GOOD statement by Lloyd Philips,
GOOD: City of Johannesburg Councillor
20 April 2022
Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse must place the interests of residents and the city above the competing demands of a rag-tag band of coalition partners when she delivers her maiden State of the City Address tomorrow.
As the leader of a precarious ruling combination made up of partners with little in common with each other she has the impossible task of plotting a just and sustainable course out of the quagmire of poor leadership and management in which the city finds itself trapped.
In the absence of leadership, how will Johannesburg end its seemingly interminable to-and-froing with its so-called “permanent” employees? The City doesn’t deserve a council presided over by a shady DA Speaker who was in January referred to the Ethics Committee. Citizens can no longer afford water and electricity bills that amount to price gouging.
What we’d like to hear from the Mayor are real plans to implement an urgent change in direction and restore the City to the investment destination it once was – with one big change. Prosperity can no longer be reserved for the privileged few.
To start with, we’d like Mayor Phalatse to tell us what she’s actually doing to get the city’s financial controls right. In February we learned that the City had lost R2.7 billion to what it termed slow revenue collection. This includes revenue owed to it by businesses that can afford to pay.
That’s on top of the R3 billion in irregular expenditure reported in the 2020/2021 financial year.
Collaring corruption and ensuring financial mechanisms work as they should will save ratepayers money, and prevent further compromising the basic services Mayor Phalatse’s coalition committed itself to. It will also enable the City to lower its water and electricity tariffs that many residents struggle to afford.
It is appalling that many of Johannesburg’s citizens still sit without the basics. Three mayors in 2021 failed to tackle the shortage of power and water in poorer communities such as Eldorado Park and Lenasia.
Funds for large scale programs are available – the city has an estimated R73 billion budget. What is missing is any semblance of a pro-poor agenda. Mayor Phalatse must roll out a free basic amenities program that includes free basic water and electricity. The time for excuses is over. Residents who have sat without the essentials for years are demanding action.
It is estimated that 20 000 people sleep on the city’s streets. Mayor Phalatse must tackle spatial injustice by rolling out a full-scale title deeds program to give people ownership of the places in which they live. She must accelerate the release of well-located land parcels so that people can live closer to places of employment. She would do well to heed the Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure’s call to use public land for public good.
Social justice issues can no longer be ignored. Resources must be made available to seriously address the scourges of drug abuse, gender-based violence, racism, xenophobia and homophobia. It is the city’s responsibility to defend communities that are routinely discriminated against, not to further vilify them.
Johannesburg’s residents are tired of promises broken by both ANC and DA-led governments.
Mayor Phalatse has talked a big game. We wait with bated breath to see whether she can walk her own talk.
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