Mashaba’s administration committed to service delivery
With more investment earmarked for capital expenditure, residents of Joburg have a brighter future to look forward to.
THE City of Joburg is experiencing a massive revival. The municipality has injected a record amount of money into infrastructure development, stimulated more SMMEs development and created more jobs for the youth.
The city has also become friendlier to business resulting in more investments and increased economic growth.
In his State of the City Address (Soca) delivered at the Council Chamber on April 30, executive mayor Clr Herman Mashaba said Joburg is a vibrant City offering more value for business and residents than ever before. The speech was peppered with facts and figures demonstrating the progress the City has made since 2016.
What gives Joburg bragging rights?
What has enabled the Joburg of 2019 to stand out are the following interventions, according to Mashaba:
• Redirecting over R400-million to non-essentials, government expenditure and programmes towards improving essential service delivery to communities.
• Increasing capex budget allocations on housing, transport, electricity, water and roads from 58 per cent in 2015/16 to 71 per cent in 2019/20 budget.
• increased the budget for electrifying informal settlements from a R260-m over three years, to a budget now proposing R750-m over the next three years
• Creating 110 000 net new jobs, thus reducing unemployment by 1.1 per cent
• Increasing economic growth rate from 1.4 per cent in the 2017/18 financial year to 1.7 per cent
• Increasing facilitated investment from R4.5-billion in 2016/7 to R12bn at the end of February 2019
• Attracting R20bn in property investment for the inner city
• Supporting 23 277 SMMEs since 2016.
• The progress made by the City was endorsed by the World Bank for improved performance and the score measuring the ease with which to do business.
Towards a rosy future
Mashaba said his administration will be doing even more to grow Joburg and to fulfil the needs of the residents. To attract more investment, the City will set up an Investment Facilitation Unit to “receive investment and development proposals in Johannesburg and ensure the fast-tracking of applications”.
Joburg will also establish a new Investment Incentives Package.
The Development of Planning Department will also launch a new online application process to make development applications even easier before the end of 2019. This will make it easier for developers to take up opportunities in the City, including refurbishing some 500 properties in the inner city.
The mayor expressed confidence that the new inclusionary housing policy, which incentivises developers to dedicate 30 per cent of new residential developments to affordable housing, will go a long way towards addressing the City’s housing backlog of some
300 000 units.
In this financial year, added Mashaba, City Power will have concluded the refurbishment of the Roosevelt, Sebenza, Wilropark, Nancefield, Heriotdale, Mondeor, Mulbarton, Pennyville and the Waterval substations. The completion of work on the Eldorado Park and Hopefield substations will add more power to the City’s grid by the beginning of the 2019/20 financial year.
With more investment earmarked for capital expenditure, residents of Joburg have a brighter future to look forward to.
