City of Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse says irregular spending amounted to R3 billion for the 2020-2021 financial period in violation of council policies and legal prescripts.
Phalatse divulged the irregular spend amount while delivering her inaugural State of the City speech as a multi-party government in Johannesburg. The city has been beset by a number of challenges, including rolling power cuts, and the theft and vandalism of critical infrastructure.
She also announced a range of infrastructure development initiatives aimed at improving services to residents. She said the city will invest R2.8 billion in the next three financial years to improve the city’s water services infrastructure. And in the same period, 10 new modern clinics will be built in different parts of the city.
“To stabilise electricity supply in the city, the multi-party government will be hosting an Energy Indaba in the month of May, gathering all relevant and related stakeholders for their collective input into resolving Johannesburg’s energy crisis. A move which will see us introducing an energy mix, partnering with Independent Power Producers and small-scale Energy Generators, reducing our reliance on Eskom and ending these rolling blackouts,” says Phalatse.
Phalatse says working with the private sector, the city was able to fix over seven and a half thousand potholes in just seven weeks. Ten informal settlements will be targeted for upgrading in the coming financial year.
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“Social development will drive the development of a new state of the art Bertrams Multipurpose Centre will be developed near the Ellis Park Precinct in Johannesburg, which will house a community hall, a senior citizens support and women empowerment facility, child aftercare and youth and skills development.”
Poor performance from some entities
Phalatse lashed out at the performance of some of the city’s entities, which she says are responsible for frontline service delivery such as water provision, electricity distribution and refuse removal.
She says the city must establish good governance and this should not only be expressed through visible and tangible service delivery, but also by obtaining clean audit outcomes.
During the 2020/21 financial year, not even one of the Johannesburg entities received a clean audit or an unqualified audit opinion, meaning a violation of policies and legal prescripts, during the same period.
“I know it takes time to clean house, but we must move with haste and precision to get the entities functioning within the ambit of the existing legal framework,” adds Phalatse.
Former Johannesburg mayor and the African National Congress’ Mpho Moerane says the speech was disappointing on many levels.
Moerane says, “The city needs almost R100 billion to refurbish the infrastructure. It is ageing and collapsing, so she said nothing, there is no hope.”
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Johannesburg chairperson Sepetlele Raseruthe says Phalatse presides over a very filthy city.
Raseruthe says, “You go to Diepsloot, a pile of rubbish there, everywhere. Potholes, we do not have potholes in the City of Johannesburg, we have swimming pools.”
African Independent Congress (AIC) caucus leader, Margaret Arnolds says Phalatse made unrealistic promises.
Arnolds say, “Eldorado Park has been without electricity for seven days, we are going for the next seven days. She is not telling us how they are going to solve it. The grass in Eldorado Park is taller than I am.”
Opposition parties in the Johannesburg Council will respond to the mayor’s speech on Friday.
Johannesburg Mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse visits Diepsloot:
