May the promises come true, or else
The City of Johannesburg, like all metros in the country, has its hands full. The state of the city address touched on many of the most pressing issues in this city: housing; poverty; education; unemployment; electricity and water. The city basically said it will be improving service delivery. Those two words are most often followed by “protests” when referring to South Africa, and Johannesburg has its fair share.
Violent service delivery protests are a sign of a population feeling left out amid the talk of freedom and services. They are not complaining about potholes or WiFi, but rather about basic services, from housing to health and electricity, among others. We commend the city, and its mayor Parks Tau on all efforts to tackle the most pressing issues in the metro. However, we sincerely hope that with municipal elections on the horizon, the promises are more than a well-timed effort to keep the metro in the hands of the ANC without a thorough, long-term commitment to making every tomorrow better than today, in the words of Tau.
Cynical South Africans have become used to accusing those who make grand promises of having ulterior motives. Citizens are beginning to become more aware of their power to force change. Unfortunately this has often led to violence and disruptions, as seen in Soweto yesterday. Violence is rightly condemned, but there will be a time when protesters realise the ballot box is the key to change. Tau and his team have made the promises, now it is about delivery.
Tau has made strides in the innovation of the metro – smart meters, plans to use water pipes for hydro-power and harvesting gas from waste for fuel are innovative and forward thinking. However, unless the equally promising-on-paper nerve centre is on the pulse of the city, protests and unhappiness will continue. At the end of the day, a person without a house and running water does not care about hydro-electricity plans. Managing the contentious issue of electricity in townships and informal settlements, coupled with health and sanitation, before even mentioning the online education promises, is no small feat.
Good luck to the mayor, and may his metro follow through on his plans free of controversy and corruption – and with the excellence we all crave and demand.