IN FULL | Phalatse pens goodbye letter to residents of Joburg, outlining strides she made over past year

Ousted Johannesburg mayor, Mpho Phalatse on Friday penned a letter to residents of the city, outlining the strides her administration made over the past year. 

In it, she expressed her gratitude for being allowed to serve as mayor. 

Read it in full: 

The past year has not been easy for us all. It was not easy for you, the 6-million residents across its seven regions, who were recovering from the impact of global economic, health and political events. Furthermore, as the multiparty government played catch-up, services were never delivered fast enough.

The last 13-odd months in office were also not easy for the multiparty government, which unfortunately did not have a magic wand to do away with a R300bn infrastructure backlog, which includes a housing backlog of 500,000 units. We inherited a city that was broken and broke. We stated this from the beginning; and we were clear about the work required to build a city of golden opportunities.

This was outlined in our seven mayoral priorities, namely: 1. A city that gets the basics right 2. A safe and secure city 3. A caring city 4. A business-friendly city 5. An inclusive city 6. A well-run city 7. A smart city. The repair and rebuild programme was not just a catchphrase but it spoke to the seven mayoral priorities and articulated what was to be done. As an example, at the beginning of our term, the multiparty government identified 38 areas of priority that needed urgent and focused attention before the end of the 2021/22 financial year.

Of the 38 interventions we set for ourselves, we achieved 66% (or 25) of them; we partially achieved nine of them; and four we initiated but did not get over the line.

Indeed, we were making progress, which was not often seen or felt, but we were working towards sustainable programmes that would be seen and felt by generations of residents to come. The illegal ousting of the multiparty government, which saw the city in limbo for 25 days set us back significantly, and upon our return there was resistance from political forces within the city administration, which made it difficult for the multiparty government to continue moving forward with full speed.

In corners, some would utter “they will not be around for much longer, so why should we do the work?” Despite the state of the city that we were entrusted with, an illegal ousting, and the difficulties of collation politics, we soldiered on with the work of repairing and rebuilding Joburg, by dedicating resources strategically to all functions of the city but more directly towards water and sanitation, power, roads, and policing.

The repair and rebuild programme was never going to be a quick fix but in the short time we were in office we made an impact. It is on this point that I want to state that anyone who claims to be able to repair and rebuild Joburg ‘overnight’ has no idea of the enormity of the ask and responsibility at hand.

Some of the programmes we achieved include, but are not limited to

— 105 (original target being 100) newly refurbished metro buses, which now enhance daily bus availability as the demand for public transport increases, due to the ever increasing petrol price

— the deployment of an additional 1,500 JMPD Officers across the city.

— Zandspruit serviced sites: Over 700 sites were launched, giving 1,178 families an opportunity to build their homes in the Zandspruit area. The serviced stands will be provided with water, accessible roads, and a storm water network.

— the implosion of the Kaserne building in the CBD. Not only will this project address the housing backlog, but it will also contribute to the investment drive for our inner city rejuvenation programme. This project will avail approximately 1,500 low-cost housing units closer to social and economic amenities.

— housing projects in Fleurhof (1,580 units), South Hills (392 units), and Riverside View (752 units).

— The first RFPs for IPPs went out in November and will close in February; setting Joburg on a path towards mitigating and eventually ending load-shedding in Joburg. The end goal is procuring an additional 500MW for the city.

— 41 tipper trucks were purchased for Pikitup, which will be used to combat illegal dumping which costs the city R80m annually, with littering costing the city an additional R74m to manage. The trucks will also supplement Piktiup’s refuse removal operations when needed.

— More than 10,000 trees were planted in the last financial year.

—  We have broken ground at the Bertrams Multi-Purpose Centre, which will bring city services closer to residents.

— We have completed and opened the Driezek Public Transport Facility valued at R30m 

— A new 15-megalitre water reservoir now services the Lenasia area and surrounds.

— The city has finalised a contract for the manufacturing of 17 new firefighting vehicles (Red Fleet); with work being done to finalise a contract for another 25.

— More than 2,000 LED street lights have been installed across the city, as part of energy saving measures.

— Respectively, more than 100km of water and sewer piping have been replaced across the city.

— We opened the R3m Davidsonville Substance Abuse Treatment Centre.

— There was also great focus on the inner city and other business nodes. We were working on establishing a high court precinct, with the administrative work near completion; we also approved the development of the Desmond Tutu heritage precinct around the St Mary’s Cathedral.

 – A lot of work was being done through the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership Forum, chaired by the executive mayor, which married the work of the city and inner city stakeholders such as business and property owners. We were working towards the common goal of making the inner city safe and clean, where residents and visitors could proudly live, work, play and pray.

— We reconstituted the disciplinary board as the financial misconduct board and begun the process of giving it teeth by ensuring the majority of the members are independent.

— Our fight against corruption and malfeasance in the resulted in 5 senior managers being suspended, with four currently under investigation. One senior manager resigned before the completion of the investigation. There were more suspensions and investigations approved by the mayoral committee, but these [were]  blocked by the speaker.

— On the day of the removal of the multiparty government, we unveiled a R401m plan for City Power, that would see the city avert up to stage 3 load-shedding within six months. This was never our plan, but a plan for the city and its 6-million residents.

Our manner of governance never considered who voted for which party in which ward, but it was about ensuring equitable service delivery; and ensuring that the unserviced and under-serviced parts of the city also get their piece of proverbial gold.

As we cross over to the opposition benches, we will continue to push for service delivery and we will hold the government of the day accountable for what they do and do not do.

While this time round we were legally removed from office, it does not take away from the fear that Joburg will once again be looted on a grand scale, and service delivery will come to a halt, with the ultimate victims being the residents.

The residents of Joburg have been victim of a cash-in-transit heist. The fight to repair and rebuild Joburg is far from over, and I call upon all residents to continue fighting with us. I would like to thank the residents for their support and patience, and the members of the mayoral committee for their dedication and honesty. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the women and men of the city who are on the front line of service delivery.

It has been a privilege to serve the city of Johannesburg and its 6-million residents as the executive mayor.

Yours in continued service,