Can SA list its cities?
It sounds like a solution to the country’s service delivery problems, but placing a whole metropolitan area in private ownership, or building one from scratch for the purpose, is probably not a workable plan here
It’s 2025, and shares in New Durban City have tumbled more than 15% on news that the metro is being investigated for accounting “irregularities”. Shareholders are demanding a speedy and thorough investigation — particularly seed investor Sanlam, which says it will sell its 7% stake if there is any evidence of corruption in Africa’s first publicly traded city. This sounds like the plot of a futuristic movie, but is entirely possible. The concept of a listed city came to the fore in October this year, when Saudi Arabia announced plans to develop a US$500bn megacity. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made headlines when he told Reuters that the metro would be floated on financial markets. The world’s first “capitalist city” would be revolutionary, the crown prince said, adding that “it’s as if you float the city of New York”. Klaus Kleinfeld, former chairman and CEO of Siemens, is leading the project. Naturally, it’s almost inconceivable that SA would follow in the oil-rich nation’s foo...
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