# The Centre for Development and Enterprise says the City of Johannesburg’s budget is increasingly disconnected from reality, noting the non-payment of rates and utility bills by residents. This is amid the metro’s lack of service delivery and failing infrastructure. The organisation’s latest report shows unpaid bills owed to Johannesburg rose from 15-billion-rand in 2014/2015 to nearly 72-billion-rand in 2024/2025. Meanwhile, employee-related costs rose by nine-percent over the last decade. The organisation says the metro needs to rebuild confidence in the accuracy of its billing and financial management.
Development centre warns that Joburg is falling into a dangerous financial spiral