Joburg lost more than R10bn in water leaks and stolen electricity, Morero tells Scopa

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Jun 09, 2026 · 479 words · By Koena Mashale

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What to know about Joburg lost more than R10bn in water leaks and stolen electricity, Morero tells Scopa

Story audio is generated using AI The City of Johannesburg is grappling with more than R10bn in losses across its water, electricity and housing entities.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Story audio is generated using AI The City of Johannesburg is grappling with more than R10bn in losses across its water, electricity and housing entities.

Why it matters

This is according to mayor Dada Morero, who revealed this before parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday.

Common ground

Morero acknowledged deep-rooted financial and governance challenges but argued the metro was making progress in addressing them.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Joburg lost more than R10bn in water leaks and stolen electricity, Morero tells Scopa?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that collection rates had improved significantly, rising from 71% in January to 81% in February and 96.5% in March, before remaining above 90% in April?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-06-09-joburg-lost-more-than-r10bn-in-water-l…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 5

check_circle Corroborated 4

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

verified Verified 1

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Claim 1: “collection rates had improved significantly, rising from 71% in January to 81% in February and 96.5% in March, before remaining above 90% in April.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 2: “the city was removed from the JSE’s non-compliance list.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Web search results mention the JSE suspending City of Johannesburg bonds over financial failures, but there is no specific evidence provided in the results confirming the city was 'removed from the non-compliance list'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Johannesburg is a large city in Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was established as a small village controlled by a Health Committee in 1886 with the discovery of an outcrop of a gold reef on the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Johannesburg

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Johannesburg ( joh-HAN-iss-burg, US also -⁠HAHN-, Afrikaans: [jʊəˈɦanəsbœrχ] ; Xhosa: eGoli [ɛˈɡɔːli]; Zulu: iGoli [îˈɡóːli]), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "the City of Gold", is the most p…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The suburbs of Johannesburg are officially demarcated areas within the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. As in other Commonwealth countries, the term suburb refers to a "ne…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburbs_of_Johannesburg

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “the Johannesburg Tourism Company posted a R21.4m surplus.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding the Johannesburg Tourism Company's surplus.

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Claim 4: “The municipality received a qualified report”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results from PMG and other news sources confirm the Auditor-General (AGSA) gave the City of Johannesburg a qualified audit opinion.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branch…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Johannesburg_Metropoli…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality council consists of 270 city councilors elected by mixed-member proportional representation. The councillors are divided into two kinds: (a) 135 Ward…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Johannesburg_elections

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 5: “City Power’s total electricity losses stood at about 30%, with non-technical losses costing for about R4bn and technical losses accounting for R1.7bn.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources confirm the 30% total electricity loss, with R4bn in non-technical losses and R1.7bn in technical losses.

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 5, 2026 ... Mathiso says these initiatives not only benefit communities by improving energy infrastructure but also provide City Power with an additional ...
https://www.facebook.com/100057451667801/posts/city-power-su…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 14, 2026 ... ... loss Johannesburg City Power has lost about R5 billion of electricity purchased from Eskom. The latest Auditor General (AG)'s report for the ...
https://www.facebook.com/100057451667801/posts/citypowerupda…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 10, 2026 ... 8 billion. City Power recorded total electricity losses of 30%, comprising non-technical losses of R4 billion and technical losses of R1.7 ...
https://insidemetros.co.za/2026/06/10/joburg-faces-r8-billio…

info

Claim 6: “Joburg Market, which posted a R153m surplus and accounts for 43% of the national market share”

SINGLE SOURCE

Search results mention Joburg Market and Joburg Tourism, but do not provide the specific figures for the R153m surplus or the 43% national market share.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Johannesburg (/ dʒoʊˈhænɪsbɜːrɡ / joh-HAN-iss-burg, US also /- ˈhɑːn -/ -HAHN-, Afrikaans: [jʊəˈɦanəsbœrχ] ⓘ; Xhosa: eGoli [ɛˈɡɔːli]; Zulu: iGoli [îˈɡóːli]), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or " t…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannesburg

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jeppestown in 1888 Commissioner Street, circa. 1899 Johannesburg CBD in 2005 Johannesburg is a large city in Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was established as a small village controlled by a Hea…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Johannesburg

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web search NEUTRAL — About Joburg Experience the Ultimate Joburg Getaway! From its gold-rush roots to its current status as Africa's premier business and lifestyle tourist hub, Joburg is an African contemporary city that'…
https://visit.joburg/about-joburg/

verified

Claim 7: “mayor Dada Morero, who revealed this before parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday.”

VERIFIED

Wikipedia confirms Dada Morero is the Mayor of Johannesburg. Web search results explicitly mention him testifying/speaking before a parliamentary committee regarding audit failures and losses.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 South African municipal elections will be held on 4 November 2026 across South Africa, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_South_African_municipal_e…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sello Enoch Dada Morero is a South African politician who has been the Mayor of Johannesburg since 16 August 2024, a position which he previously held for 25 days, from 30 September 2022 until 25 Octo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dada_Morero

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “the Johannesburg Social Housing Company, which is carrying a deficit of about R559m.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While one search result mentions the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) in an oversight report, the specific deficit figure of R559m is not corroborated by other independent sources in the provided evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mar 15, 2024 ... the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) for inclusion in the oversight report on the annual report for the 2022/23 financial year ...
https://joburg.org.za/documents_/Documents/Oversight-report-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Jul 18, 2025 ... The Keetmanshoop Municipality has accumulated losses totalling N$77 million over the past three years, while its liabilities exceed its ...
https://www.facebook.com/NBCDigitalNews/posts/the-keetmansho…

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 31, 2023 ... The accountability of our ESG strategy and reporting is part of the Social,. Sustainability and Ethics Committee's mandate. The Executive ...
https://www.absa.africa/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/2022-Absa…

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Claim 9: “accumulated balances had declined from R23bn to R15.3bn.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “Joburg Water was facing losses of 44.7% due to leaks, amounting to about R3.8bn.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web sources explicitly state that Joburg Water faced losses of 44.7% due to leaks, amounting to approximately R3.8 billion.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Crime in South Africa includes all violent and non-violent crimes that take place in the country of South Africa, or otherwise within its jurisdiction. When compared to other countries, South Africa h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_South_Africa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — WeBuyCars (officially We Buy Cars Holdings Ltd, and sometimes stylized in lowercase) is a South African non-manufacturing automotive company. Founded in 2001, the company is headquartered in Centurion…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WeBuyCars

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 11: “new unauthorised expenditure remains at about R9bn per annum”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 12: “the Johannesburg Property Company, which had a R114m surplus”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding the Johannesburg Property Company's surplus.

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Claim 13: “finance minister Enoch Godongwana... raised concerns that Joburg had passed an unfunded adjustments budget, overestimated its revenue projections, and signed an unaffordable R10.3bn wage agreement”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 14: “new irregular expenditure is about R3.7bn.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 15: “The City of Johannesburg is grappling with more than R10bn in losses across its water, electricity and housing entities.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that Mayor Morero reported losses exceeding R10bn across water and electricity entities (specifically R3.8bn for water and R5.7bn for electricity).

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Vathasallum "Vivian" Reddy (born 22 February 1953) is a South African businessman from KwaZulu-Natal. He is the founder and chairperson of the Edison Power Group, an electrical company, and he also ha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Reddy

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Daniel Zola Mahobe (1954 – 14 December 2013) was a South African businessman and former owner of Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. from 1985 to 1988. Mahobe played a pivotal role in transforming Mamelodi Sundown…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zola_Mahobe

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.