Councillor slams city’s delay in appointing permanent regional director
Councillor Annette Deppe says residents are paying the price for the city’s leadership delays, as calls for accountability grow louder.
Nthatisi Modingoane, from City of Johannesburg, said the recruitment process for the appointment of a permanent regional director for Region A is in its closing stages, and the appointment should be made soon.
This comes after councillor Annette Deppe, of Ward 132, called out the city, saying Region A is facing a leadership crisis, where the absence of a permanent regional director is frustrating residents and impeding service delivery. “The lack of a permanent regional director for Region A has significantly hindered our ability to effectively address the needs and concerns of our community, particularly in relation to Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) and other municipal services.”
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Deppe said Region A is being overseen by an acting regional director, who is also the permanent director of Region E, which includes Sandton and Alexandra.
She was not pleased at all by this dual responsibility, which, she says, is diluting the leadership focus needed to manage Region A’s unique demands. “This raises several pressing questions: Is the acting regional director adequately compensated for managing both regions? And, more importantly, how is he managing his time and resources to ensure both regions are effectively served?”
In answer to these questions, Modingoane said: “We note the situation is not ideal, however, senior management in both Regions A, E, and GCRUM assist the acting director with performance of both regions, to ensure that work continues smoothly.”
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Deppe said the lack of oversight is directly affecting service delivery operations. “We have a regional service delivery [WhatsApp] group, where all the officials are. We send reference numbers and issues to that group, but when I speak to City Power or Johannesburg Water, or even JRA, the depot managers tell me they never look at that group. So, that doesn’t help us.”
In response to the service delivery backlogs, Modingoane said all regions have platforms, both physical and online, to, not only interact with the regional depots, but also to escalate service breakdowns to senior management of respective entities and departments.
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“A war room, attended by senior management of entities and departments, has also been established as an escalation platform for improved service delivery performance. The City of Johannesburg remains committed to servicing all citizens, and departments and entities continue to service all regions, including Region A.”
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