Neil Gopal, CEO of the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa), says the decision by the City of Johannesburg to slap an extra infrastructure levy on property developers is a sign of growing panic in municipalities because their coffers have run dry.

“I think there's a lot of panic out there. I think they've all run out of money and they're  now scrambling around trying to squeeze blood out of a rock,” says Gopal...