Johannesburg, once a glittering magnet that attracted people from across the world in search of better opportunities, is now a city mired in neglect.

A recent series of posts by @jozivsjozi on X captures the stark contrast between Johannesburg’s past and present. These comparative images, taken 10 to 15 years apart, tell a stark story of a city in rapid decline.

The city’s administration has failed to maintain even the most basic elements of urban management. This inability to get simple things right spells disaster for Johannesburg’s future, and for the people who live and work here.

In urban governance, there are simple tasks, those mundane actions that keep a city functional. For Johannesburg, these tasks include keeping the roadside kerbs clear of weeds and debris, painting road markings, maintaining street name signs, collecting litter, and ensuring that public spaces are clean and inviting.

These are not monumental undertakings. They are basic responsibilities that can be attended to by willing men and women equipped with shovels, some buckets of paint, and some rubbish bags. When even such simple tasks are left undone, this signals a broader failure of governance and bylaw enforcement.

The leadership of the City of Johannesburg has shown itself incapable of handling even these simple duties. The photos posted by @jozivsjozi show pavements overgrown with weeds, disappearing road markings, and streets littered with trash everywhere. The visible neglect of public spaces reflects an administration that has lost its grip on the fundamentals of urban management.

If the basics are beyond the city’s reach, what hope is there for the more complex challenges?

The same administration responsible for allowing weeds to sprout through cracked pavements is also tasked with maintaining Johannesburg’s drinking water systems, water purification plants, and electricity distribution grids. These systems require a higher level of competence and oversight, yet the same officials who cannot keep street name signs upright are entrusted with preventing large-scale infrastructural failure.

Is it any wonder, then, that Johannesburg’s water supply is plagued by outages, that overflowing manholes spew sewage into the streets and rivers, that purification plants malfunction, or that the electricity grid is crumbling under the strain of neglect?

The implications of this failure are vast. An administration that cannot maintain its infrastructure is an administration that cannot inspire confidence. And in today’s global economy, confidence is critical.

Investors looking at Johannesburg today see a city unable to manage itself. The overgrown pavements and uncollected rubbish are not just eyesores. They are red flags, warning potential investors that the city’s leadership is not up to the task of providing a stable, predictable business environment.

Investors are not just deterred by the obvious signs of neglect. They understand that the inability to perform basic tasks is a symptom of deeper dysfunction. If the city cannot keep its roads painted, how can it be expected to maintain the sophisticated infrastructure that businesses rely on—electricity, water, transportation? This lack of trust has profound consequences. Without investment, the city’s economy will stagnate, and the promise of jobs will fade.

This is not just an abstract economic concern. It is a daily reality for the millions of people who call Johannesburg home. Unemployment remains high, and as investment continues to flee, the city becomes less able to generate the revenue needed to fix its problems. The failure to collect rates and taxes, combined with a shrinking tax base, means less money to address the very issues that are driving the city into decline. The vicious cycle of neglect, economic decline, and governance failure is tightening with every passing day.

Johannesburg’s future looks increasingly bleak. Unless the city’s administration can get the basics right, that future will slip further out of reach. Weeds on the roadside may seem like a minor issue, but they are emblematic of a deeper malaise. The administration’s failure to handle simple tasks is a clear sign that it is not equipped to deal with the complex problems that loom on the horizon. The consequences of this neglect are already being felt. They will only grow more severe if left unaddressed.

On assuming office, our latest mayor, Dada Morero of the ANC, said: “The people of Johannesburg have tasked us with basic duties of ensuring that water comes out of their taps, lights come on, waste is collected, traffic lights work, buses operate efficiently, and people live in safe communities – this is not too much to ask for.” Indeed it is not, but our leaders do no more than pay lip service to these basic requirements, as this evidence shows.

It is time for residents to become more assertive in their relationship with the city management. Even while the city is falling apart, the mayor and the members of the mayoral committee are nowhere to be seen. It is a sign of disrespect towards voters and residents. Where we come across these politicians in public, we should ask them to justify their underperformance and explain how they are going to address it. And while they think about it, we the residents will have to do their jobs to hold the city together, through our own efforts, our residents’ associations, our community organisations, our civil society organisations.

Johannesburg’s residents deserve better than a city that cannot keep its streets clean or its infrastructure functional. The decline of the past 10 to 15 years is clear for all to see. It is up to the city’s leadership to reverse this trend before it is too late. But if they cannot handle the small things, how can we expect them to fix the big ones?

In 2026, voters will have the chance to elect a new city leadership. They should study the @jozivsjozi photos carefully before entering the polling booth. And then vote accordingly.

John Endres is CEO of the Institute of Race Relations