Decades of underinvestment, weak policy continuity, and leadership turnover have left Johannesburg struggling to reverse deepening social and infrastructure decline. Johannesburg stands at a crossroads: a city that was once South Africa’s economic powerhouse is dealing with a polycrisis that has left residents questioning whether the city of gold has lost its shine. A rapid research paper by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) paints a stark picture of the city’s current demographic, economic, social, spatial and infrastructure conditions.
The report, prepared at the request of the Presidency ahead of intergovernmental engagements earlier in 2025, finds that a convergence of crises is driving “a sustained decline in performance, service delivery, public trust and quality of life” in Africa’s biggest urban economy. Johannesburg, home to more thanfive million people, remains the country’s most significant urban economy, but growth has stagnated. Real gross value added – the average economic output – per person is no higher than two decades ago.
Unemployment exceeds the national average with even higher rates when discouraged workers are counted, and economic activity has become increasingly uneven across the metro. For ordinary residents, the report’s dry data reflects daily frustrations with basic services. Satisfaction with water and electricity supply has dropped sharply as interruptions unrelated to scheduled loadshedding have surged in recent years.
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“While access topiped water and adequate sanitationremains high, satisfaction with these services has declined sharply due to increasing interruptions and reliability problems,” the report stated. The reality on the ground is that many Joburg households are all too familiar with burst water pipes and periods without running water, often for hours or days, as ageing infrastructure struggles to keep up with demand. Frequent leaks and burstshave become so commonplace that residents routinely plan their days around uncertain water supplies.
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