Johannesburg’s financial position is improving, Morero says

The City of Johannesburg’s finances are improving and South Africa’s commercial capital now has 16 days of cash on hand to cover costs, according to its mayor.

The metro, beset by collapsing infrastructure, is grappling with a fiscal crisis, partly due to chronic mismanagement and difficulty collecting revenue from ratepayers, leaving it unable to pay its bills.

It entered the financial year starting July 1 with an unfunded budget gap of about R2.1 billion and projected an overall deficit of R7 billion.

“In the last three months, we have been able to increase our collection rate, meaning our financial position is beginning to look better,” mayor Dada Morero said in a SAfm radio interview on Monday.

The city now has 16 days of cash on hand to cover costs, compared with 14 days last month, and is working toward the National Treasury’s minimum 30-day benchmark, he said.

The country’s biggest