Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda opened his State of the City Address (SOCA) with a joke, saying that he was a resilient man, "and the city manager is a resilient man".
Last week, two arrest warrants were issued for Floyd Brink, the City of Johannesburg's accounting officer, because the City was in breach of a court interdict forbidding it from cutting services to a business amid an ongoing billing dispute.
Gwamanda said: "I dare say that Johannesburg is a resilient city because it is known for its ability to navigate through crises and its capacity to adapt and succeed in the face of constant disruption. We are confronted with a constantly changing environment characterised by rapid urbanisation, inward migration, economic exclusion and soaring inequality."