The City of Johannesburg held a media briefing for the pre-budget speech at Constitutional Hill in Braamfontein. MMC of Finance Dada Merero is set to deliver the City of Joburg’s 2023 budget speech on Tuesday, following last week’s State of the City Address.

Speaker Collen Makhubele says it was unfortunate that the mayor took ill. At this point, he is well-rested and will resume work this week.

The budget speech is important when it comes to public interest. The city’s budget will demonstrate what it values, and it has mountains of challenges such as infrastructure, waste collection, and revenue collection. The speaker reinforced the importance of revenue collection, which will enable the city to deliver basic services to its residents. She further cites that we need to collect revenue despite the economic climate.

The city has witnessed countless motions of no confidence, which created instability in the city, increased protest action, and shifted focus from residents to coalition instability. Makhubele says if the budget isn’t approved on June 14, 2023, by the majority of council members in the chambers, it effectively means that the city has no money. This means we don’t have a city to run. Failure to approve this budget means the MEC must put the city under administration.

The MMC of Finance must meet the expectations of various political parties and address their concerns through the budget in order for it to be approved.