Johannesburg residents are entitled to ask a simple question: Are we getting value for our money? Recent reports suggest that Johannesburg spends about R21 billion — 25% of its R84 billion annual budget — on salaries. It has also come to light that 10 of the City’s 13 municipal entities pay their heads more than the R3.39 million annual upper limit applicable to senior managers under national government gazettes, although the City argues that municipal entities are not legally bound by those limits. Average executive pay across Joburg’s senior management has reportedly risen by about 26% since 2022, all while the city is falling apart.
The concern is not simply what executives earn. It is whether remuneration, performance and accountability are properly connected. Senior managers keep failing to meet performance targets, but keep earning massive salaries. The City reportedly declined to identify those managers or the departments they headed. It also confirmed that no senior manager’s remuneration had been withheld or clawed back because of poor performance. Johannesburg residents fund this administration. They have a right to demand transparency about how their money is spent and whether highly paid officials are delivering.
Free SA is calling on residents to make their voices heard and demand accountable, transparent and performance-driven municipal government.
Tell the City: High Salaries Must Come With High Accountability
Your submission:
I am concerned about the level of senior executive remuneration within the City of Johannesburg and its municipal entities, particularly in the context of ongoing financial pressure, infrastructure backlogs and service-delivery failures.
I support fair remuneration for competent public officials, but high remuneration must be accompanied by measurable performance, transparency and meaningful accountability.
I therefore call on the City of Johannesburg to disclose senior management remuneration and performance outcomes transparently; explain remuneration that exceeds relevant public-sector benchmarks; ensure performance assessments are completed and published timeously; take appropriate corrective action where senior officials repeatedly fail to meet agreed targets; and review the cost and effectiveness of the City’s municipal-entity and executive-management structures.
Johannesburg residents fund the City and its entities. We deserve to know whether our money is being used effectively and whether those entrusted with delivering essential services are meeting their obligations.
I ask the City to place the interests of residents, sustainable finances and reliable service delivery at the centre of its decisions.
Key concerns
The issue is bigger than individual salaries. It concerns whether Johannesburg’s governance structures are delivering value to the public.
Executive remuneration versus service delivery
Multi-million-rand executive packages are difficult to justify without clear evidence that performance and service-delivery obligations are being met.
Consequences for underperformance
Seven of 22 senior managers reportedly failed to meet their 2023/24 targets, while the City said remuneration had never been withheld or clawed back for poor performance.
Lack of transparency
The City’s refusal to identify the seven underperforming senior managers makes it harder for residents to determine which portfolios failed and who should be held accountable.
Financial sustainability
With R21 billion reportedly going to salaries while infrastructure backlogs and service failures persist, residents deserve evidence that every rand spent on senior management provides public value.
Free SA is calling for the City of Johannesburg and its municipal entities to put accountability before executive privilege. We are asking for full public disclosure of senior executive remuneration and performance outcomes; clear explanations where remuneration exceeds applicable public-sector benchmarks; timely completion and publication of performance assessments; meaningful corrective action where senior managers repeatedly fail agreed targets; and an independent review of Johannesburg’s municipal-entity structure, executive costs and opportunities to redirect savings towards frontline services and infrastructure.
Add your voice.
Through Free SA, Johannesburg residents can collectively demand answers about how public money is being spent and what residents are receiving in return. Submit your comments calling for greater transparency, stronger performance accountability and responsible use of municipal funds. Public participation gives residents an opportunity to place their concerns formally on the record rather than simply expressing frustration from the sidelines.
A Final submission will be made on 30 October 2026 to the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) and The Office of the Speaker
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