settlements.
Investment in local government is seen as a key economic driver for SA to increase low levels of economic growth.
The Tshwane metro recently fired 67 officials in a sweeping crackdown on disastrous governance, reflecting the broader decay plaguing local government across the country. The metro has completed 180 forensic investigations, which led to 129 disciplinary cases and 39 criminal referrals.
On Thursday, Moya said the city’s Eskom debt had decreased by R1bn, from R6.66bn in November to R5.66bn as of March.
“This shows that when we act with discipline and purpose, we can honour our obligations — and build a more credible financial reputation,” she said.
“Finally, we are engaging closely with credit ratings agencies. While Moody’s now lists Tshwane as non-investment grade, we expect an updated credit opinion after a recent management review. Our aim is clear: to restore investor confidence in the capital city.”
Moya said the goal was to grow the city’s economy to 3.9% by 2029 through a newly developed economic revitalisation strategy that promotes investment, supports businesses and creates jobs.
The city was on track to exceed its R1.8bn target for new investments in the current financial year: “We do not seek to be the primary employer. Our role is to create an environment where businesses can thrive and create employment.”
The mayor said a critical part of the strategy was unlocking the economic potential of city-owned assets that had long been underutilised or left to deteriorate.
“These assets have the potential to drive economic activity if leveraged correctly. We are determined to get them working again.”
This includes repositioning the Wonderboom airport as a commercial hub for logistics and revenue enhancement; developing the Tshwane fresh produce market into a world-class market serving the agricultural economy; and reviving Tshwane’s events centre as a revenue-generating venue for national and international events.
The plan includes converting the Pretoria West power station into a “waste-to-energy facility” to reduce dependence on Eskom and improve the metro’s energy security.
Moya said when resuscitated, the Rooiwal power station would provide energy security for businesses and residents.
Moya’s administration has to date supported 761 SMMEs, 160 co-operatives and 399 youth-owned enterprises. Nearly 5,000 applications for spaza shops were received, with about 1,000 applicants already licensed.
It is envisaged that the economic revitalisation plan, if successfully implemented, would attract R17bn-R26bn in new investment by 2029, create 80,000 jobs in the formal and informal sectors, and accelerate gross value added growth to 3.3%-4.6%.
On fighting crime and corruption, the mayor said the multiparty government’s mayoral committee convenes monthly “executive audit tracking” meetings to oversee the metro’s progress in consequence management, as highlighted by the auditor-general in the city’s 2023/24 financial report.
In that regard, she said, two officials have been arrested by police for fraud, eight companies are being blacklisted, and an electrician in the energy & electricity department has been dismissed.
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