Joburg mayor Geoff Makhubo's first presser in six quotes - 'We will work with all parties'

Newly elected Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo on Thursday delivered his first media briefing to outline the current state of the city, and revealed his plans to develop the city. 

This is what he said in six telling quotes:

Three wasted years 

“It is unfortunate that we've lost three years of well-thought plans, such as access to free wi-fi, which meant children in the township who had no access were able to do their homework and access the information highway. The Jozi At Work programme, which ensured services are rendered by people who stay in those communities together with the city, has been stopped and the youth mobile university has not happened in the last three years.”

Service delivery 

“We will focus on service delivery. We will ensure that we restore the six kilolitres of water. We'll continue with the programme of electrifying informal settlements, and we'll ensure garbage is collected three times a day and upgrade road infrastructure.” 

Safety 

“We will do everything possible to ensure that people live, work and play in a safe city. We are going to build a cohesive community that will ensure people co-exist with each other.”

Coalition 

“We are going into coalition with other parties. We are negotiating at the moment who will lead what but we will be an all-encompassing government. All parties will have a stake as we're working with the DA and EFF. We will work with all parties in government.”

On DA councillors voting him in

“It was a secret ballot. I would not know who voted but all I know is that I voted for myself. The only vote I can vouch for is mine. I assume the ANC caucus kept shape and that the parties I mentioned voted for us, but I don't know about the rest.”

City of Johannesburg entities 

“I'll have a meeting with the city councillors to talk about the all the concerns we raised and put up a plan to turn them around, especially Johannesburg water, city power and Pikitup because these are customer-facing entities that must not collapse.”