City of Joburg Spends R586k on Brazil Trip for 2 Officials Amid Financial Crisis

• The City of Johannesburg spent nearly R586,000 to fly two officials to a four-day AIDS conference in Brazil amid a financial and service delivery crisis
• Councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku raised questions about the trip, particularly why the MMC for Economic Development attended an AIDS conference
• Kayser-Echeozonjoku has called on Mayor Dada Morero to account for the expenditure and provide full details on approvals and funding sources

GAUTENG — The City of Johannesburg is facing sharp scrutiny after documents revealed it spent R585,831.92 to send two senior officials to a four-day AIDS conference in Brazil, with an additional R31,032.12 paid out in combined subsistence allowances.

A report from Newsday indicated that the officials who made the trip were the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Economic Development and the MMC for Health. The total expenditure comes at a time when the municipality is under pressure from National Treasury over its equitable share allocation and continues to grapple with widespread service delivery failures.

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Councillor questions Brazil trip relevance

Johannesburg councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku raised the alarm after obtaining documents detailing the costs. She described the trip as "extravagant international travel" and questioned the logic of sending the MMC for Economic Development to a health-focused conference while the city battles mounting financial difficulties.

"We question the relevance of this trip and why residents must fund international travel during a financial and service delivery crisis," Kayser-Echeozonjoku said.

Her concerns extend to the source of the funding, whether the expenditure complied with government cost-containment measures, and what official approvals were granted before the trip was authorised.

Morero called to account

Kayser-Echeozonjoku has directed her questions at Mayor Dada Morero, calling on him to justify the spending publicly. She is seeking a full breakdown of the trip, including the approval chain and which budget line was used to cover the costs.

Johannesburg has been contending with prolonged power outages, water infrastructure failures, and disruptions to municipal services linked to non-payment. The city's financial position has drawn intervention from National Treasury, making the timing and scale of the international travel a point of contention for the councillor.

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Kayser-Echeozonjoku argued the expenditure exposed a disconnect between the city's stated priorities and how public funds were being used, particularly when residents continue to bear the brunt of deteriorating services.

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City faces financial crunch

In related news, the City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero publicly warned that the metro has approximately 12 days of cash reserves remaining, raising urgent questions about the financial health of South Africa's largest city.The mayor acknowledged the severity of the situation but sought to reassure residents that relief is imminent. He said the city is expecting an equitable share transfer from National Treasury as early as next week, which will be used to settle outstanding accounts with Eskom and Rand Water.

Joburg cannot fix derelict buildings

Briefly News also reported that the City of Johannesburg has admitted that it lacks the resources to provide alternative accommodation for residents currently living in derelict and hijacked buildings. This financial constraint has stalled the municipality's plans to clean up and upgrade the inner city, which requires rehousing current occupants before any rebuilding can take place.

Source: Briefly News