Centre for Development and Enterprise

19/10/2026

CDE Conversations with the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Dada Morero.
Watch the conversation here:

Dada Morero is the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, a p...

19/10/2026

"There is no shortage of ethical codes, procurement rules, financial regulations or declarations of principle in South African government institutions.

"The problem is the gap between rules and outcomes," says Ann Bernstein, CDE executive director.

Reformers must assume that powerful interests, inside and outside the City's structures, will try to defeat new systems and policies.

"The dangers of more of the same for the next five years are immense. The November elections are an opportunity to put Johannesburg on a better path. Voters should seize it."

15/10/2026

CDE's 'Time for Action – Corruption in Joburg', the fifth report in the 'Johannesburg Matters' series, sets out ten immediate priorities.

The underlying principle is simple: Johannesburg needs institutions capable of functioning even when powerful people have an interest in defeating them.

14/10/2026

"We place Johannesburg as a severely compromised city with its institutions penetrated by organised crime," said Mark Shaw, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) executive director.

CDE's Time for Action – Corruption in Joburg, Report Five in the Johannesburg Matters: series, outlines how corruption deprives the city of resources and enables people to profit from dysfunction, while political, business and criminal interests intersect around local government.

"It erodes the trust of the residents," added Ayanda Ntsaluba, Discovery Limited Group executive director, who chaired the online launch of the report.

"You can't fix everything else without confronting crime and corruption," said Ann Bernstein, CDE executive director. "CDE believe that Johannesburg can break the cycle."

13/10/2026

The City's own anti-corruption capacity has been badly weakened.

The Group Forensic and Investigation Services (GFIS) was launched in November 2016 to provide effective fraud risk management. GFIS investigated over 6 000 cases involving transactions worth R35 billion, but faced sustained political pressure.

In June 2023, the City declared previous GFIS corruption probes and forensic findings "unlawful, null, and void".

"A forensic report gathering dust in an office is not an anti-corruption achievement," says Ann Bernstein, CDE executive director. "Investigations have to end in consequences."

'Time for Action – Corruption in Joburg' is the fifth report in CDE's 'Johannesburg Matters: Fixing South Africa's growth engine series'.

13/10/2026

Johannesburg needs radical transparency.

CDE's Time for Action – Corruption in Joburg, Report Five in the Johannesburg Matters series, sets out practical reforms to tackle corruption and strengthen accountability in the city, including more transparent appointments and public oversight of municipal procurement.

"Essentially, we're calling for merit appointments. What we need is radical transparency, says Ann Bernstein, CDE executive director.

13/10/2026

On 4 November, we vote again in the 7th local government elections.

But here's the question most people are too polite to ask: are we actually ready for what happens after?

Defend Our Democracy, together with CPLO, the Hanns Seidel Foundation, C.O.D.E and the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance, invites you to:

BEYOND THE X:A non-partisan evening of civil society, business, academic, grassroots and your, citizen voices diagnosing exactly that.

📅 Wed, 14 October 2026�🕕 18h00 for 18h30�📍 WeWork, Rosebank, JHB

SEATS ARE FILLING UP, SECURE YOURS NOW!

12/10/2026

Dada Morero in conversation with Ann Bernstein: What is at stake in Joburg on 4 November?

Ahead of the 2026 local government elections, the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) invites you to a conversation between CDE executive director Ann Bernstein and City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Dada Morero.

The discussion will explore the challenges facing Johannesburg, the state of its administration and the priorities for a new administration. It will also consider what is required to address the city’s multiple crises, restore effective governance, improve service delivery and strengthen the city’s economy.

Mayor Morero has held the position of Executive Mayor since August 2024. He previously served as the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Finance and is President of the Global Fund for Cities Development (FMDV). He holds a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from SOAS, University of London.

Event details

📅 Thursday, 15 October 2026

⏰ 5–6pm (SAST)

Register here: https://cde-org-za.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FDX_kfu9QgKgI6I-BR_62w

09/10/2026

Johannesburg's decline has been exacerbated by corruption that robs the City of the resources needed to maintain and expand infrastructure.
Those who benefit from failure have an interest in perpetuating it.

This is the warning put forward in Time for Action – Corruption in Joburg, the fifth report in CDE's Johannesburg Matters series.

"The diagnosis is stark," says CDE executive director Ann Bernstein. "Johannesburg is not suffering only from weak administration, poor maintenance or ordinary municipal incompetence. It has also developed a 'crime-council ecosystem' in which political, business and criminal interests intersect around the machinery of local government and benefit from dysfunction."

📄 Read the report here: https://cde.org.za/johannesburg-matters-time-for-action-corruption-in-joburg/

09/10/2026

CDE Conversations with the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille.

Watch the conversation here:

Helen Zille was in conversation with CDE executive director, Ann Be...