Johannesburg is running out of steam – and the cracks are showing

South Africa's economic heartland, Johannesburg, is disassembling.

Johannesburg remains one of the most important parts of South Africa's economy, but the city is facing mounting pressure from deteriorating infrastructure, financial constraints, weak service delivery and political instability.

That is the assessment of the Centre for Development and Enterprise, which has launched a Johannesburg Matters series examining the challenges facing the country's economic hub.

The CDE said Johannesburg hosts about 70% of South Africa's company head offices and accounts for 21.8% of personal income tax collected nationally. About 11% of the country's jobs are located in the city, with 1.91 million people employed there.

"Johannesburg's multiplying crises are no longer simply a local government problem. South Africa cannot restore growth, expand opportunity and attract investment while Johannesburg continues its disastrous decline," the CDE said.