Mayors get to grips with their new lives
Tau finding it tough after serving the city for 21 years Straightening out billing problems is top of Mashaba’s list
PARKS Tau laughs good-naturedly when he is mistakenly referred to as mayor. “Don’t worry,” he says, gently. “A lot of people don’t know what to call me any more.”
But now that his tenure is up, there’s a sense that Tau is still trying to come to terms with the unexpected end to his mayoral term. After all, being its first citizen has “been the best part of my life”, he says.
“It’s a fascinating job. You make many different decisions, ranging from dealing with a query from a resident, to investment decisions or raising a bond of R3 billion. The variety of decisions you have to make on a daily basis is such that you have to be on your toes all the time.
“It’s the intensity of the work, and the scope of the work. It’s so broad that you have to apply your mind quite thoroughly every single day, every single minute actually. You are literally asleep when someone calls you. Now my phone is far too quiet for my liking.
“You get to advance things that you want to be done. Unfortunately, now I’m not there to make those decisions… But I always said I’m an activist and I want to continue serving Joburg. We will do that as the biggest opposition party in council.”
He is not thinking of venturing into the private sector.
“I just don’t have the interest or heart for it,” he admits. “I may have to do it to earn a living. But that’s not my orientation. I’ve been in the City of Joburg for 21 years. When there was the discussion that I would be mayor in 2011, my initial response was that I would have preferred another candidate. But it’s been completely fulfilling. It’s been the best part of my life.”
On his successor Herman Mashaba’s performance, Tau believes it’s too early to predict how he will fare.
Tau is “surprised” by the praise he has received from many quarters about his tenure. “It’s coming from people in the DA, from messages from people in opposition parties who believe in the work we were doing.”
Still, it’s “difficult” to move on.
“I’m sad I was unable to do some things, like introduce a much larger-scale mixed grid energy solution focusing on innovation, expanding our youth development programme and the partnerships we developed with a range of companies… I really hope those do continue.
“One of the areas I was always worried about that I think we didn’t completely crack was in relation to how to deal with response times for service delivery improvements.”
The city had developed an app that would have been launched after the municipal elections that would have been an interactive interface with the city on all services provided, which would have introduced “a different ethos and culture” in service delivery.
Tau “hasn’t interacted” with the city’s new leadership, but won’t write it off entirely.
“My interest is the citizens of Joburg, to the people ultimately. I’ve dedicated the past 21 years to the citizens of Joburg. It would be sad if they are not keen to take forward some of the things we introduced. My point of view is there are always spaces to have conversations. I’m still a councillor after all.”
HERMAN Mashaba doesn’t bristle at being called “Hairman”. The hair product tycoon even joked with reporters this week that his first day of work as Joburg’s new mayor had been hair-raising.
But Mashaba has promised to leave his business, Black Like Me, behind him as he focuses on his top priority – running the City of Joburg effectively. And one of the top items on his to-do list is to eradicate its billing woes.
He has had first-hand experience of this problem. A month ago he received an account that reflected an incorrect amount.
“My account usually reflects R12 000, but I was being asked to pay R24 000. I’m not sure how this was calculated,” he said when interviewed this week.
Mashaba contacted officials at the customer service centre at Thuso House in Braamfontein, and said there appeared to be an error with his bill.
Instead of the centre resolving the problem quickly, he was given the runaround.
“I even escalated the matter to the mayor’s office, but I didn’t get any joy. I ended up paying the money after I was told that services would be terminated. I could afford to pay, but what about many other people who fall victim to the system?”
During his election campaign, Mashaba was baffled when he heard about nonprofit organisations being slapped with municipal bills of R300 000 they obviously couldn’t pay.
“How do you expect homes that care for people to pay such exorbitant amounts? We need to work on a system that is a true reflection of what people have used for services and charge them based on that instead of guessing figures.”
Mashaba was consulting DA councillors in Cape Town about their city’s billing system. “We’re not going to run Joburg like Cape Town, but we’re consulting on what has worked for the municipality and will see how we can change it so that it works for Joburg.”
Mashaba promised yesterday that the mayoral committee member for finance, Dr Rabaleni Dagada, would en- sure billing matters were dealt with speedily.
Mashaba is unfazed by criticism that he is a political amateur.
“When I began my hair products business 35 years ago, I was told I wouldn’t make it.
“I was also under pressure, as being a businessman under the apartheid government was hard, but I made it.
“I came into politics and was told the same thing, but I have worked hard to prove myself.”
Mashaba reiterated that his three focus areas would be tackling corruption, fast-tracking service delivery to poor communities, and job creation.
Joburg must remain the economic hub of South Africa, he said.
It was too early to make pronouncements about how his administration would “uproot corruption and incompetency, particularly where billing is concerned”, he said.
“I’m humbled by the responsibility that has been given to me. I’m setting up an office that will have accountable and competent civil servants. We will work together to ensure Joburg is a city that facilitates economic growth and is a place people can call home.”