‘Johannesburg infrastructure past its lifespan’: Mashaba

About 27% of electricity infrastructure is "past its lifespan" in the City of Johannesburg. This is according to Johannesburg Mayor‚ Herman Mashaba‚ speaking during the city’s state of infrastructure briefing in Braamfontein on Tuesday.

Mashaba told reporters and city management that there were 45‚000 leaks in the city’s water pipes.

“Can you imagine that our road network is deteriorating because the R1-billion budget of JRA [Johannesburg Road Agency] is inadequate to even maintain the condition of our roads‚ let alone improve them?” Mashaba said. “The question is‚ are we going to drift towards that cliff while we fool ourselves and our residents? The answer is: not under my watch. Not as long as I occupy this seat.

“Currently our city’s unfunded infrastructure backlog sits at R170-billion over the next 10 years. City Power is locked in a R500-million dispute with the Receiver of Revenue‚ which has already seen the entity’s financial position deteriorate‚” Mashaba added.

The mayor went on to say that the city is currently investigating more than 2‚000 cases relating to City Power accounts‚ involving a total of R16-billion.

He lashed out at the previous administration for spending money on things that did not improve the lives of Johannesburg residents.

He castigated the ANC administration that was ejected by voters in 2016: “[About] R153-million spent in two years on self-promotional advertising‚ R193-million spent in three years on travel.”