ActionSA vehemently rejects the Budget by the Finance MMC, Clir Loyiso Masuku that offers nothing new to the residents of Joburg. Today’s 97.4 billion budget is far from addressing the lived experience of the downtrodden and the center class.
The 2026/27 budget continues to prioritise service delivery and infrastructure investment commitments that have been repeatedly made in previous budgets. Yet across Johannesburg, communities are still experiencing water interruptions and sewer spillages.
Residents face frequent electricity disruptions Roads are deteriorating, and waste collection remains inconsistent, this demonstrates not a lack of planning, but a failure of execution. ActionSA therefore views this budget as another repetition of commitments without consequence for non-delivery.
ActionSA has warned the city about its reckless financial management coupled with unjustified loans which exacerbate the city’s financial woes.
This was reaffirmed by the finance minister Enoch Godongwana who not in many wards, cautioned the city of finance mismanagement. ActionSA will never be party to self-congratulatory budget speech that neglect the needs of the poor
ActionSA supports targeted relief for vulnerable residents. However, many qualifying households remain excluded due to bureaucratic barriers.
Economic hardship has deepened significantly while youth unemployment remains unacceptably high, and all these did not find expression in the Finance MMC’s speech. ActionSA believes the city must move beyond rhetoric and ensure a simplified access to indigent support and expanded employment programmes with real outcomes
ActionSA has in the past presented pragmatic solution for the viable city and financial stable administration, but as the norm with the current administration, our proposal has been disregarded.
We have categorically state that any budget that will not address the following issues will not be entertained:
- Removal of the electricity surcharge
- Insourcing of Security officials and cleaners
- Robust city rejuvenation plan
- Present sound and effective revenue collection plan
- Informal traders and the local economy
- Restoring the rule of law
The City of Johannesburg’s infrastructure is deteriorating at an alarming rate, yet there appears to be insufficient urgency to address this crisis. The city is grappling with a severe water crisis, and faces an infrastructure backlog exceeding R27 billion, while the entity continues to be underfunded.
While progress has been made on the inner-city rejuvenation, we strongly believe this project must be prioritised in the city’s budget. If implemented with precision, the city has the potential to generate much-needed revenue through the reclamation of hijacked buildings.
This budget failed yet again to address the major expenditure within the city; we have in the past warned the city to address the employee costs, bulk purchases especially electricity and contracted services.
As a result, we continue calling for:
Fast-track the Institutional Review: The city’s continued failure to complete its institutional review and eliminate overlapping municipal entities has caused unnecessary waste, duplicated work, and serious gaps in accountability. ActionSA strongly believes that some entities must be abolished and merged to avoid wasteful expenditure. Control Unsustainable Personnel Costs such as staff costs that consume bulk oof the budget.
ActionSA remain committed to the concept of fixing the City of Johannesburg, the city that will prioritise the residents, restore the rule of law and address illegal immigration. We are rejecting this budget based on principles as opposed to political gimmicks.
ActionSA Social Justice: Advocates for “Social Justice” over traditional BEE.
Nessie Pork
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”
Moon Peaches
Fun South African Fact: For an unforgettable bucket-list activity, search for the famous Big 5 (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) on safari in one of South Africa’s national parks or private game reserves. A South African safari is an experience like no other!