15 September 2026 | 10:00–11:30 SAST | Online webinar

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The Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) will host an online discussion on 15 September 2026 on the institutional and administrative reforms needed to improve the performance of the City of Johannesburg.

The event marks the launch of Kickstarting Delivery – Joburg’s Mission Critical Jobs, the third report in CDE’s Johannesburg Matters series. The series examines reforms that could be implemented by a new Johannesburg administration following the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections.

A central question for the discussion is how Johannesburg appoints, manages and holds accountable the people responsible for its key administrative and operational functions. This includes the appointment of senior officials, the criteria used to select them, the authority they have to carry out their responsibilities, and the relationship between political office-bearers and the municipal administration.

Ivor Chipkin will discuss findings from The Crisis of Johannesburg: An agenda for institutional reform, a New South Institute report commissioned by CDE as part of the Johannesburg Matters initiative. The report examines the institutional history of the metropolitan government since the creation of the unified City of Johannesburg in 2000, and argues that many of the city’s current difficulties are rooted in an unresolved relationship between political authority and professional administration.

It traces this relationship through the creation of municipally owned entities under iGoli 2002, changes to the authority of the city manager, the emergence of coalition government after 2016, instability in municipal entities, and the city’s long-running billing problems. It also proposes reforms to the appointment and authority of senior municipal officials, the governance of municipal entities and the oversight of service delivery.

The webinar will be chaired by Mteto Nyati. Ann Bernstein will present the findings and recommendations of CDE’s Kickstarting Delivery report, followed by Ivor Chipkin on NSI’s research. A question-and-answer session will follow.

Date: Tuesday, 15 September 2026
Time: 10:00–11:30 SAST
Format: Online