By Thomas Thale
TEMPERS flared at the monthly sitting of council on Thursday, when political parties locked horns over the performance of the City, with the ANC accusing DA leaders of misleading remarks and the DA accusing the ANC-led administration of poor management.
The clash was triggered by the 2003/4 Annual Report on the performance of the City tabled by the city manager. The Municipal Systems Act requires municipalities to compile a report outlining the performance of the municipality and its service providers for each financial year. The Act requires the report to compare the performance of the municipality in the current year to that of the preceding year, to measure it against targets, and indicate steps taken to improve performance.
In his report, City Manager Pascal Moloi said the City had made major strides in the areas of good governance, economic development, job creation, inner city regeneration, public safety and service delivery excellence. It also noted that the City's Capital Expenditure exceeded R1-billion over the last three years and would amount to just over R2-billion in the current financial year.
The report also considered the clean audit given by the auditor-general for nine of the municipal entities owned by the City to be a major improvement, and said the auditor-general "noted improvements in the control environment and a decreased number of items focused on fewer areas".
"During the 2003/4 financial year, the City made substantial progress on the journey upon which we embarked in December 2000, simultaneously strengthening our balance sheet and generating more income than we spent, while earning a strong endorsement from the international markets," said Johannesburg Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo.
But the report also admitted that challenges such as billing, power outages and getting an unqualified audit report remained.
Councillor Mike Moriarty, the leader of the DA in Johannesburg, conceded that the City had had some successes, but proceeded to paint a bleak picture of Joburg, citing the customer satisfaction survey as an indication that ratepayers were not happy. He said the survey found that more than half of the residents were dissatisfied with the City's performance.
Moriarty attributed the problems facing the City to what he called bad management. "We have no problem with council policies and strategies. We agree on what should be done. But the mandate is not carried out by officials. The executive mayor should be held accountable for the council's bad track record!" charged Moriarty, to cheers from opposition benches and heckling from the ANC side.
His DA colleague, Councillor Victor Penning, admitted that "there were pockets of positive developments in the inner city", which he ascribed to private sector efforts, aided by the Johannesburg Development Agency. He also referred to "some council officials who are beacons of light".
Penning said parts of the city centre were ravaged by crime and grime. He related a recent experience, when he had to go to the Master of the Supreme Court and found the pavements congested and the surroundings scary. "I was formally dressed like I am now. But then I remembered where I was and went back to my car to change into jeans. I didn't want to be identified as an easy target".
In his reply, Councillor Parks Tau, the councillor responsible for finance, said the DA distorted facts to give the impression that the city was going down. He accused Moriarty of reading the report selectively and highlighting only negative statistics. "This is a gross abuse of statistics," Tau charged, challenging Moriarty to look at more recent statistics which indicated improvements in City finances and capital expenditure.
Turning to Penning, Tau said the council could not be held responsible for his irrational fears. "There is no need to fear walking on the streets of the city. Since we installed CCTV cameras, the levels of safety have improved drastically. Many businessmen walk the streets of the city dressed in their suits."
Moriarty said the City should not be contributing money to a conference which did not add any value. "If we are to spend R35-million on a conference, we should know what benefits we will get from it." Moriarty was critical of organised local government structures, saying the South African Local Government Association (Salga) had not tabled its financial statements for two years now.
In his response, Councillor Masondo appealed to Moriarty to be "a man of integrity and tell the truth". "He says we have not had a treasurer's report at Salga for two years, but audited financial statements were presented at our congress late last year. He says we'll be spending R35-million for the conference, then he tones it down to R5-million. Why would such a man decide to mislead?" the mayor asked rhetorically.
"Organised local government has value and significance. It provides municipalities with a voice that can be heard provincially, nationally and internationally. It provides a platform for municipalities to share experiences and interact with one another."
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