City of Johannesburg Press Statement by Cllr Ronald Harris Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development
ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE “ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU HERITAGE PRECINCT”
The Executive Mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse and the Directorate: Arts, Culture and Heritage, are proud to announce the approval, in a tempestuous Council meeting, of the establishment of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Heritage Precinct.
The Precinct will be centred around St Mary’s Cathedral, and it will be bounded by Wanderers, Hoek, De Villiers and Plein streets. Permission has also been obtained to start the public participation process to have the streets surrounding the Precinct renamed.
The City acknowledges the prayers, perseverance and persistence of Dean Xolani Dlwati, his team and the Anglican Church for wanting to honour the immense contribution Archbishop Tutu made to the freedom we celebrate today. We will now be working with various entities and departments to combine the different components of the precinct. The project forms part of the Multi-Party Coalition’s Inner City Renewal Programme. With this milestone decision of Council, we, in partnership with the Anglican Diocese, now embark on the exciting project to deliver to the City, our province, South Africa and the world at large, a long-lasting legacy in celebration of our very own world icon.
As we celebrate today, let us remember what the Arch said: “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow”. This befittingly epitomises our “City of Golden Opportunity!”
ENDS Issued by on behalf of Councillor Ronald Harris, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development in the City of Joburg
JPOMA is hosting a billing webinar with CoJ to assist property owners with billing queries; find out how best to log queries in order to get quick results. The webinar will also cover how calls are allocated and why it is important to log queries correctly.
The City has been served the refuse application and the next steps are as follows:
The City of Johannesburg has until on, or before 19 April 2022 in order to file their notice of intention to oppose and the record of the decision;
JPOMA will then have until 5 May 2022 in order to file any supplementary notice of motion or affidavit that we feel is necessary;
The City will then have until on or before 17 June 2022 within which to file their answering affidavit, and JPOMA will have until 1 July 2022 to file a reply;
JPOMA then has 10 days within which to file heads of argument, rendering them due on 15 July 2022, and the City of Johannesburg will have 10 days within which to file their responding heads of argument, being 30 July 2022. At that stage JPOMA will be entitled to apply for an opposed date which we anticipate being in mid-September 2022 in the event that the parties adhere to the above time periods.
Update from Michael Wellbeloved of VMW Inc.:
To provide an update in this matter, this morning we addressed this letter to the City of Johannesburg, warning against the disconnection of municipal services to the accounts that form the subject of the review application. After transmitting the letter I received a telephone call from Hloni Mokoena, of Moodie & Robertson Attorneys, who informed me that he had been instructed in the matter and that he had received our letter. Hloni agreed in broad terms with the content of our letter, on a without prejudice basis and stated that he would have to take instruction.
The first timeline in this application comes to pass on 19 April 2022, on which date the City will have to file the record of the decision. We will provide an update on that day but we anticipate that the City will be late in filing the record.
JPOMA are currently finalising the sewer application.
Following the city being served, JPOMA circulated another press release, which has created a great deal of attention. Please see below the various publications:
The draft IDP outlines targeted programmes, services, and the support required to drive economic growth and optimal municipal performance in line with the seven (7) mayoral priorities for the current term of office. The over-arching principle of the IDP is the practice and encouragement of sound governance in all the City does.
The Multi-Party Government (MPG) echoes the sentiments of Joburg residents in Council meetings, that change is required, mediocre performance is inexcusable, and that a world-class African City is characterised by good governance, inclusivity, and transparency. These characteristics remain the overarching goals of the Golden Start, the City’s strategic outlook.
In the pursuit of “Building a City of Golden Opportunities,” the IDP confirms the MPG’s intention for the next five years, which entails speeding up service delivery and improving the quality of life for all residents. The City Council acknowledges that there is still a long way to go but that the commitment to get there is evidenced in the strategic interventions announced in the IDP.
Through the draft IDP and budget, the MPG will focus on infrastructure investment, improving the reliability of public services for those who have them, and extending basic services to those with limited access. The mission is to ensure there is clean water and a sanitary environment for all communities. The vision is that everything possible must be done to create an environment that will enable economic growth, making Joburg the City of Golden Opportunities.
As far as the Executive Mayor, Cllr Mpho Phalatse is concerned, the draft IDP is not about ticking compliance boxes. “This draft plan marks a significant shift for the City. A new era has begun, the City wants to know what you need, not merely give you what we think you need,” says the Executive Mayor, adding, “it gives me immense pleasure to present the City’s draft 2022/27 IDP for consultation”.
The proposed dates and times for IDP meetings are as follows:
Region A: Saturday 2 April 10:00 – 13:00 Midrand Fire Station Region B: Wednesday 6 April 17:00 – 19:00 Danie van Zyl Rec Region C: Saturday 30 April 10:00 – 13:00 Roodepoort City Hall Region D1: Saturday 9 April 10:00 – 13:00 Dhlamini MPCC Region D2: Saturday 7 May 10:00 – 13:00 Orlando Community Hall Region E: Wednesday 20 April 17:00 – 19:00 Marlboro Community Hall Region F: Tuesday 12 April 17:00 – 19:00 Brixton MPCC Region G: Saturday 23 April 10:00 – 13:00 Finetown MPCC
The Budget
Like other cities across the world, Johannesburg faces a slew of challenges ranging from poverty, increasing unemployment, rapid urbanisation, and other socio-economic challenges. In a City with 6, 2 million inhabitants, the challenge will always be how to balance ever-increasing service delivery requests with limited resources.
As major economies transition out of Covid-19, the City is yet to fully recover from the impact of the global pandemic on its revenue base.
Over 70% of the City’s revenue comes from service charges for electricity, water, sanitation, and refuse, as well as rates and taxes. During the various stages of the Covid-19 lockdown, many businesses closed, and household income levels were depleted.
The budget tabled before the City Council considers these realities while striving to improve operational efficiencies to realise better value for money.
The responsibility of the City’s administration is to ensure the agenda is clear, representative of the needs of its citizens, and that the challenges faced are addressed sustainably. Despite limited resources, the City’s drive is to prioritise allocation to those interventions that drive the strategic agenda (the Golden Start), with a particular focus on programmes that stimulate and stabilise the economy post Covid.
Tariff proposals for the 2022/23 fiscal year will be made available for public comment in April. The tariff proposals for electricity, water, and sanitation are a pass-through cost to residents due to price increases by Eskom and Rand Water.
The MMC of Finance, Cllr Julie Suddaby, says while the City has noted signs of improvement, the municipality will apply principles of good governance. “We will be watching our budget carefully in the knowledge that we are rebuilding our City, using the Golden Start principles, with a focused and determined approach to see it shine once more,” Suddaby says.
