In case you missed it, here is your Joburg news roundup for the second week of August
JOBURG – From 5 to 11 August, what has happened at the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality?
Beginning on 5 August, let’s take a look at what news you might have missed coming from the City of Johannesburg.
On 5 August Metro police’s K9 Narcotics and Tactical Unit saved four women in Randburg who were allegedly kidnapped by two men . “After receiving a tip-off, the Metro police’s K9 Unit tracked the suspects to a house in Randburg where two foreign nationals and the four female victims were found. One of the women is from Riverlea and the other three are from the Northern Cape,” said Public Safety MMC Michael Sun.
On 6 August the African National Congress Joburg caucus led a media briefing where they raised concerns about the City’s apparent failing financial position
Read: ANC concerned about Joburg financial crisis
Jolidee Matongo, ANC Joburg Region spokesperson said the City has experienced a revenue under-billing of R2.4 billion – with an under-collection of over R3 billion by the end of June. “This means the City is now only able to deliver services in the short term using borrowed funds.”
On 7 August The MMC for Finance, Dr Rabelani Dagada, hit back at the ANC, assuring residents that Joburg’s finances are in a healthy state.
He also added a bit of what the City’s finances would look like in the future.
“In the next three years, the City will move away from the ‘pay-as-you-go’ model – where capital expenditure is funded by the revenue generated during the same fiscal year – to a pre-paid model where the expenditure is funded by available cash.”
On 9 August the City’s Environmental and Infrastructure Services MMC, Nico de Jager, announced that he would be directing City Power to prioritise the maintenance of its 270 000 streetlights
He said streets were being left in the dark too often and the turnaround time for repairs was too slow. Residents are urged to assist this campaign by reporting broken street lights to City Power on 011 375 5555, www.citypower.mobi or by tweeting to @citypowerjhb. If residents spot any illegal tampering with street lights, report it to Metro police on 011 375 5911.
On 10 August the first Billing Open Day was scheduled for 12 August at Marks Park in Emmarentia. Dagada is confident that this, and many more open days to come, will be the solution to the infamous billing crisis. The City hopes to resolve all – yes all – queries that were brought to them on that day.
On 11 August The Johannesburg Roads Agency’s managing director, Dr Sean Phillips, resigned. He told the Randburg Sun that his reason was personal. The agency said it would release a statement on 14 August regarding his resignation.
Were you at the Billing Open Day? Were you able to resolve your outstanding query? Let us know about your experiences on the day by sending an email to chantellef@caxton.co.za
