THIS IS A FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL OF JOBURG-THE REPAIR AND REBUILD HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN
| The last two-months have been a volatile time for the City of Johannesburg and its residents, who elected us to serve. As the Multi-Party Government and Coalition made up of the Democratic Alliance, ActionSA, Freedom Front Plus, Inkatha Freedom Party, African Christian Democratic Party, and the United Independent Movement we have been incensed by the ongoing frenzied attempt to remove this duly elected government. Over the last two-months, Joburg, the country and the world have seen the removal of the Speaker of Council, Cllr Vasco Da, in a process that was characterised by very serious allegations of vote-buying, which were reported to the South African Police Service for investigation. That was followed by the election of a Speaker, who with every sitting collapses the integrity and functioning of the legislative arm of the City, solely to meet narrow and underhanded goals. We saw this programme of underhandedness play out when the Multi-Party Government was removed through a series of illegal acts that were corrected by the High Court. We must remember that politics is a legally regulated space, and we must always, as lawmakers, never lose sight of this, otherwise we would be advocating for anarchy. While we have staved off another motion of no confidence, which failed to takeoff due to its legal inadmissibility before Council, we are aware that another such motion is already being cooked up. Members of the Media, The data shows that we were beginning to repair Joburg. Residents have shared their experiences of the rebuild of Joburg. Indeed, the City was starting to gradually look and feel better. The Multi-Party Government is not claiming to have done a perfect job, but we had only just begun. With that said, in the less than 30-days that the illegally elected government was in office, we began to see and hear of the tearing down, bit-by-bit, of the foundations and structures of good governance and the effects thereof that we had established. Faced with a water crisis and short on ideas, the response from the illegally installed corrupt collective was to lay blame on residents, with the solution being putting a JoJo tank in every yard. Years and years of corruption and the collapse of economic and critical infrastructure cannot be fixed with weak and unbudgeted programmes. The already set out budget of the Multi-Party Government has allocated R795-million to water supply infrastructure, and an additional R600-million for sanitation infrastructure. Many of these projects are on the go, and we will see completion between 2023 and 2024. Some storage and distribution projects were delayed because the scope of the projects had to change in order to accommodate the inclusion of back-up power generation. Joburg Water has made steady progress in replacing Johannesburg’s old sewage and water piping infrastructure as well as completing road reinstatements following emergency and scheduled maintenance. In the final quarter of the 2021/22 financial year over 100-kilometres of water piping, and just under 70-kilometres of sewage piping was replaced against the targets of 26 and 15-kilometres respectively. This equates to 385% and 467% of overachievement of the targets. Joburg Water is making serious progress in replacing ageing water infrastructure in Johannesburg. These developments from May to July this year have aided Joburg Water in providing over 3,000 more households in Johannesburg with basic water services and securing a 12% drop in sewage blockages within the entire system for the period. Residents of Joburg, Rolling blackouts have tragically become part and parcel of everyday life, with deep and negative effects on the economy and our way of living. We are therefore excited to announce that following the May 2022 Joburg Energy Indaba, City Power is on track with its alternative energy procurement programme, as per the Energy Indaba resolutions, and we will publish the first Requests For Proposal (RFPs) for short-term supply (3 years) from the private sector by mid-November. We are ready to start seeing the back of rolling blackouts, so that we can get the economic capital of South Africa working again. Further to this, the Multi-Party Government, through City Power has partnered with the National Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to procure 15,000 solar water geysers at no cost. City Power will develop the criteria for the beneficiaries who need them the most such as orphanages, hospices, old age homes and animal shelters. The implementation of the solar geyser project creates an opportunity for DMRE to train City Power technicians, community-based electricians and SMMEs, we will ensure that these opportunities are offered to the communities where the solar water geysers will be installed. Members of the Media, Much was said about the finances of the City, because of course that is where the attention of the corrupt is focused. There was little to no truth about what was said, in the main because the figures are unaudited. We have nothing to hide because the audited figures will be presented before Council, as per legislation. What was of concern, was how nonchalant Cllr Dada Morero was about the delayed R2-billion short-term loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the report of which was supposed to serve at the last Council sitting but was blocked, and has been kicked further down the road due to the cancellation of today’s Extra-Ordinary Meeting of Council. It shows that the ANC is willing to collapse the City in order to grab power. While finances are not in the best position, we are taking active steps to rectify this. So, the notion that there is anxiety about the payment of salaries is a fabrication; and that we cannot meet our financial obligations is a lie. Notably, we are one of the few municipalities across the country that does not owe Eskom or Rand Water. In the coming days, we will give a full account of the state of the City’s finances, as they stand. Ladies and gentlemen, The Multi-Party Government was beginning to see a change in the operations and culture of the JMPD, which was translating into better policing. We also begun to see a decrease in crime in the Inner City, especially around the High Court Precinct, but sadly these operations were fractured during the Morero era. In fact, just this week a member of the legal fraternity contacted my Office to relay how matters have regressed. I am pleased to state that JMPD resources are being once again reorganized to give effect to their policing mandate and our priority of building a safe and secure City. Furthermore, we will continue deploying JMPD Officers and resources back to the Regions so that our limited policing resources have coverage across the City – equitably and strategically. Ladies, and gentlemen, This is a snapshot of our golden repair and rebuild of Joburg, which is far from complete. Indeed, our City is broken but the women and men seated here, and the fellow MMCs, are the best shot at us making Joburg a City we can be all be proud of. In closing, We have anecdotal and documented evidence that the ANC’s only ploy is to corrupt, capture and collapse Joburg. If they get the keys to the City, the bank account will be emptied like never before. This has never been a fight for positions, but a fight for and with residents; a fight for the Rule of Law; and a fight for the survival of Joburg. 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