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Amid the violent service delivery protests that engulfed parts of Soweto and Eldorado Park on Wednesday morning, a resolute City of Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba, delivered the State of the City Address with a confident demeanour which waned as his speech progressed.
Mashaba blamed “inherent debt” from the previous ANC-led administration for the numerous service delivery challenges currently crippling the city.
“Upon stepping into office, we were saddled with debt in the region of R17 billion, R5 billion of which was due this year. It was perhaps this particular inheritance, which was the most challenging of all, limiting our ability to address the service delivery backlogs which confronted us,” explained Mashaba.
The mayor conceded that there was still “a long, long way to go” until the city reached its potential as these “inherited service delivery backlogs within the City were staggering”.
Poor infrastructure still costing millions
“The 100 000 potholes in our city arise from a shocking R11.8 billion backlog in our road network. In 2017, over 3 900 kilometres of our roads had fallen into the classification of poor or very poor conditions.
“This is the equivalent length of road that would take someone from Johannesburg to Nairobi. This has been made worse by a R56 billion backlog in storm water drainage, that results in the increasing structural decline of our roads,” said Mashaba.
The consequences of this, according to him, were felt “in the flooding in our communities, including the whole of Soweto where no storm water drainage has ever been installed”.
Mashaba also explained that 78% of the city’s 900 bridges were classified as being in either poor or very poor condition and that R6.5 billion was required to address this.
“Not deluded”
Mashaba assured residents that his administration was not deluded and did not work from a fantasy world.
“Our reality is not different from the lived realities of our residents,” he added.
In his second State of the City address under the multi-party coalition administration, Mashaba reiterated that despite having a majority in council, his administration had not become complacent but was still driven by the desire to serve the residents of Johannesburg.
Land grabs will be addressed
With the service delivery protests casting a dark shadow over the proceedings, Mashaba maintained that he was proud of the change the city has seen under his leadership.
“For the first time, in a long time, this city is moving forward in the right direction.”
Mashaba called on those who have taken it upon themselves to grab land, to be patient. He said their concerns would be addressed through a formal process.
The Democratic Alliance mayor explained that he had increased the city’s budget to service vacant land from R60 million to over R100 million in the next financial year and that residents should bear with the city in this regard.
Mashaba was responding to land invasions in Protea Glen in Soweto on Tuesday, where a group of at least a hundred people arrived to claim plots of land.
Housing programmes to be stepped up
Mashaba also said his administration had identified five clinics as priorities to introduce drug rehabilitation services to communities.
“In February this year, the first [rehab] was opened at the Tladi Clinic in Soweto,” Mashaba said.
He also said “within the coming days and weeks, similar facilities will be opened in Westbury, Riverpark, Joubert Park and Eldorado Park”, some of the areas worst affected by the service delivery protests on Wednesday.
In addressing the issue of housing which fuelled the services delivery protests, Mashaba said “the City of Johannesburg, through its development planning and housing departments, is set to introduce an inclusionary housing policy, with the draft currently out for public comment.
“Our vision is that inclusionary housing, when managed privately, should cater for households with an income of R7 000 or less per month,” said Mashaba.
READ the full address below:
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