Partnerships, Not Politics: The Collaborative Path to Reviving Johannesburg

Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic powerhouse, stands at a critical crossroads. The city that once symbolized African prosperity and opportunity now grapples with crumbling infrastructure, failing water systems, and sewage flowing through both affluent suburbs and developing townships. As municipal services deteriorate, residents are taking matters into their own hands—organizing security patrols, cleaning streets, and repairing infrastructure themselves. The question echoing through the city’s corridors is whether traditional politics can still save Johannesburg, or if a new model of partnership between citizens, private sector, and government offers the only viable path forward.

The Visible Decline of Africa’s Economic Hub

Walking through Johannesburg today reveals a city in distress. Potholes scar major thoroughfares, water outages have become routine rather than exceptional, and the stench of raw sewage permeates neighborhoods that once thrived. The deterioration isn’t merely physical—it represents a collapse of trust between residents and their political leaders. After years of coalition instability, rotating mayors, and endless motions of no confidence, citizens have grown weary of political promises that consistently fail to materialize into tangible improvements.

Vuyiswa Ramokgopa, national chairperson of political party Rise Mzansi, acknowledges the depth of public frustration. “There has been, over the last 10 to 15 years, significant instability and disruption in the politics of the city, which has bred a level of distrust,” she explains. “Citizens rightfully feel frustrated and distrustful of politics in the city.” This sentiment resonates across economic divides, from Sandton’s skyscrapers to Soweto’s township streets.

The Rise of Citizen-Led Solutions

As municipal services falter, Johannesburg’s residents and businesses aren’t waiting for political salvation. Community-led initiatives have emerged as stopgap solutions to the city’s most pressing problems. Neighborhood watches have transformed into sophisticated security networks, residents’ associations organize regular clean-up campaigns, and in some areas, private companies directly maintain public infrastructure.

This grassroots movement raises fundamental questions about governance in the 21st century. Should citizens formally take over certain municipal functions? Or does this represent a dangerous privatization of essential services that should remain public responsibilities? Ramokgopa offers a nuanced perspective: “A government needs to be in partnership with the citizens. It’s not about the citizens taking on everything themselves. Because we pay rates, we make contributions to the city, and we deserve to have services delivered.”

Partnership Models That Work: Learning from Success Stories

Despite Johannesburg’s challenges, several partnership models demonstrate what’s possible when different sectors collaborate effectively. The City Improvement District (CID) program stands out as one of the most successful examples of public-private cooperation.

Braamfontein’s Renaissance

The transformation of Braamfontein from a neglected urban zone to a vibrant student and business hub illustrates the power of coordinated action. “Once we started to see more private investment in terms of better-quality private landlords in the area and more communication with the city and the formation of that city improvement district, it resulted in a visible improvement in the general look and feel of the area,” Ramokgopa notes. The district now boasts improved security, cleaner streets, and better coordination between government and private stakeholders.

Maboneng’s Mixed Legacy

The Maboneng Precinct, though experiencing recent challenges, once represented the potential of urban regeneration through partnership. At its peak, this collaboration between developers, artists, and city officials transformed derelict industrial buildings into a thriving cultural and residential district. While the project has faced setbacks, its initial success demonstrated how strategic partnerships can revitalize urban spaces that traditional municipal approaches had failed to rescue.

Beyond the City Center: Addressing Township Neglect

While improvement districts show promise in business areas, the partnership model faces different challenges in Johannesburg’s townships, where residents often feel completely abandoned by municipal authorities. The accusation that “politicians only pitch up when there are cameras and do nothing else” reflects deep-seated cynicism in communities that have seen countless empty promises.

Ramokgopa emphasizes that service delivery shouldn’t be determined by geography. “Whether you are in an upmarket area or a township, we need to still be delivering services at an equal level, and citizens still have a role to play.” She points to initiatives in Cosmo City, Noordgesig, and Orange Farm where communities identify illegal dumping sites, participate in clean-ups, and then maintain the areas, sometimes converting former dumping grounds into community gardens.

