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'The city will have to come up with a water management plan and implement robust water management plans, generally, to address water losses and shortages.'
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero on 30 September 2022. Picture: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero is expected to deliver his highly anticipated State of the City Address on Wednesday.
With the city grappling with numerous challenges, his speech is expected to outline a clearer roadmap for progress and set the tone for the metro’s path to recovery.
Johannesburg has been plagued by frequent water outages, which have caused widespread frustration among residents and political stakeholders.
In March, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) handed over a memorandum of demands to Johannesburg Water executives, calling for urgent action to resolve water supply issues.
The party also raised concerns about ageing infrastructure, sewage maintenance, and recurring flooding.
The EFF statement emphasised the dire nature of the situation: “The water challenges in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality have reached levels where, without urgent intervention, a humanitarian crisis is inevitable.”
READ MORE: Water outages expected in Tshwane as plant shuts down: Here are the affected areas
Speaking to The Citizen, Professor Theo Neethling, a political analyst at the University of the Free State, said: “Addressing Joburg’s challenges will require a multifaceted approach ranging from improved service delivery to repairing infrastructure and many more. Given the extent of degeneration over the years on a massive scale, repairs will also have to be on a very wide-ranging scale.”
“The city will have to come up with a water management plan and implement robust water management plans, generally, to address water losses and shortages.”
A fire under the M1 South in the Johannesburg CBD on 1 May left parts of the city in smoke and without electricity. As vandalism has been on the rise, it was suspected to have been caused by cable theft.
“There has been a disturbing trend around the vandalism of transformers, causing prolonged recurring outages in areas,” City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said.
The mayor is expected to give more details on how such things can be prevented in the future.
It has been almost a year since Morero was elected mayor of Johannesburg. During his tenure, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed concerns about the closure of public facilities, including the Johannesburg Library, the Johannesburg Art Gallery, and the Metro Centre.
READ MORE: Ramaphosa addresses Joburg council after disappointing visit to the city
President Ramaphosa, in consultation with the Gauteng province and the City of Johannesburg, has launched the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group.
This group will focus on several issues impacting the city. They aim to accelerate Johannesburg’s turnaround strategies.
The areas of intervention are :
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