Mayor vows to rebuild Alex
ALEXANDRA – Phalatse says the township will no longer be used as a political football in her mayoral watch.
The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg Dr Mpho Phalatse has described Alexandra as an important community in the city that has long been neglected and exploited by politicians for their own gain.
Phalatse made these remarks when she delivered a keynote address at the Alexandra Business Development and Investment Summit.
The summit also marked the housewarming party for the new offices of the We Love Alexandra Community Makeover Project at Sandton Towers on Valentine’s Day, February 14.
The mayor, who was fresh from the launch of an Aresebetseng community clean-up campaign in the City’s Region E held in Marlboro, pointed out that for far too long the township had been used as political football while its residents continued to live in what she described as a life of indignity.
“Today, I am here to say not in my name, and not in the name of my city. Today marks the beginning of building a new Alexandra. With you, I want to build an Alexandra where residents can access both opportunities and services.
“I want this township to become a place where women feel safe walking the streets at any time of the day; where the sick are able to access quality healthcare; where quality basic services are delivered by the City; and most importantly, the residents are economically active and empowered,” she told an audience of Sandton business people and Alexandrian champions of the makeover project.
The makeover project is the brainchild of the non-profit company South Africa Day and championed by Alexandrians led by the township’s leading philanthropist and community builder Linda Twala.
Phalatse said she was no stranger to Alex. “As some of you may know, I am a medical doctor, and at the beginning of my career I served as a casualty officer at the [Masakhane] Clinic and this gave me an insight into the issues affecting the community.
“So, in many ways I have come full circle as I stand here once again committing to lend my hand and the authority of the office of the executive mayor to Alexandra.
“Already the City has started the work of ensuring services are delivered to Alexandra. My previous engagement before coming here, I was with service delivery teams who will be in Region E over the next few days filling potholes, cleaning open spaces, fixing leaking pipes and taps, and repairing faulty power infrastructure.”
Phalatse said to rebuild Alexandra on a meaningful scale ‘we must start by getting the basics right’. “Getting the basics right is not only how we are going to rebuild Alexandra but it also how we are going to rebuild the City as a whole.”
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