GOOD statement by Lloyd Philips,
GOOD: City of Johannesburg Councillor
22 April 2022
On Thursday, Mayor Mpho Phalatse delivered her maiden State of the City Address and waxed poetic about all the things she wanted to achieve in her term of office but failed to sketch a clear path as to how she and her administration were going to achieve anything on her wish list.
Mayor Phalatse, for the most part, was clear on what she wanted to achieve but fell woefully short on how she intended to achieve the things she rattled off in her address.
Jozi’s residents pay far too much for the basics: water and electricity. Following the trend of most DA-led councils, the mayor failed to provide an action plan which would reduce the cost of basic amenities. Billions of rands in investment into water infrastructure is a good idea but what will this all mean if the residents cannot afford it?
At present; agencies like the Johannesburg Road Agency and City Power act as parastatals with their own boards in the City of Johannesburg. It is bizarre that the City has effectively outsourced its core business to agencies. It will be extremely difficult for the Mayor to drive the reduction of electricity prices and the upkeep of Joburg’s road networks if they do not account directly to her. Mayor Phalatse would struggle to protect the Joburg residents from price-gouging in the electricity space even if she wanted to.
We would’ve liked to hear bolder plans on how she was to bring these agencies under her purview so that she can actually deal with the service delivery issues that face the people of Joburg and not leave it to a board who was not elected by the people of Johannesburg.
No mention was made of combating homelessness either. A rough estimate of 20 000 people sleep on Jozi’s streets. The best Mayor Phalatse could offer? “The city’s policy on homelessness is under review”. Considering most of her State of the City Address was hot air, something more actionable would have been preferred especially for a DA that purports to run “caring cities”
GOOD welcomes the establishment of an LGBTQIA+ advisory committee. The city has an annual budget of R73 billion. It is high time that some of this money is spent defending vulnerable communities. As with most promises in this year’s address, however, we want to know HOW she intends to achieve anything in the laundry list of wishes.
We look forward to the Mayor’s tabling of the City’s budget and IDP next month. We hope that her budget will shed better light on how she hopes to achieve these plans and how she will fund her wish list.
Johannesburg needs time to heal. Both DA and ANC led coalitions have betrayed the trust of residents. If mayor Phalatse’s dreams don’t find expression in her budget her State of the City Address will have been a monumental waste of time and resources.
She must be reminded that walking the campaign trail and sitting in the executive office are two different things and it’s time to lead, Madam Mayor.
Media enquiries:
Lloyd Phillips, GOOD City of Johannesburg Councillor
Cell: 0747317578
Email: lloydp04@gmail.com
Samkelo Mgobozi, GOOD: Media Manager
Cell: 0792315977 (WhatsApp)/0829684021 (calls)
Email: samm@forgood.org.za