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Mayor Parks Tau paints a picture of success and improvement for the City of Johannesburg
Johannesburg has invested more than R30 billion over the past five years in new and upgraded infrastructure.
More than 99 % of its residents have access to blue-drop-status water and nine out of 10 households are connected to proper sanitation.
Managing South Africa’s biggest metro can’t be a bed of roses for, in truth, the challenges are many given our history of dispossession and economic deprivation.
The challenges are compounded by the fact that Joburg receives about 10 000 new residents every month from across the country. They come here because Joburg is, to them, a place of hope, of opportunity or making a break from poverty in search of a better life.
So managing this mega city requires a mindset focused on radical change, attuned to over-achieving while understanding that some goals are moving targets.
One of the radical decisions taken was for the City to invest R100 billion in infrastructure in 10 years – a feat no other municipality can claim on the continent. We deemed this possible because of how we managed the fiscus. This included ensuring that we become – of all municipalities in South Africa – the least dependent on national government grants while, at the same time, becoming the highest per-capita spender on social infrastructure after the national government.
Johannesburg’s prudent management of the largest local government budget in South Africa has earned it the accolades of global analysts and the recognition of residents, ratepayers and the business community who benefit from sound financial strategies.
In the past five years, the City has almost doubled the size of its budget – from R28.3-billion to R54.2-billion for the 2016-2017 financial year. This was achieved in the midst of the global financial downturn, a fluctuating currency and falling commodity prices which had an inevitable impact on the economy of a City so closely associated with the mining industry.
Yet Johannesburg not only proved to be financially resilient – it improved its financial position, increased its liquidity ratios and launched the biggest infrastructure investment programme – R100-million over 10 years – ever undertaken by a metropolitan government in the country.
We do look back on the past five years with a considerable sense of achievement and humility. When we say that the finances of the City are in good hands, we do so not for political posturing but to make, with all humility, a statement of fact.
Two global ratings agencies have, in 2016, maintained or upgraded Johannesburg’s long-term ratings. Fitch Ratings highlighted the City’s “robust budgetary performance” when measured against international standards, its conservative financial management and its ability to maintain high levels of liquidity.
Moody’s upgraded Johannesburg’s national ratings by four notches and concluded: “Johannesburg continues to perform in line with expectations. It is the wealthiest city in South Africa … and the nation’s financial and corporate hub.”
South Africa’s Auditor-General also recognised Johannesburg’s excellent financial management by giving the City an unqualified audit opinion since 2014. Six of the municipal entities – the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco), Joburg Theatres, the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Pikitup, the Johannesburg Property Company and the Johannesburg Development Agency – have received clean bills of financial health in 2016.
It is important to note that this is a city that, at the beginning of this term of office, was dealing with billing issues and had hardly shaken off a disclaimer and qualified audits. The turnaround task faced by both the political and administrative leadership has been nothing short of herculean.
Johannesburg’s remarkable financial performance can be traced back to its adoption of a financial development plan at the start of the current mayoral term. This became a tool for monitoring the health of the City’s finances and respond effectively to the challenges posed by the prevailing economic climate. This contributed to a number of achievements over the past five years.
In addition to the long-term infrastructure investment of R100 billion, the accumulated capital budget for the mayoral term is R36.7 billion.
Joburg became the first city in South Africa to pass a multi-year capital budget and the bulk of this expenditure has been allocated to electrification and the upgrading of the energy network. To a large degree, this mitigated against load-shedding. Total assets in the City increased by 17% to R78-billion, driven largely by the annual capital expenditure.
But what is fiscal success when residents queries are not resolved quickly? To deal with this, we decided early on in the term of office to be customer-centric as we introduced a programme called revenue step change.
We focused on improving the accuracy of billing and enhancing customer experience. The successful implementation of this strategy is reflected in a clearing of the backlog of queries and the ability to collect more than 95% of revenue billed.
The introduction of new systems and technology has also improved the City’s capacity to resolve queries. Open days during which customers can interact directly with the relevant departments and entities are regularly held in each of the seven regions.
More than 90% of customer queries are now resolved within 30 days. 100% of refunds are issued within 30 days and close on 95% of calls to the City’s 24/7 call centre – 0860 JOBURG – are answered within 60 seconds.
In 2012 the City piloted a customer service charter that promises quick turn-around times for the resolution of queries and a clear set of standards that citizens can expect when interacting with departments. This will soon be rolled out city-wide, following a public consultation process.
The City’s sound credit record continues to attract investors and it successfully raised R3.3 billion in long-term borrowings to fund its infrastructure investments.
Tau is mayor of Johannesburg
