The State of the City Address was weak and void of substance, say local ward councillors

The Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, Kabelo Gwamanda, recently gave his State of the City Address, the content of which has left many unconvinced of the city’s performance.

Civil society groups across the metro has been actively organising themselves to either fill in service delivery gaps left gaping by city entities, or applying pressure on local government to perform better.

Titled, ‘Building a stable and resilient city government in service of the people’, Gwamanda’s speech landed like a damp squib with those on the opposition benches.

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Below are some of the talking points in his presentation

• Government of Local Unity took charge in February 2023.
• The city has a performance rating of 68% across all priorities.
• The city and all its entities have achieved an unqualified audit opinion.
• We should celebrate Johannesburg’s accomplishments and victories while accepting any upcoming obstacles or challenges with grace. Despite impending uncertainty, one thing remains steadfast – the resolute character of both its people and community.
• 89.8% of people are living in formal residences.
  The increase in informal settlements with almost all informal settlements (97%) having basic services across all service delivery areas.

  

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Johannesburg Social Housing Company’s (Joshco) strategic plan has identified a backlog of more than 300 000 units in the social housing market in Johannesburg.

• Water is accessible to 98.3% of households.

Recently approved a strategy that will guide the transition into a water-secure and water-sensitive municipality.

Johannesburg Water has a backlog of R27 billion in infrastructure investment.

The Brixton and Crosby bulk infrastructure projects which have a combined investment value of R512m are progressing well and will help resolve the challenges of the Commando water system.

• Electricity is available to 94.1%.

Measures to reduce power outages like the implementation of load limiters and commissioning open-cycle gas turbines at the John Ware and Durban Street substations.

• Sanitation is provided to 93%.
• Refuse removal is extended to 90.5%.
• Johannesburg is plagued by violent crime.

“The violence that plagues the communities of Westbury and Eldorado Park, as gang wars continue unabated.”

• The newly re-launched Tactical Response Unit of the JMPD is making a difference: recovered 570 vehicles, 87 illegal firearms and conducted 127 drug busts.
• Road networks.

Over the last year there has been approximately 58km of new tarred and have graded 435km of gravel roads.

Repaired 47 000 potholes.

The city is considering various options to close the gaps on reinstatements between Johannesburg Water and the Johannesburg Roads Agency.

• Rapid urbanisation has placed immense pressure on its infrastructure and service delivery, resulting in deficiencies and inefficiencies.
• Unemployment rates persistently remain elevated, especially among marginalised groups, intensifying the cycle of poverty and continuing to exclude the majority, black and female, from meaningful social and economic life.

SUBHEAD
Below are quotes from two ward councillors in the Northcliff Melville Times footprint in their responding to the mayor’s address.

Ward 99 councillor Nicole van Dyk, Shadow MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services responds:
“The mayor says he speaks the truth and asks resilience for resilience when they are resilience fatigued is not going to build pliability for what they face.

“We are a city of broken pipes, power lines and dreams.

“You ask residents to report leaks as it is their responsibility whereas your own ward councillors will tell you that residents are logging faults but teams are taking days to come to only do patchwork jobs that are doomed to fail.

“Residents across every classification of suburbs go days without water.

“Your water security strategy is a document drafted in 2022 by the DA government but not implemented until the water crisis of 2024.

“Johannesburg Water needs R27 billion.

“Mr Mayor, you highlighted the Brixton / Crosby project – this is a project that the DA is very proud of as it came from our councillors, Steer and Sherman. By 2026, these dry areas will once again have water.

“Capex projects are a hard truth for City Power. A mere R1.3 billion for the last 30 years.

“We are very happy with the reprieve from load-shedding but know on May 30th, we will find ourselves with City Power plants out of service that have gone up not down. This is a time when maintenance should be happening.

“Residents are logging City Power outage calls for the same fault up to nine times; it is a massive problem.

“Mr Mayor, it is not good enough to give access to services – you need to deliver them too.

“Not one of the entities can deliver a turnaround strategy. Every service delivery entity is losing billions a year and is pleading with you to grant them rescue status. City entities are broke and broken and the GLU stands complicit.”

Ward 98 councillor Beverley Jacobs, Shadow MMC for Health and Social Development responds:

“It is clear to me that the health and safety of Johannesburg residents is not a priority of the city.

“The Randburg Clinic is facing closure because of the water crisis. There was no mention of the plans in place to ensure our clinics are protected against extended power or water outages.

“In fact, the mayor made no mention of health and social development at all. I must question the commitment of the GLU government, led by the ANC to resolve and provide workable solutions to the social ills brought on by the very ANC government that has been in charge for the last 29 years.

“Our parks, open spaces, highway embankments, bridges, nature reserves, community development facilities, sidewalks, hijacked or abandoned with buildings occupied by displaced persons, recyclers, criminal elements or drug users – this is a crisis yet the Mayor makes NO MENTION of this.

“Is the mayor hoping the issue of displaced persons will disappear magically as he spins and deflects the legacy of poverty?

“The Windsor West shelter was birthed by the DA administration in 2016 for 35 adult men. In 2019 when the ANC administration took over the shelter fell into disrepair and the expansion project was shelved.

“The State of the City Address was weak and void of substance.”

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