The Agricultural Partnership Model

One innovative approach involves transforming urban blight into agricultural opportunity. Through partnerships between community organizations and government departments, former illegal dumping sites become productive community gardens. “We get into an agreement that they maintain the area and in fact also convert some of these former illegal dumping sites into sites of agricultural production,” explains Ramokgopa, who leads Rise Mzansi’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Leadership Question: Local Talent vs. Imported Solutions

The recent suggestion that Helen Zille might become Johannesburg’s mayor sparked controversy about who should lead the city’s recovery. Ramokgopa voiced strong opposition to what she characterizes as “insulting to local capability.” Her objection highlights a fundamental tension in urban governance: should struggling cities look beyond their boundaries for leadership talent, or does sustainable recovery require leaders with deep local connections?

“Helen Zille is not a resident of Johannesburg and hasn’t been for many years,” Ramokgopa argues. “This idea that we have to export talent from somewhere else to come and fix and rescue the helpless residents of Johannesburg is inherently flawed. Johannesburg is the epicentre of human capital, of talent.”

Building a Cohort of Credible Leaders

The solution, according to Ramokgopa, lies not in finding a single savior but in developing “a cohort of leaders who can work together and also work with citizens to get the city moving again.” This approach emphasizes distributed leadership across mayoral committees, councilors, and community structures. “One individual cannot resolve that. What we need to do is ensure that we have a cohort of leaders in the city who are credible, who are competent. We know they are there.”

The Political Landscape: New Alliances for Change

Johannesburg’s political scene continues to evolve, with Rise Mzansi merging with the Good Party and Build One South Africa (Bosa) under the banner “Unite for Change.” This new coalition represents an attempt to move beyond traditional political divisions and focus on practical solutions. While Ramokgopa hasn’t declared herself as a mayoral candidate, she emphasizes the importance of leadership that “actually lives in the city, number one, running the city. But number two, of course, somebody who’s capable, who’s competent and who’s here for the long haul.”

The Way Forward: Principles for Effective Partnerships

Based on successful initiatives and lessons from past failures, several principles emerge for building effective partnerships to save Johannesburg:

Clear Role Definition

Successful partnerships require clarity about responsibilities. Government must deliver on its core functions, while citizens and businesses contribute where they add unique value. The partnership shouldn’t become an excuse for government to abdicate its fundamental responsibilities.

Sustainable Funding Models

Improvement districts and similar initiatives need reliable funding mechanisms that don’t overburden residents or businesses while ensuring long-term sustainability beyond political cycles.

Inclusive Planning

Partnership models must include mechanisms for meaningful community input, particularly from marginalized areas that have historically been excluded from decision-making processes.

Performance Measurement

Clear metrics and regular evaluation ensure that partnerships deliver tangible results rather than becoming talking shops or public relations exercises.

Conclusion: Rebuilding Trust Through Action

Johannesburg’s path to recovery won’t be quick or easy, but the growing consensus around partnership models offers hope. As Ramokgopa asserts, “It’s not too late to save Johannesburg and we need to fight for our city.” The fight she describes isn’t between political parties but rather a collective effort to rebuild what politics has fractured.

The city’s future may depend less on which party controls the mayor’s office and more on whether government, businesses, and citizens can forge a new social contract based on mutual responsibility and practical action. In a city weary of political promises, partnerships that deliver visible improvements—cleaner streets, functioning infrastructure, safer neighborhoods—may be the only way to restore the trust necessary for Johannesburg’s renaissance.

As residents continue to take matters into their own hands, the challenge for political leaders is to transform this grassroots energy into structured partnerships that can scale solutions across the entire city. The alternative—a patchwork of private services and citizen initiatives that leaves the poorest communities behind—would represent not recovery but the final surrender of the public realm.

Source: Adapted from original interview by Jeremy Maggs with Vuyiswa Ramokgopa on Moneyweb. Original article available here.