Sowetans urged to take part in Community-Based Planning sessions

Speaker of the City of Johannesburg council, Clr Nobuhle Mthembu, called on Soweto residents to continue participating in Community-Based Planning (CBP) sessions, saying it was vital for these sessions to produce tangible results regarding service delivery.

“These CBP sessions should not be a talk show like residents have complained. We want to change that and ensure something tangible comes out of these sessions,” said Mthembu.

The Speaker spoke to the residents during a CBP session for wards 47, 48, 51 and 53 held at the Umthombo Wolwazi Community Hall in Dobsonville this past weekend.

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Residents from their respective wards gave feedback and engaged city officials and other entities on service delivery issues.

Ward 53 Clr Ntsavheni Mutavhatsindi raised the issue of a community hall for his ward that covers Lufhereng, Slovo and Glenridge.

The ward, comprising mostly new houses, has yet to receive a community hall where residents can hold meetings.

The councillor noted that building a hall was proposed in 2016, but budget issues delayed the start of construction.

The residents also want a satellite police station to help them when they want to certify documents instead of travelling to Protea or Doornkop.

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The City Power representatives at the meeting were informed about the street lights in Ward 53.

Other matters councillors raised included the low attendance at the CBP sessions.

Ward 47 Clr Tebogo Mhlari suggested the Speaker’s office start civic education programmes targeting different age groups to make residents understand the importance of such sessions.

The residents were then grouped according to their wards and broke into commissions to discuss their service delivery priorities.

The CBP sessions are a city programme to foster civic engagement and public participation across all 135 wards.

The wards’ priorities on service delivery are reviewed for the 2025/26 financial year.