May 29, 2006
By Anish Abraham
A SIGNIFICANT part of the City's budget is to be used on improving infrastructure and related services, with Johannesburg Water, City Power and the Johannesburg Roads Agency set to spend some R1,7-billion on new developments over the 2006-7 financial year.
Johannesburg Water has the largest allocation of the capital expenditure with R726,8-million, followed by City Power with R713,1-million, and the roads agency with R284-million.
Executive Mayor Amos Masondo announced a R21-billion budget on Wednesday, 24 May. "The City projects capital spending of approximately R14-billion for the next five years," he said, unpacking the numbers.
"The lion's share of capital spending … will be made by City Power and Johannesburg Water," he said.
Other allocations include:
- transport receives R335,6-million;
- community development gets R177-million;
- housing receives R128-million; and
- the Johannesburg Development Agency gets R168-million.
At the City's Growth and Development Summit, held on 12 May 2006, improvement of infrastructure and service provision was identified as a vital part of a well-functioning city.
"For most people, provision of infrastructure and services constitutes what is expected from a local authority. It is also the most obvious way to measure the success or failure of the City's government," said Ros Greeff, member of the mayoral committee for infrastructure services.
Operation Gcin'Amanzi has already saved some four billion litres of water
The department of infrastructure and services, which will come into effect in the new financial year, will be responsible for oversight of City Power, Johannesburg Water and Pikitup.
City Power
During the budget debate, on 25 May, Johannesburg's Executive Mayor, Amos Masondo reiterated the City's commitment to overhauling its ageing electricity infrastructure and grid. "One [power] outage is one outage too many," he said.
Some R100-million will be used to refurbish the utility's electrical substations, which will help reduce the number of outages.
Another key development during the 2006/7 financial year is the introduction of the Johannesburg Regional Electricity Distributor (Jored) - the new structure set to take over from City Power. Read more
Johannesburg will spend R5-million toward the creation of Jored, according to Greeff.
The City will still maintain its oversight role in ensuring the new distributor fulfils its service delivery mandate and as such will have to develop a Service Delivery Agreement with Jored and a Service Level Agreement with other local government authorities.
The City's by-laws will also have to be re-examined in the context of a new structure.
Johannesburg Water
During the debate Greeff commended the water utility on its Operation Gcin'Amanzi, the project to cut down on water losses by replacing leaky pipes and installing prepaid meters in the townships.
Some R259-million from the utility's allocation from the City's budget will be used to expand Operation Gcin'Amanzi during the 2006/7 year. "It is envisaged that 58 034 meters will be installed between July and December 2006, resulting in 6,4 million kilolitres of water conserved, amounting to R17,9-million," Masondo said in his budget speech.
As of August 2005 Operation Gcin'Amanzi had already saved some four billion litres of water.
In January 2006, the City's Treasury announced it would borrow R320-million from France's Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) to complete the installation of water meters in Soweto.
Johannesburg Roads Agency
Following the success of the City's project to tar all of Soweto's streets, the council is determined to spread the roads-upgrade programme to all the other townships.
Masondo said R284-million will be allocated to tar roads in Diepsloot, Orange Farm and Ivory Park; R40-million will be spent on upgrading Koma Road in Soweto; and R50-million will be used to improve mobility within the city.
The City's transportation department has already laid plans for improving service delivery through its Integrated Transport Plan - the only municipality to receive approval for such a plan from both the national and provincial transport departments.
The City is also preparing to take a leading role in public transport in the province, with the setting up of a Transport Authority being mooted. This will be either on a municipal level or to service the broader emerging Gauteng Global City Region.
According to Johanneburg's Growth and Development Strategy, a safe, efficient transport system will not only improve the quality of life for residents, but also stimulate the local economy.
Pikitup
The City's waste management utility will receive a capital expenditure budget of just over R51-million for the upcoming financial year.
Of particular importance is the recently launched inner city clean up programme. Greeff said this project is in line with the new mayoral priority of a "Safe, Clean, Green City."
The programme forms part of the Inner City Revival Campaign aimed at boosting investment, supporting the city's various economic sectors, maintaining and upgrading infrastructure, and ensuring effective, intensive urban management.
The R7-million clean-up campaign is specifically targeted at the central business district and the suburbs of Hillbrow, Joubert Park, Yeoville, Berea, Braamfontein and Doornfontein.
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