January 28, 2005
By Ndaba Dlamini
MIKE Moriarty, Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in the Johannesburg City Council, said he was "disappointed: by the State of the City address by Executive Mayor, Councillor Amos Masondo. The United Democratic Movement's Chief Whip, Solomon Mogodi, said the State Of The City address "reflected what is taking place in the City of Johannesburg", but expressed concern at the rate of progress.
Councillor Masondo presented his annual assessment of the City to thousands of guests and councillors at the Metro Centre in Braamfontein on Thursday, highlighting past achievements and outlining plans for the future. Afterwards, it was the turn of opposition parties to present their perspectives. They were by no means always in agreement with Councillor Masondo.
For the DA, billing remained a problem. "The ongoing billing problems still dogs the city," said Moriarty. "Sewer and water delivery needs to be improved - in fact all City services need to be improved before they can be listed as successes," he added.
The DA also believed more needed to be done in traffic management and town planning. According to Moriarty, many targets set by the City had not been achieved and the power supply cuts, now being experienced in the city on a daily basis, were an ongoing problem, which the City had resolved to rectify.
"The resolution of these crises depends on sound administration. An administrative plan is needed and has to be managed specifically to ensure that all services are deliverable."
In his address, Councillor Masondo pointed out the City spent R614-million to electrify 29 024 homes by December 2004 and was providing free basic electricity of 50kwh to over 190 000 residents.
The capital budget for the current financial year amounted to R469.6-million, of which 87 percent would be spent on improving the electricity network.
On billing and revenue, Councillor Masondo said the City was giving specific focus to this area. Efforts aimed at ensuring data collection, correction of data and technical errors as well as engaging in re-engineering of processes and procedures would continue, he added.
Of concern to the United Democratic Movement was the work that still needed to be done. "Look, for example, at the preparations for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Nothing has been done so far. If Joburg is be transformed, then work must start now."
Another concern for the party was the rate of progress of developments in Alexandra township. Some projects that should have been completed in one year, said Mogodi, had taken the City several years to complete.
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