March 30, 2006
By Lucky Sindane
THE 10 newly elected members of the mayoral committee are preparing for the next five-year term of office at the five-day Mayoral Lekgotla in Vereeniging.
"We are considering what it is that we need to accomplish, in greater detail, during this term of office," said Executive Mayor Amos Masondo at a media briefing in Vereeniging on Wednesday, 29 March.
The lekgotla will give members of the mayoral committee an opportunity to become familiar with their portfolios and functions.
The City's acting executive director, Mankodi Moitse, member of the mayoral committee for finance and economic development, Parks Tau, Executive Mayor Amos Masondo, and city manager, Pascal Moloi
"A further deepening of their understanding will occur in the actual carrying out of their responsibilities on the ground. This is a great team - it blends experience with new insights and energy," Masondo said.
When he announced his mayoral committee, Masondo said: "We haven't lost any portfolios. What we have done is we have restructured to ensure that there is visible service delivery."
The changes include the addition of the transport portfolio, which will help the City to deal with issues related to the 2010 Soccer World Cup and the challenges arising from the Gautrain.
To ensure a better quality of life, the environment portfolio will ensure that communities have access to green open spaces, well-kept water courses, biodiversity and trees.
Another new portfolio, development planning and urban management, will seek to replicate the successes that have achieved with the regeneration of the CBD in the areas such as Randburg, Soweto, Roodepoort and Sandton.
"We have to hit the ground running," said the mayor. "I am personally very impressed with the quality of our deliberations and more convinced that the new members of the mayoral committee will serve the City and the people of Johannesburg with an even greater sense of dedication and commitment."
Masondo will deliver his State of the City address on Monday, 3 April. Among other things, it would reflect on the City's achievements over his first five years in office and map out the key challenges in the period ahead.
"Its main focus, however, will be on the work we intend doing in this term of office," he added.
The long-awaited Johannesburg Growth and Development Summit will take place on Friday, 12 May. "The summit will determine the long-term direction for Johannesburg to reach its objectives as reflected in the Joburg Vision 2030," Masondo said.
"One of the key issues to be tabled for consideration will be the [national] government's Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa, or Asgisa. The focus will be on its specific implications for the City of Johannesburg."
The Growth and Development Summit would also culminate in the City's budget, which would be delivered, tabled with related documents and further debated, in the City council on 24 and 25 May.
"The budget will provide the City residents, the business community and investors with comprehensive details about programmes and expenditure patterns for the City," Masondo said.
"The next five years holds great promise and will be the most exciting period. The City will endeavour to deliver services more effectively and address all the pressing issues related to housing, poverty alleviation and service delivery challenges," Masondo concluded.
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