Mpho Phalatse lists major achievements as mayor

It might have not been an easy run for former mayor Mpho Phalatse, but she steps down after having achieved major service delivery programmes.

MPHO PHALATSE TAKES US THROUGH HER MAYORAL JOURNEY

In a letter, she said the last 13-odd months in office were also not easy for the Multi-Party Government, which unfortunately did not have a magic wand to do away with an R300-billion 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; we were clear about the work required to build a City of Golden opportunity”

Mpho Phalatse

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CHALLENGES FACED BY THE FORMER MAYOR

She added that the repair and rebuilding programme was never going to be a quick fix, “but in the short time we were in office we made an impact, It is 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 task and responsibility at hand”.

Here are some of the programmes Mpho Phalatse and her team achieved:

• 105 (original target being 100) newly refurbished Metrobuses, 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 1500 JMPD officers across the City.
• Zandspruit serviced sites: Over 700 sites were launched, giving 1178 families an opportunity to build their homes in the Zandspruit area.
• The implosion of the Kaserne Building in the CBD, Not only will this project address the housing backlog, but it will contribute to the investment drive for our inner-City Rejuvenated Programme. This project will avail approximately 1500 low-cost housing units closer to social and economic amenities
• Housing projects in Fleurhof (1580 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 loadshedding in Joburg. (Goal is procuring and additional 500MW for the City).
• 41 tipper trucks were purchased for Pikitup, which will be used to combat illegal dumping which costs the city R80 million annually, with littering costing the City an additional R74 million to manage. The trucks will also supplement Pikitup’s refuse removal operations, when needed.
• More than 10 000 trees were planted in the last financial year
• Broken ground at the Bertrams Multi-purpose Centre, which will bring City services closer to residents
• Completed and opened the Driezek Public Transport Facility valued at R30 million
• 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).
• More than 2000 LED streetlights have been installed across the City as part of energy-saving measures
• Respectively more than 100 km of water and sewer piping have been replaced across the City