Snuki Zikalala to lead Joburg service delivery 'bomb squad': mayor Morero

Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has announced in his state of the city speech plans to introduce a “bomb squad” to bolster his efforts to restore the city to its former glory.

It will be led by veteran Dr Snuki Zikalala and is expected to be operational in June.

Morero said this high-powered implementation impact team will ensure aggressive implementation takes place.

“To achieve this, let us use our executive orders by establishing a high-power implementation impact team known as the bomb squad. In military language, a bomb squad has the responsibility of removing bombs and to prevent them from exploding. This bomb squad must remove constraints that hinder the city’s ability to create the Joburg we all want to see.”

This is the second layer of leadership to be introduced after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the presidential intervention working group which descended on Johannesburg last month.

Morero hailed the president’s interventions, which saw a service delivery "war room" established in March, saying significant progress was being made.

“The war room is responding to systemic failures aimed at driving high-impact, real-time, co-ordinated service delivery and accountability. We have seen a decline in service delivery protests. Inter-governmental, regional, and state-owned entities are collaborating to fast-track service delivery.”

The economic growth work stream, according to Morero, is poised to help the city achieve an average of 3% GDP growth over the next five years.

In an attempt to clamp down on crime, the mayor has declared a "state of disaster" which will kick off in July. He said law enforcement is a non-negotiable and that his administration intends to implement a “broken window” approach.

On the financial front, Morero announced plans to sell the city's debtors’ book to save its finances.

“We need to start by going back to daily monitoring of the city’s cash flow by all senior managers. In order for the city to thrive, a minimum of R200m must be collected daily. We need to reduce the cost of doing business by implementing the city’s revised economic strategy.”

Admitting that the city’s financial position remains fragile, Morero said it calls for a major reset in their financial management and revenue generation activities.

“Our revenue collection approach will be overhauled to improve the liquidity of the city leading to its financial sustainability. While we appreciate the current challenging economic landscape in which high unemployment remains a feature, we will be robust in collecting revenue from those who have the means to pay. Our large consumers of electricity and water in both the private and public sectors are urged to make their fair contribution by paying their bills on time.”

The mayor indicated that there were changes to look out for in his mayoral committee, as he planned to rotate MMCs across departments as well as senior managers.

According to Morero, this will allow for different skill sets to be shared across departments.

The city is expected to hold a debate on Thursday so political parties can share their views and inputs on the mayor’s address.

“To all political parties in the chamber, let us not fight and use the debate tomorrow to receive inputs from our constituencies. Tomorrow I would like to hear voices representing the people of Johannesburg.

“I know you have the capacity to punch holes in my speech. But, let us do things differently. Tomorrow tell us about the Johannesburg you want to see,” he told them.

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