Amos Masondo, who will step down as Johannesburg Mayor, on Thursday released his end-of-term report, which painted a rosy picture of the progress the municipality has made.

The report, which covers 2006 to 2011, is entitled ‘Sharing the Legacy’.

Of the R31-billion spent on capital projects in the last term, the critical focus areas of capital spending has seen R7-billion spent on City Power to stabilise the distribution network, R4,6-billion on water and sanitation to increase basic service provision, R507-million on refuse removal in areas previously not covered, and R3,6-billion on transportation.

The latter was mainly focused on the roll out of the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, while R3,4-billion was spent on general road maintenance and tackling backlogs in previously under-serviced areas such as Orange Farm and Diepsloot.

Masondo said the financial position of the city remained positive, evidenced by its investment grade credit ratings, which have remained unchanged at double A minus from the previous year, with a stable outlook. He noted that in the near future, the focus on audits would no longer be confined to finances, but extended to performance and service delivery.

TERM MILESTONES

Some of the achievements highlighted during this period include the implementation of the BRT, successfully hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, accelerating efforts to improve service delivery in suburban and township areas, tackling urbanisation and migration, the transformation of Soweto, and successfully creating partnerships by regenerating the inner city.

Its area-based initiatives included demarcating places such as the inner city into precincts and city improvement districts.

An Inner City Charter and Inner City Charter Partnership Forum were also formed and, as a contribution to the charter, R1,2-billion was spent on public environment upgrades and infrastructure improvements. This was exceeded by the private sector, with the Urban Development Zone tax incentive alone resulting in property investments valued at R8-billion.

Regarding healthcare, the city has significantly improved on the number of infectious tuberculosis (TB) patients cured since 2006: 54% of newly diagnosed patients suffering from TB of the lungs were cured in 2002, compared with 76,5% in 2008. He added that the City of Johannesburg is regarded as the best performing municipality in the country for its implementation of the National TB Crisis Plan.

The under one-year old immunisation average has also improved, from 87,6% for the 2006/7 year, to 96,2% in 2009/10.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Masondo said the local government was facing a number of challenges including urban migration, the delicate recovery path from the recent global financial crises, increasing emphasis on green economy, climate change, acid mine drainage, skills shortage and increasingly stretched financial resources to deliver on its mandate and citizen’s expectations.

Where weaker and more vulnerable municipalities are facing complex rural development problems, more stable municipalities such as Johannesburg are increasingly facing challenges of urban growth, he said.

Although service delivery is a critical challenge facing the city, Masondo highlighted the city’s percentage coverage, which is at 98% for basic water and 91% coverage for basic sanitation. Further, over 34 000 households were provided with new electricity connections, City Power rolled out over 25 000 public lights in targeted areas and, Pikitup services about 709 000 customers on a weekly basis.

Several supporting booklets were released with the report, featuring key initiatives including the BRT, inner city, Soweto and nodal developments.

Masondo, elected in 2000, will end his term as mayor after the May local municipal elections.