Mayor vows to prioritise service delivery

Johannesburg – Mayor Geoff Makhubo has vowed to prioritise service delivery and revamp the Joburg municipality’s finances. 

  At a recent media briefing Makhubo said service delivery would be a top priority, and resources to fulfil his duties had already been allocated.

  Makhubo said the city’s finances were on the verge of collapse, with City Power’s assets sitting at R3.1 billion and liabilities at R9.5 billion. 

  “Service providers have not been paid and might not be for the next three months. The City of Joburg is facing a liquidity crunch with irregular expenditure amounting to R6.2 billion. We will focus on service delivery programmes that will rebuild the city to ensure that six kilolitres of water are provided; we will electrify both informal and formal settlements; clean our city three times a day; build houses that promote integrated human settlements, including hostels and upgrade and maintain road infrastructure. We will establish a service delivery joint operation centre composed of senior managers from all departments and entities to coordinate our operations across the city, create a safer city where people can live, work and play, build cohesive communities that will enable people to coexist with each other,” he said.

  The municipality committed to rebuilding relationships, building community trust and creating an enabling working environment that would build the Johannesburg economy, Makhubo said.

  He added that there would be free Wi-Fi for those who have no access, such as students from townships, and City of Joburg departments.

  “Along with infrastructure investment of R100 billion over 10 years, food banks would provide social safety nets to the poorest. They would have access to free basic services, like six kilolitres of water and six free kilowatt hours of electricity per month,” he said.

  Makhubo committed to putting in place systems that would enable the city to become financially sustainable, and vowed that good governance would be practiced daily, and that corruption would be dealt with decisively.

  He said ex-mayor Herman Mashaba’s safety drive Buya Mthetho made very little impact in dealing with crime. 

  “Law enforcement has collapsed and crime has reached unprecedented proportions,” he said.

  He also called upon the council’s different political parties to work together and put the city’s residents first.