Gauteng is seeing rapid migration into its three metros, Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, placing mounting pressure on service delivery and exposing large infrastructure gaps, according to the latest provincial economic review.
Despite its small geographic footprint, Gauteng remains SA’s employment hub, contributing a third of the country’s GDP. It also contributes more than 10% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, making it a crucial hub for financial, manufacturing, transport, technology and telecom sectors.
According to the Municipal Economic Review and Outlook (MERO) report, the province’s status as an economic hub has attracted domestic and international migrants, outpacing local capacity to maintain and expand services.
Johannesburg, with its financial and logistics hubs, and Tshwane, home to a broad base of public-sector jobs and a growing automotive sector, remained top destinations.
Ekurhuleni, anchored by its large manufacturing base, also faced surging demand for housing and basic services.
In the City of Tshwane, MERO data showed that informal dwellings increased by 8.3% in 2018-23. Water service interruptions were reported by nearly 47.3% of households in 2022, the highest among the three metros.
Flush toilet access was also lower in Tshwane, with 81.5% of households, compared with the provincial average of 85.8%, and refuse removal rates lagged behind neighbouring metros.
“This rise can be attributed to urbanisation and migration to the metro for economic opportunities. High unemployment and income inequality may have also made it difficult for residents to transition to formal housing options,” the report said.
“Ekurhuleni, with its strong manufacturing and logistics base, also struggles with rising demand for water and electricity as informal settlements grow. This migration-driven pressure leads to ongoing backlogs in water and sanitation provision and slows service delivery in lower-income areas.”
In Johannesburg, the report showed that 93.6% of households have electricity, but rapid growth and load-shedding have worsened power cuts across the city.
“Access to water has increased from 92.3% to 94.8%, due to investments in water supply systems and infrastructure maintenance. However, on a regular basis, households grapple with intermittent water supply, often going days without consistent access,” the report read.
“A sizeable portion of the population still lacks the capacity or means to access or fully benefit from these services. This issue can be attributed to factors such as increasing inward migration, rapid urbanisation, and the associated growth in the number of households requiring services.”
This is as provincial growth was projected to only inch up to 0.7% in 2025 and 1.2% by 2026.
“When compared to other major metropolitan areas in Gauteng, the CoT [City of Tshwane] shows moderate but stable growth prospects.”
“In contrast, the West Rand and CoE [City of Ekurhuleni] are projected to have higher growth rates for 2024-26, ranging from 1.5% to 2.5%. Meanwhile, the CoJ [City of Joburg] and Sedibeng are expected to experience lower growth rates of 0.5% to 1% over the same period,” said the report.
Speaking at the launch of the report on Monday, MEC for finance & economic development Lebogang Maile said the report would be used for evidence-based planning and policymaking, aligning with the Grow Gauteng Together 2030 strategy.
Malle said this would involve looking at social economic indicators such as population statistics, poverty, inequality and unemployment, as well as health, education, access to housing and crime.
“Understanding these issues at the statistical level is important, not only for the government, but for the private sector and investors as well,” he said.
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