The City of Joburg is attempting to downplay a severe Telkom blackout involving landlines and cellphones across municipal departments, claiming that only cellphones are not working because of a âroutine service provider migrationâ while falsely insisting landlines are unaffected.

Addressing days of growing public frustration, the City broke its silence on Thursday, denying claims of non-payment and attributing the dead mobile lines to a contractual service provider roll-out.

âThe City of Johannesburg wishes to advise staff and residents that some officialsâ municipal mobile line services are currently experiencing temporary disruptions as a result of the contractual transition from one mobile service provider to another,â the City said in an official media release.

âThe disruption primarily affects selected direct mobile lines used by individual City officials. Importantly, the Cityâs primary landlines and customer-facing channels, including the Joburg Call Centre, Customer Service Centres and emergency contact services, remain operational and available to residents.â

However, direct testing conducted by Daily Maverick exposed a distinct operational split: while emergency dispatch lines (011 375) remain live, the metroâs primary administrative trunking network (011 407) â which connects the public, councillors, and senior municipal officials at Metro Centre and departmental desks â was completely unresponsive.

Dead lines, disconnect messages

Callers attempting to reach corporate lines across the 011 407 ranges were met only with dead lines and automated disconnect messages.

While the functional 011 375 emergency call centre allows the City to claim that public-facing channels are operational, the blackout across 011 407 administrative extensions leaves ward councillors and residents unable to escalate long-overdue infrastructure failures to regional management.

The City did not clarify what the âservice provider transitionâ means.

Inside council sources close to the matter indicate the total unpaid debt owed to Telkom could be as high as R40-million, accumulated over one year of non-payment, though the metroâs statement avoided addressing specific account balances.

Telkom has refused to comment on the cut-offs.

Group executive for corporate communications Batlile Phaladi said: âAs a matter of principle, Telkom does not comment publicly on its contractual, commercial, or operational dealings with individual customers.

âAll customer-related matters are managed directly between Telkom and the relevant customer through the appropriate governance and contractual channels.â

Civic and political backlash

The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) slammed the administrationâs persistent refusal to acknowledge the depth of its financial difficulties. JCA Coordinator Yunus Chamda warned that the operational freeze directly indicated systemic insolvency:

âThe JCA has repeatedly expressed concern over the financial health of the City of Joburg. Despite denials by the leadership, once a city is unable to pay for its day-to-day operational costs, it is a stark warning indicator that the finances are in a state of collapse.â

The Democratic Alliance in Johannesburg also condemned the administrationâs handling of the failure, warning that the silence placed an unfair burden on residents. In a statement on Thursday morning, DA Johannesburg caucus leader councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku confirmed that council-issued cellphones across departments went completely offline:

âThe DA is deeply concerned by reports that City of Johannesburg employees using Telkom-issued cellphones are currently unable to make or receive calls.

âThis will directly impact service delivery. Ward councillors rely on being able to escalate unresolved service delivery issues to managers when agreed turnaround times are exceeded. If officials cannot be reached, responses will be delayed and residents will suffer the consequences.

âWe are awaiting a response from the City following a query submitted yesterday by the chief whip and we expect urgent clarity on the cause of the problem and when communication will be restored.â

Samwu walkouts cripple operations

The Telkom breakdown comes on the back of other service delivery problems affecting residents who are already suffering from water and power outages following an unprotected strike and a labour dispute across key municipal entities.

At Johannesburg Water, South African Municipal Workersâ Union (Samwu) members have entered a second day of unprotected gatherings over the non-implementation of the R10.3-billion Politically Facilitated Agreement (PFA) wage deal.

The dispute erupted after regional union leaders were refused time off for a general meeting under the main collective agreement, resulting in a walkout that has left water depots running on skeleton staff. Johannesburg Water has warned residents to prepare for extended delays in repairing pipe bursts and clearing sewer blockages.

The operational breakdown is spreading to waste management. Ward 117 Councillor Tim Truluck warned that Pikitup collections faced severe secondary disruptions, advising households to prepare for compounding refuse backlogs over the coming days.

Compounding the refuse collapse is a secondary labour dispute involving casual workers and expanded public works participants who have shut down key Pikitup depots over unpaid stipends and expired contracts, preventing permanent crews and private contractors from dispatching collection trucks.

The labour unrest follows the National Treasuryâs initial decision to freeze Julyâs equitable-share allocation to Johannesburg over financial controls and mounting concerns over the cityâs ability to fund multibillion-rand wage settlements.

Essential numbers and guidance

In light of the severed administrative switchboards (011 407) and ongoing field disruptions, residents needing municipal assistance are advised to use specific operational channels:

• Life-threatening emergencies:Dial the functional emergency dispatch line directly on 011 375 5911.
• Logging service faults:(water, electricity, sewer, traffic signals) Call the central Joburg Call Centre on 0860 56 28 74 (0860 JOBURG). Use the e-Joburg portal at www.e-joburg.org.za or official City of Johannesburg social media platforms to log breakdowns digitally.
• Billing and account matters:Manage account payments and view statements via www.e-joburg.org.za or visit a local customer service centre in person.
• Refuse collection tip:Keep wheelie bins secured inside property boundaries until active Pikitup collection crews are physically spotted on your street to prevent overflowing litter during labour backlogs.

Neither the City of Johannesburg nor Samwu responded before publication to queries on the ongoing labour disputes. DM