September 23, 2003
By Thomas Thale
THE City of Johannesburg has lead the way in the areas of good governance, development and service delivery, half-way through its five-year term.
This is the verdict of the mid-term report on the performance of the city since December 2000 launched by Executive Mayor Amos Masondo on Tuesday.
The 194-page report provides an appraisal of the performance of the council in relation to the six mayoral priorities announced at the beginning of 2001 - good governance, economic development and job creation, inner city regeneration, public safety, service delivery excellence, customer care and promoting the Batho Pele (the people first) principle and fighting the scourge of HIV/Aids.
The mayor expressed overall satisfaction with the performance of the city in the six areas.
Under the theme: 2000-2003: Good Governance, Development & Delivery: A World Class African City, the report outlines the milestones the city has achieved in its endeavour to make Joburg a better place for its residents.
Addressing the media, the mayor dismissed the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee, which has spearheaded resistance to the installation of pre-paid water meters and the upgrade of infrastructure in Soweto, as "odd individuals" who articulate "strange views" and habitually oppose any project the City undertakes.
Parks Tau, member of the mayoral committee responsible for Finance, Strategy and Economic Development in the city, said the 50kw of free electricity and 6000 litres of free water given to city residents each month are quite adequate to meet the needs of the poor.
Tau also denied that the city is facing a crisis with its billing system, saying that about 20 000 of the city's 1,2-million ratepayers have experienced problems with their billing. "The vast majority of customers receive accurate bills," Tau said, adding that revenue collection has improved from an average of 85% in the 2001/02 financial year to the current average of 89%.
Overall, the range of policies and plans formulated, projects and programmes undertaken, "demonstrate that the city has moved from one that was financially unsustainable and institutionally dysfunctional to a city that is confident about its ability to positively impact on the lives of its citizens," said the mayor. "This signifies the establishment of the new local governance arrangements and the progress that has been made in relation to delivery and development."
The mayor cited the council's regular meetings with community representatives and special interest groups, the setting up of the Johannesburg Stakeholders' Forum, the petitions management system as some of the indicators of good governance.
Over the past two years, the mayor said, the City had successfully reorganised political boundaries and administrative structures, and still managed to recover from the financial crisis it faced in 1997. "Average annual payment levels have improved steadily since 2000, from a low of less than 85% to some 89% currently. RSC levies, taxes charged to businesses, have increased by almost 80%.
"In the area of good governance, we can confidently state that the political arrangements allow for solid and stable leadership and that our institutional structures have matured to allow for accelerated and sustainable service delivery," the mayor said.
To reverse the decay of the inner city, the City has embarked on various projects, including cleaning the streets, arresting illegal dumping, cleaning and maintaining parks, providing markets for informal traders and clamping down on hazardous buildings. The success of these projects has restored business confidence in the inner city as investors returned.
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