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The GOOD Party in Johannesburg remains concerned about the dire financial state of the City which has pushed service delivery to the brink of collapse. 

Yesterday’s State of the City Address, highlighted the urgent the need for stability in the leadership to ensure that the finances and service delivery get back on track. 

As GOOD, we welcome some of the necessary measures that have so far been taken to restore the fiscal health of the City, including the R2 billion DBSA loan. While this is a starting point, Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda should aggressively pursue other means of generating the much-required revenue.

Also key to note is the extension of the power purchase agreement with the Kelvin Power Station for another three years. Currently, the City purchases 87% of power from Eskom, and Kelvin supplies the balance of 13%.

However, we are concerned that the speech was thin on detail regarding a clear path to invest in new City Power Infrastructure and a review of its business plan. City Power’s overdraft has ballooned to R9 billion and it has experienced liquidity issues for the past 17 years. 

GOOD will use available avenues to appeal for a clear pathway to revise City Power’s business plan. Without the overhaul of the business plan, all other endeavors to stabilise electricity in the City will be futile.

The proposed roll-out of solar rooftop energy for disadvantaged households will be a failure if the City does not implement a feasible strategy to secure its infrastructure. While the Mayor acknowledged the problem of theft and vandalism, he failed to outline how to practically deal with this.

GOOD is disappointed in the lack of focus on the collapsing 13 599 kms of road network, as well as the roll-out of an improved stormwater drainage system. The patching of potholes is simply not a sustainable solution, while the lack of stormwater drains continue to destroy roads and have placed the lives of residents at risk during rainy season. 

There was also no mention of the perpetual problem of water leaks caused by the aging infrastructure across the City. The leaks have caused the city to lose about 40 percent of its revenue and must be urgently addressed. 

GOOD commends the Mayor for acknowledging the long-standing issues of illegal mining in Riverlea and the accompanying criminality it causes in surrounding communities. Through our position in the legislature, we have already been working to mobilize relevant stakeholders to address the issue.

Furthermore, we are encouraged by the proposed District Development Model which will ensure coordinated crime-fighting efforts between local, provincial, and national government spheres. The proposed appointment of 2000 crime fighting wardens is also a progressive step toward creating safer communities. 

We hope the efforts to rid communities such as Eldorado Park of gangsterism and drug dealers will be accelerated. GOOD has led campaigns against gun violence and this communities and will continue raising advocacy. 

While we are also pleased with the partnership with the private sector to rollout CCTV cameras in the inner-city, officials need to ensure that these are always in working order.

Lastly, the announcement of the proposed Gender Based Violence Advisory Committee to bolster efforts to address the scourge of gender-based violence is encouraging. We hope the Mayor will ensure that the committee is well capacitated and is accessible to marginalised communities.

Submitted by GOOD party