The City of Johannesburg has failed to pay for its firewall licensing services since September 2024. This lapse could potentially affect vital systems in the metro, including billing services, emergency communications, and the protection of residents’ personal information. The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng condemns this negligence and calls for urgent action to mitigate risks to services and prevent a breach in cyber-attacks.
Last month, after nearly a year of non-payment, the city quietly transferred only 60% of the R19 million owed. It committed to paying the remaining 40% in two installments: the first 20% on 05 September 2025, and the second 20% in September 2026.
Despite this commitment, the City failed to pay the service provider on Friday, showing a lack of seriousness in resolving this debt and demonstrating the metro’s dishonesty in handling this situation.
The firewall services contract agreement included a 30% discount, provided that an upfront payment was made. However, the city has breached that agreement.
As things stand, it is unlikely that the outstanding amount will be paid in advance unless the city makes a deviation to avoid breaching the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), which prohibits advance payments for goods and services, as that would be an Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure.
The failure to pay has dire consequences: Should the service provider terminate their services and disable the firewall, the city would have to shut down its services and servers to prevent cyberattacks. This would severely affect service delivery to residents and cost the city the estimated R200 million it seeks to collect in daily revenue.
Late payments have now become a norm under Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s government, with no consequence management in place. On the receiving end are service providers who are left in limbo and residents caught in the crossfire of this ongoing governance failure.
The DA Gauteng has submitted questions to the MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo, demanding information on the firewall deal and the regrettable loss of the upfront discount. We will also refer the matter to the Auditor-General to investigate any irregularities in the handling of this contract.
The DA Caucus in Johannesburg will continue to expose every instance of financial recklessness and fight to have contract payments ring-fenced so that essential services like cybersecurity are never compromised again.
Johannesburg residents deserve leadership that pays its bills, honours its contracts, and protects residents from disruptions of critical services and personal information. Anything less is negligence of the highest order that must be strongly opposed.