January 28, 2005
By Anish Abraham
JOHANNESBURG mayor, Councillor Amos Masondo, was in a confident mood today, emphasising in a Talk Radio interview just what the City has achieved in the past year and what challenges it faces in the year ahead.
Councillor Masondo was a guest on Johannesburg radio station 702 on Friday, 28 January, the morning after delivering his 2005 State of the City address.
He spoke directly to callers to the show and answered questions posed by host, Tim Modise.
Responding to a query about the City's performance over the past four years and its plans for the future, Councillor Masondo said: "Our view has been that in the past four years, government has done excellent work and is on track to deliver."
He pointed to the unification of the formerly racially separated councils into a single structure, as well as the issuing of two bonds to raise funds as significant achievements.
Urban renewal in Alexandra and Kliptown was progressing well, while tax-breaks and incentives were being used to attract investors to Hillbrow and other parts of the inner city. "If all goes according to plan, all roads in Soweto should be tarred too."
However, Councillor Masondo acknowledged that there was still much to be done, but said Council was optimistic about the City's progress.
"Some of the challenges include improving service delivery. There are also issues raised by urbanisation and migration (that need attending to)," he added.
Responding to a comment from a caller about informal shacks springing up next to RDP houses, Councillor Masondo said this was due to increased migration. The city had seen its population increase from 2,8-million to 3,2-million residents, "though the figure is expected to stabilise in the near future".
Such an influx of people placed a strain on infrastructure.
When asked by Modise about frequent power outages across the city, the mayor explained: "The power network is old." He pointed out that the City had set aside R500-million for the current financial year to refurbish its electricity network.
Referring to public transport in Johannesburg, Councillor Masondo said Council had several plans in mind and that "this decade will see the City moving more towards improved public transport systems".
He said his desire was to see the City play an important role in the economic transformation of the country, emphasising that it wanted to form closer partnerships with big and small business.
The City, Councillor Masondo added, also needed to "improve the bond between Council and the community".
On a lighter note, the interview ended with Councillor Masondo agreeing with one caller's remarks that the mayor must have one of the most difficult jobs and that he (the caller) would not like to be in the mayor's shoes.
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