October 6, 2003
By Bontle Moeng
LAUNCHING a voter registration campaign in Rockville, Soweto, on Sunday 3 October, Johannesburg Executive Mayor Amos Masondo got the opportunity to talk to residents and give them a run-down on the achievements of the City.
Voter registration is to take place on 8 November and 9 November, and the mayor urged everyone to make sure they had identity documents so they could register for next year's national elections.
"In order for people to vote, their names have to appear on the voter's roll," Masondo said, adding people should register in the voting district where they reside.
The delegation also had an opportunity to talk to the 300 people who had gathered in Thokoza Park, Rockville, to hear a report-back on how the City was doing 30 months into the mayor's term.
"The emphasis of this meeting lies in ensuring that people get a good sense of the council's work since December 2000," Masondo said. "We want to make sure people have a good sense of how the council functions and make sure those who work for the council have a clear idea of the problems people may have."
Mayoral committee members included: Johannesburg City Council Speaker Nandi Mayathula-Khoza; Brian Hlongwa, responsible for municipal services entities; Prema Naidoo, responsible for health; Bafana Sithole, the chief whip; Hilda Mokoena, responsible for development planning, transport and environment; and Parks Tau, who oversees finance, strategy and economic development.
City manager, Pascal Moloi, and the chief operations officer for the Independent Electoral Committee, Sibongile Mazibuko, also attended the meeting.
In his feedback, Masondo highlighted five areas of achievement: in service delivery and customer care; in public safety: in good governance: in inner city regeneration; and in economic development.
"Regarding service delivery, 35 new parks have been built, roads have been upgraded throughout the city, we have improved the quality of recreation facilities, and we have improved access to primary healthcare," Masondo said.
The city council had also installed new surveillance cameras, established the metro police, instituted new by-laws, established a municipal court and improved access to the emergency services.
The mayor also spoke about the improvement in capital expenditure and how the City Council had managed to turn its finances around.
Referring to various inner city projects, Masondo listed the work being done at Constitution Hill, the Newtown Cultural Precinct, the Faraday Station Precinct, the Drill Hall, and the Fashion District, as well as the regeneration programmes in Jeppestown and Braamfontein.
Reflecting on the city's economic development and job creation programmes, the mayor talked about Joburg 2030 (the plan to reshape Johannesburg physically and economically and transform it into a world-class business centre), the hosting of various international events, the establishment of the Joburg Tourism Company, and the policies on informal trade management and small business support.
During question time, chaired by Mayathula-Khoza, issues related to housing, roads, and the provision of services like electricity and water were raised. Masondo promised that by 2005 all streets in Soweto would be tarred.
He also urged people to pay for services. On the subject of the installation of pre-paid water meters in Phiri, Masondo said this would ensure that the needs of the poor would be met through the supply of 6 000l of free water.
Many people present expressed their annoyance at disruptions caused by street traders. Said Masondo: "No city in the world allows people to trade anywhere and anyhow. By allowing informal traders to do that, businesses are more likely to relocate and people then lose their jobs. That is why we have decided people should trade in designated areas."
"We have achieved a lot, there is still a lot of work to do," Masondo said.
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