Emphasis on action in Ekurhuleni

Steven Tau

Talking less and acting more is what the new Ekurhuleni municipality, under the stewardship of new mayor Mzwandile Masina, intends to do for the next five years.

Delivering his acceptance speech in Germiston yesterday, Masina said his team had resolved to be remembered for speedily addressing community issues and accelerating the service delivery agenda. “That is the reason we have set ourselves a goal for a 24-hour turnaround time to service delivery interruptions such as water leaks, street lighting, malfunctioning traffic lights and many similar disruptions.”

The city intended to electrify all informal settlements, construct 100 000 housing units, provide 59 000 serviced stands and seriously pursue the issue of a university in Ekurhuleni. Special consideration would also be given to renaming certain major roads and entrances after outstanding South African women such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Gill Marcus and Limpho Hani.

On job creation, Masina said their resolve to accelerate this drive would continue aggressively with the Aerotropolis at the helm of their programme.

The DA’s leader in the city, Ghaleb Cachalia, said that the ANC losing votes was evidence residents had had enough of empty promises. “We will hold this new mayoral leadership accountable to ensure service delivery happens.”