GOOD Statement by Matthew Cook ,
GOOD National Chairperson and City of Johannesburg Councillor
04 March 2025
The GOOD Party is shocked by the admission of Johannesburg Mayor, Dada Morero, that his so-called Government of Local Unity is prioritizing areas where diplomats and overseas guests will travel during the G20 summit. This comes at a time when service delivery has collapsed in the city and access to both water and electricity is a luxury. This statement shows the overall attitude of the City of Gold’s leadership.
While it is common practice the world over for cities to up their game during international conferences, the Mayor essentially admitted that the city was not up to standard. His exact words were, “we have prioritized certain routes within Johannesburg, which are G20 routes, to ensure that at least we can make them to be at the standard at which they should be. No potholes… no traffic signals that are not working”.
This highlights how the city has disregarded its basic mandate to provide basic infrastructure and services which allows safety, security and economic growth in Africa’s most economically significant city. In many parts of the world, such an admission would result in the mayor and his executive resigning, but instead the mayor has downplayed the issue as a “language issue”.
The GOOD Party believes that the language used was very clear, and that the administration should hang their heads in shame. We call on the city’s leaders to act with the humility which residents deserve. To ensure that not only the wealthy foreign diplomats and guests receive the basic services and infrastructure that is so desperately needed by everyday citizens.
In August 2024, Morero cautioned long-suffering residents “Do not expect major improvements while I’m in charge” — Apparently this is the only promise Morero plans on delivering on.
Politicians can no longer preside over the decay of our economic hub with such impunity.
Media enquiries: media@forgood.org.za