Why Johannesburg's crumbling infrastructure is driving wealthy residents away

Crumbling infrastructure in Gauteng, particularly in Johannesburg, is driving wealthy residents to seek better living conditions elsewhere.

A draft medium-term budget released by the City of Johannesburg for the upcoming financial year indicates minimal increases in funding for three key units grappling with severe infrastructure issues.

The proposed budget for 2025/26 allocates only a 13% increase in spending for City Power and the same percentage for Johannesburg Water, while the Johannesburg Roads Agency is set to receive a mere 2% increase in its budget.

Johannesburg is seemingly battling with endless water and power outages, some of which last for days on end, while some of the multitude of potholes are large enough to write off a car.

While “infrastructure development” is among the City’s priorities, Henley & Partners’ recently released Africa Wealth Report for 2025 shows that the number of high-net-worth individuals living in the financial capital of South Africa has been decreasing.

This, said Berry Everitt, CEO of the Chas Everitt International property group, is because there is a steady decline in quality of life for residents in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

“Unfortunately, the quality of life for residents of Johannesburg and Pretoria has continued to decline in the past year owing to deteriorating transport, electricity and water infrastructures, poor municipal management and relatively high crime levels,” said Everitt.

The report found that the number of millionaires in Johannesburg had dropped 35% year-over-year, while Pretoria had seen a decline of 15%. Cape Town, however, was up 33% and the Winelands had an astonishing 42% gain.

The Garden Route was also a winner, with a 30% increase in the number of millionaires.

Everitt said that, as a result, it’s not surprising that prime property prices in Central Sandton are stagnating while those in Cape Town, on a comparable square meterage basis, have soared over the past five years.

“This has also led to new residential development in Johannesburg being largely restricted, currently, to the conversion of under-utilised office blocks and office parks into rental apartments, while Cape Town enjoys a development boom that is bringing hundreds of new, upmarket housing options to the market,” said Everitt.

Everitt added, however, that it was worth noting that Johannesburg does have several things in its favour, including one of the best climates in the world and much lower prices for luxury properties.

“It also remains the home of most of South Africa’s blue-chip companies and is regarded by an increasing number of local and foreign investors as a good launchpad for businesses targeting Africa’s new and lucrative markets,” said Everitt.

“Consequently, it very much meets the second key relocation driver – fresh business opportunity - and may well manage to hang on to its position as Africa’s wealthiest city in the years ahead if local authorities can follow through on their recently-begun renewal activities,” he added.

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