Few better know the plight of the poor

THE concept of change is one often bandied about with gay abandon. It is one that, at a glance, appears deceptively simple. Yet, its apparent simplicity belies its complexity.

Change is a subject many scholars have grappled with. Heraclitus, an ancient Greek philosopher, is credited with the observation that one “cannot step into the same river twice”. A river, like city life, is always undergoing a process of change.

Local government elections have come and gone. The people of our city have spoken. They want to see change, real change might I add, and bold steps taken to move Joburg forward again.

This election should be a lesson to us all: never take for granted the voters who we are meant to serve. I want to assure the residents of Joburg, we will be a government for every single one of you, regardless of your vote. Gone are the days where advantage was achieved by a membership card of a political party or a connection to someone in a position of power.

Now is not the time for political squabbles. Now is the time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and ensure change happens.

I am often criticised by my political opponents for not caring for the poor, for not understanding their plight.

This could not be further from the truth. I grew up in poverty. I remember having to drink water to stave off hunger. My father died when I was two years old and my mother was a domestic worker, raising other people’s children, while my sisters and I were lucky to see her once a month.

I know the plight of the poor. I understand and have lived this plight, so I can assure you this will be an administration which makes delivering to the poor and fighting poverty its top priority.

The DA has a positive vision and plan for our city, a plan grounded upon our promise to create jobs, deliver better services and eliminate corruption.

No one can deny the biggest challenge facing our city is the soaring unemployment confronting over 800 000 of our people. Almost one in three of our residents are without work; the youths of our city being the biggest casualties.

Job creation will be the No 1 priority of this new DA-led administration.

We understand that the actual role of local government in job creation is to create an enabling environment for businesses to establish themselves, flourish, and thereby create permanent jobs. Because a job is a means to dignity and self-improvement that can never be achieved by a social grant.

Small businesses create jobs. They have an abundance of potential waiting to be unlocked and they have the ability to expand into employers of our people. That is why small business development will be the focus of my term in office.

Economic growth has largely stagnated in our city. When I sat down with my teams I was presented with a projected target of 2.5 percent economic growth in our city. This is simply not good enough. To accept 2.5 percent economic growth would mean we accept we will not make a dent in the number of unemployed people. I cannot accept this.

It is for this reason I have reached an agreement with all department heads and my members of the mayoral committee that all plans and policies must be aligned for our city to work towards achieving a 5 percent economic growth rate.

While this is an ambitious target, we appreciate the fact that if we do not achieve this, unemployment will remain high, and the youth will still be out of school and out of jobs at the end of this term.

Joburg must be the engine-room of South Africa’s economic growth but this cannot happen at the current growth rate.

I would like to state unapologetically that the majority of this city’s budget will be directed to poor communities.

With last week’s removal of the MD of Pikitup, the focus now turns to stabilising and strengthening this entity to ensure that it fulfils its mandate of keeping our city a clean and healthy environment for all.

The normal 135 weekly refuse collection rounds have been restored at all 12 depots as well as street-sweeping and litter-picking.

Transport plays a critical role in economic growth. To enable economic growth, major economic roads in our city are being upgraded – the upgrading of the M1 towards the CBD has already begun and in the first 100 days we will resurface 45km of roads. In addition, to improve mobility, the Johannesburg Roads Agency has committed to a measured reduction in total traffic light downtime in our city within 100 days.

To improve service delivery, especially in previously disadvantaged areas, informal settlements and hostels in the first 100 days, JRA is tarring 12km of gravel roads in Protea, Lawley, Ivory Park, Bramfischerville, and Tshepisong. It will also complete three bridges in Soweto. Our decisions and actions will show we are indeed pro-poor.

This DA-led administration will prioritise upgrading informal settlements. We will work tirelessly to provide decent services and help lift people out of poverty.

City Power has prioritised the electrification of our city for every citizen as a response to the needs of the disadvantaged. City Power is also engaging with Eskom to fast-track the electrification of the Zandspruit reception area. The contractor has been appointed with procurement of material currently under way.

An additional 2 500 stands will be electrified in the informal settlements of Thembelihle and approximately 200 families who are being relocated from shacks to newly built RDP houses in Elias Motsoaledi will also be provided with electricity. A total of 2 000 more street lights will be installed in the streets of Joburg, including streets in Protea South, Naledi and Thembelihle informal settlement.

The severe shortage of quality houses is something that will be addressed. Within 60 days a report will be produced on the number of completed houses built by our city and the province – but not yet allocated or handed over to beneficiaries.

It is unacceptable that there are houses that have been built but remain unoccupied when many of our residents live without acceptable accommodation.

We will also ensure that thousands of title deeds are given to people so that they have the dignity of a proper home which can be passed on to their children. We will also bring an end to the deep-rooted corruption in the housing lists, and make the pro- cess of selecting beneficiaries transparent, open and fair.

The Housing Department is in the process of completing the official housing waiting list, which I will sign off within 90 days. Unlike before, it will be publicly available at government offices and to communities to ensure it is transparent. With regard to the official housing list, budget has been allocated for the electrification of Fleurhof, Lufhereng, South Hills, River View and Jabulani.

Universal access to health care is another ideal our city must work towards because a healthy city is a working city. By cutting unnecessary expenditure, we must strive to extend the hours at our clinics, allow residents to visit clinics after work hours, and relieve the current burden of unmanageable queues on our doctors and healthcare professionals at our clinics.

Another crisis that has plagued our city’s residents for decades is the billing system. On this point, I would like to announce that I will be organising a billing indaba. Three central issues will be addressed. First, we need to produce an accurate indigent list to protect our poorest residents and ensure they have access to free services.

Second, we need to improve revenue collection and, third, introduce new mechanisms for processing and resolving billing complaints.

Corruption and nepotism are deplorable. Those found guilty of corruption and fraud will go directly to jail. There was more than R5 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure over the last administration’s term in office.

Together we will bring change to our City of Johannesburg. Together we will bring change that creates jobs, delivers better services and fights corruption.

‘Growing up in poverty, I had to drink water to stave off hunger’