Is Joburg dead? She isn’t, but there’s enough evidence to conclude that she’s terminally ill.
The recent the fire at the hijacked Usindiso building (death toll over 75). The (methane gas?) explosion that ripped a scar 400m long in Lilian Ngoyi Street. Increasing and more erratic water and electricity shutdowns, for those only few who have access to this infrastructure at all...
I could go on, but the point is clear: Joburg is in serious trouble and with the Brics show over, it is back to stage 6 load-shedding too. Politicians, unable to fathom solutions to the actual problems, waste our time blaming each other, and outside forces and people. Enough of that. What can we do to salvage the city?
It’s going to be hard. A mandate of specifics must first be formulated, negotiated, agreed and then contracted between sufficient, somehow purposefully aligned, political parties to make it happen. Ideally such a grouping would constitute sufficient voting control (say two-thirds — I wish), to entrench and enforce what’s right, and change what is wrong in the governance structures.
Whoever is going to fix Joburg will need a path uncluttered by unnecessary procedural hindrances (there is no time). The objective: a functional city with the prospect of economic and social dignity for all who live in it. Everything must work, every day.
For any such plan of action to have a realistic chance of success there must be (conditional) security of tenure for at least three years, for those tasked with getting it done. Some of it will just be a slog. Most early effort won’t yield immediate, consumable fruit. This is what’s needed to get started:
- Fire (not suspend) the entire group of executive decisionmakers appointed by the current council structures — the speaker, all incumbent critical office-bearers, the lot (they can reapply if they’re good enough).
- Appoint the new boss. Look for best-practice examples of proven functional governance structures in successful, big system enterprises (whether in the public or private sector, local or international). Executive mayor or city manager — whatever — the title is less important than the authority and accountability the position must carry.
- Appoint a professional, apolitical team with the requisite skills and experience, people who can fix what’s broken and build what’ll last into the future (most of the right people likely won’t need and initially won’t want the job but could be persuaded to do it to save the city).
- Prioritise what needs to be done to first address the primal socioeconomic needs for survival and provide foundations for future prosperity.
- Get the money. Develop a fit-for-purpose capital allocation model (founded in established financial axioms) attracting, as it must do, various sources and forms of capital, ranging through government funding to international aid and impact investing, bank debt, citizen funding and a chunk of private sector equity. The weighted cost of capital that emerges will provide further guidance to priority setting. Citizens (if faith can be restored in the governance and execution structures) may also be willing to provide funding (a secured citizens municipal bond, or prepayments, perhaps), as long as this is temporary, and repaid.
For so long as appointed teams remain within the borders of their mandates and are incrementally, measurably and definitely heading towards their defined destinations within the allotted time, leave them alone to get on with it. Some of this may seem mission impossible given all the established vested interests, entrenched inequality and corruption, but that can’t be allowed to stop us.
Joburg is facing an existential crisis — the threat is clear and present. As intelligent human beings we are able to anticipate and extrapolate. You’d have to be a complete idiot not to see the crash we’re heading towards. In the name of its (and our very own) survival, let’s set aside our differences, egos and party loyalties.
Would I put my hand up? Hell, yes!
• Barnes is an investment banker with more than 35 years’ experience in various capacities in the financial sector.
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