Lerato Mailoane
On Friday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero took to the streets of Moletsane in Soweto to launch a new initiative aimed at addressing service delivery challenges faced by local communities.
The pair introduced the accelerated service delivery programme, which seeks to tackle issues impacting residents across Johannesburg. This programme will be activated every Friday in various communities across the city, with the goal of providing swift and sustainable solutions.
Ward 41, which includes Tladi and Moletsane, is plagued by numerous service delivery problems, including water shortages, flooding, aging road infrastructure, streetlight malfunctions, and electricity supply issues.
Premier Lesufi said this initiative is about more than just rhetoric – it’s about taking action.
“Let’s go where people are, all spheres of government and take stock of what is working and what is not working and put interventions in each ward.
“We have moved away from countless community meetings; these visits will include walkabout but in the main we will be rolling up our sleeves together with our agencies City Power and Joburg Water to resolve challenges.”
Lesufi confirmed that water pressure issues in parts of Moletsane had already been addressed, and that the aging Jabulani Reservoir would undergo significant upgrades over the next 24 months, ensuring long-term water security for the community.
He also touched on ongoing efforts to repair electrical transformers, adding that the reopening of the Eldorado Park power station last week was a significant milestone in reducing load reduction in the area.
“Load reduction means that there are lots of illegal connection in an area and those people are not paying for those services which will in turn make the whole electricity system in an area to collapse.
“Those that are connected illegally, we invite them to connect legally, then we will not have the problem of load reduction and that is why part of the visit today is to attend such challenges by visiting all transformers to check if the electricity they supply is enough for all households in an area and urge those who are connected illegally to visit Eskom to be properly connected,” urged Lesufi.
The Premier reiterated the importance of cleaning up not only the city’s CBD (Central Business District), but also the townships, envisioning a cleaner and safer Johannesburg for all.
While acknowledging that infrastructure upgrades will take time, Lesufi reaffirmed his commitment to improving the living conditions in Johannesburg.
Morero for his part added that recent public meetings had brought to light several pressing issues, and that this blitz was the first step in addressing those concerns.
“We want to work with communities and take them along in addressing challenges and of course there will be challenges that are bigger and need long term interventions, which might have budgetary constraints so we must come back and explain that we are still budgeting and will come back to fix.
He further urged to come out to ensure they join efforts to clean their neighbourhood.
SOURCED FROM THE GPG WEBSITE.
