THE EXECUTIVE mayor of Ekurhuleni Clr Mondli Gungubele in his opening of the 2016 State of the City Address (SoCA) said “you do not have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”.
As residents we so often think of everything that is wrong and seldom take the time to be proud of our achievements as citizens of Ekurhuleni. Keeping the trend of previous years the theme of SoCA continued: “Strengthening social maturity by advancing social cohesion in pursuit of a prosperous and, therefore, livable and sustainable city”. This theme has been carried throughout this term, because as a local government we remain committed to the continued relevance of building a non-racial, non-sexist, socially cohesive society that is socially mature.
The mayor’s speech was once again filled with comments and input from residents who sent their inputs to the mayor. I enjoyed the way residents’ inputs shaped the State of the City Address and I see this as a sign of political maturity and depth in our democracy. Gungubele showcased the achievement of back-to-back clean audits by the Auditor General that reflect the responsible and prudent financial management of public funds and resources in Ekurhuleni. Ratings Africa recently rated Ekurhuleni’s finances as the best of all ANC-run metros in the country and this is a feather in the cap of the political leaders of the city.
Gungubele elaborated with great pride on the digitalisation of Ekurhuleni in the past year rolling out Wi-Fi hotspots and e-health services taking Ekurhuleni into the future and making Ekurhuleni a world-class city. SoCA addressed the improved services of the Ekurhuleni Call Centre and the mayor assured residents that the Rapid Response Teams will be dispatched to attend to their complaints received at the call centre. The mayor displayed zeal towards building a capable and developmental local government in Ekurhuleni. He invited residents to join in realising the vision for Ekurhuleni to deliver on the people’s mandate of creating an Ekurhuleni that is safe, livable and efficient. Ekurhuleni is fast becoming a city that is socially integrated, economically inclusive and globally competitive. The mayor also committed to continue working tirelessly to bridge the gap on access.
Let’s bridge the gap with the mayor by creating a better life for all.
