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On behalf of the Johannesburg Multi-Party Government, I would like to commend the JMPD and the JRA for closing the Hendrik Potgieter Road bridge before lives or livelihoods were lost.

While the City’s Officials could have turned a blind eye, given that this road falls under the jurisdiction of the Gauteng Provincial Government; their life-saving actions are in line with our principle that the issues facing the residents of Joburg will always be attended to by the Multi-Party Government, regardless of which sphere of Government is responsible.

Residents can ill-afford bickering between National, Provincial and Local authorities. It nonetheless remains a concern that the Provincial Government did not respond when called upon to do so.

While humanitarian and clean-up operations continue across Joburg, the Executive of the City met this morning to receive a preliminary brief on the extent of the damage that has been caused by persistent inclement weather, as well as the response efforts. Once the data has been collated, we will update the residents of Joburg.

While we find ourselves in an emergency, I have been encouraged by the work being done by City and Entity Officials as well as Councillors to restore order and service delivery operations in Joburg.

The Multi-Party Government is also aware that the flow of communication to residents is often lethargic and incomplete, but I want to assure residents that this is being refined.

The response to the floods is being coordinated by the City’s Joint Operations Committee (JOC), which is being housed at the JMPD’s Integrated Intelligent Operations Centre (IIOC), thus ensuring a ‘one City, with one vision’ approach to the repair and rebuild of Joburg.

Issued by City of Johannesburg Mpho Phalatse