City Mayor to deliver maiden State Of the City Address
The Executive Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni, Alderman Tania Campbell, will on 30 March 2022 deliver her inaugural State of the City Address (SOCA) at the OR Tambo Government Precinct, Council Chambers in Germiston.
The SOCA will present the Multi-Party Coalition Government’s plans to introduce the ‘Back-to-Basics’ approach to governance in the City and usher in a new era of accountability and service delivery excellence.
The Executive Mayor’s address will focus on the following three key priorities of the Multi-Party Coalition Government, namely:
- Stabilising the City’s energy grid and decreasing dependence on Eskom
- Reprioritising the City’s budget towards service delivery and infrastructure renewal
- Fixing potholes and maintaining the City’s roads to promote growth in the local economy.
Multi-party coalition progress report
This year’s address will be a ln update to the multi-party coalition government’a progress since taking office last year after the Local Government Elections.
“The Democratic Alliance, Action SA, COPE, IFP, VFF Plus and ACDP have come together as equals, with a shared vision that is anchored on the unwavering resolve to make government work for the people,” said the mayor earlier this year in Council.
This year started off well for the City when the Auditor General reported a clean audit opinion for the financial year 2020 to 2021.
Thereafter, the coalition government’s decided to reject proposed 20,2% tariff hike proposal Eskom submitted to NERSA.
An adjustment budget was passed in February to begin the ‘Back-to-Basics’ programme that is meant to prioritize quality service delivery for residents.
This resulted in a R500 million cut in the City’s borrowing, affecting the Capital Expenditure projects.
Through the Back-to-Basics programme, the city has managed to:
Allocated R117 million to the Energy Department to promote energy security in the city. In addition, a further R40 million for maintenance and R77 million for new infrastructure have been allocated to minimise power outages caused by ageing and poorly maintained infrastructure in the city.
About 112 illegal dumping spots have been cleared throughout the city and significance progress has been made to clear hyacinth and rehabilitate the Benoni lakes and dams. The Weltevreden Landfill has been reopened, with the Rooikraal Landfill to be reopened by mid-March.
Maintenance was done on 2100 storm-water drains throughout the city, and 48km of roads have been rehabilitated. 550 road signs have been installed and maintained and 29000m2 of potholes have been patched throughout the city
About 48 water points were installed at Mayfield Extension 15 in Ward 96. The Impala and Kwa-Thema water reservoirs have also been completed.
On the Human Settlements front, construction commenced on 152 units at the Leeuwpoort development, with a further 188 units to on track for completion at the Vosloorus Urban Renewal project by end of March. A 157 out of 197 units have been completed for allocation at Chris Hani Phase 2.
To stimulate employment opportunities, the city has concluded contracts with 1100 Public Employment Programme beneficiaries, with a further EPWP 220 work opportunities created in roads and stormwater maintenance.
To ensure good governance, a new city Audit Committee was appointed in December 2021, and a meeting held with the Chairperson to indicate the Multiparty Coalition’s full support for its work in ensuring financial compliance and good governance by the city administration.
In solving the dispute with property owners, the efficiently distributed objection outcomes were uploaded to the city’s Siyakhokha platform.
Financial “open days” were held in February to promote assistance to aggrieved property owners.
The coalition also successfully lobbied Provincial Government for the expeditious establishment of the Ekurhuleni Valuations Appeal Board and an extension in the deadline for the appeals to 29 April 2022.
