ADRIAN SAVILLE: Jozi vs Singapore

When I arrived in Singapore on a business trip in early November, I cleared immigration in less than a minute using a digital certificate and facial recognition. I got a SIM card with hyper-fast, cheap data in minutes. And as I safely walked in the streets early each morning, I was struck by the wide, clean sidewalks and glimmering buildings. It brought into sharp contrast the condition of the city I had flown in from. 

Jozi vs Jozi (@jozivsjozi) is the X (Twitter) version of a road accident that attracts your gaze almost against your will. The account made its first post on September 29, and it now has more than 36,000 followers. Its model is simple: find a photograph of somewhere in Joburg from a decade or two ago, then post it alongside a recent photo of the exact same spot.

The result is as staggering as it is sad. Only a decade ago — the blink of an eye in the life of a city — Joburg looked in decent condition. Even in 2014 this was a city facing all the challenges we know well in South Africa — endemic inequality, inadequate infrastructure, high unemployment and more. But things were holding together.

By the early 2020s, as the photos on Jozi vs Jozi show in disturbing focus, the city’s public spaces and infrastructure seem increasingly dilapidated. Some grand designs are boarded up. Trash, potholes, water leaks and weeds are the norm.

But, as hopeless as it seems, Singapore reminds me that Joburg is redeemable.   

The same but different

Joburg and Singapore are almost identical in one way. Both are home to a population approaching 6-million.

Joburg can boast several advantages over Singapore. Mineral deposits and vast swathes of land are two examples. If we go back to 1959, when Lee Kuan Yew became Singapore’s prime minister, Joburgers were wealthier than Singaporeans. At the time, South Africa’s GDP per person was $530; Singapore’s was $428.

But what a difference a few decades make. Lee implemented a suite of strategies that included, among other things, empowering and enabling state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and eliminating corruption.

To put these policies into action, Singapore established robust institutions, including the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, whose mandate was to investigate and prosecute corruption cases with three driving commitments: to be scrupulous, thorough and fearless.

Additionally, Lee focused on building a competent and efficient civil service. He introduced competitive salaries for public officials to reduce the temptation of corruption, and implemented rigorous performance evaluations. The government also invested heavily in education and training for the civil service.

Singapore’s SOEs then went on to play a crucial role in the country’s economic development. For instance, Temasek Holdings, established in 1974, became a successful investment company that manages state assets efficiently and transparently. Another example is the Housing & Development Board, which transformed Singapore’s housing sector by providing affordable and high-quality public housing. Singapore’s post office company, SingPost, is profitable and listed on the stock market, and boasts the Chinese giant Alibaba as a major shareholder.

Life expectancy in Singapore increased from 65 years in 1960 to 83 years in 2021, and its GDP per capita stood at $84,000 in 2023 — ranking Singapore among the highest in the world. The country consistently ranks high on global happiness and quality of life indices, reflecting the overall wellbeing of its citizens.

From Jozi to Singapore

Even if Jozi is better endowed than Singapore — including land mass and commodities — these count for nothing if you don’t have policies, institutions, accountability and action. So, where do we start?

Look at the template set by former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Her 150-day plan, begun at the time of her inauguration, included 85 simple but actionable projects, such as restoring power and water to parts of Monrovia, repairing damaged schools and clinics and mending roads. After 150 days she reported a 75% success rate on targeted projects. Rapid, tangible wins.

While we want Joburg to hit the heights of Singapore, this is an elephant to eat one bite at a time. Nothing is stopping us embodying Johnson Sirleaf’s or Lee’s spirit. Choose one small problem on your street or at a local school, identify how to solve it, and act. If just a handful of the 5.6-million of us have a 75% success rate, we’ll be a city on our way. Jozi is watching, a city is waiting.

* Saville holds a professorship in economics, finance & strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, where he is the founding director of the Centre for African Management & Markets