Where the DA thinks the City of Johannesburg should spend its money

The Democratic Alliance is not satisfied that the draft budget tabled by City of Johannesburg Mayor Geoff Makhubo is adequate to handle the even more fragile economy South Africans will be faced with post Covid-19.
Addressing the media at a virtual briefing earlier today, 2 June, DA Johannesburg Caucus Leader Leah Knott outlined what the party believed should be the main focus points as the public participation process gets underway.

The DA believed the City’s budget should prioritise:

• Job Creation
  According to Knott, before the Covid-19 pandemic, the City of Johannesburg had a staggering 29 percent unemployment rate. This, she said, would only get worse if not addressed. She suggested a collaboration between the public and private sector, with the city as a major contributor to the local economy, would result in a positive change in the unemployment rate. She explained, “An example of such a partnership is one which the previous DA-led administration undertook with the private sector, buying derelict buildings in the inner city to renovate to provide suitable housing for residents.” Another way to ensure that jobs were retained and created was, she added, to have a reliable and fairly-priced power resource.
• Improved Access to Basic Healthcare
  The DA was concerned that the draft budget allocated just over R1.3 billion towards health expenditure in the 2020/2021 financial year. It proposed that part of the budget be used to buy and deliver more mobile clinics. “The budget must also make provision for extending operating hours at selected clinics,” said Knott. “During the DA’s tenure, 27 clinics operated on extended hours and by May 2019, nearly 2 million (1 991 614) residents were able to access these clinics, and more than 370 000 enjoyed the benefits of extended operating hours.”
  n Improved Social Assistance for the Vulnerable and De-politicisation of Food Relief
  The DA said it was shocked by data gathered by its councillors which, it said, showed that food relief was being channelled mainly to ANC-led wards. “It is unacceptable that the government uses a crisis to campaign for votes and punish non-ANC aligned residents by depriving them of food relief in a time of widespread desperation,” said Knott.
• Small Business Relief
  To survive the Covid 19 financial crisis and its effects on small businesses the DA proposed special rates and rental assistance packages be introduced. Said Knott,” We put forward delayed tariff increases until January 2021, a payment holiday to businesses which have no income and decreased city property rentals for the remainder of the lockdown.” This, she said, would enable businesses to continue being ratepayers in the future as opposed to losing them due to their inability to trade.
• Improve Shelter and Housing through Public/Private Partnerships
  The budget must alleviate the conditions in informal settlements by increasing spending on housing and ensuring that people were settled in appropriate shelter, said. Again, Knott used the example of renovating derelict buildings to provide housing.

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