Masina delivers his final address and reflects on his term of office
“There is an urgent need for government to reconstruct the economy.”
Ekurhuleni mayor Clr Mzwandile Masina delivered his final State of the City Address at the Germiston Council Chambers on Wednesday.
This was his last address to the city with the municipal elections set to take place this year.
“Five years ago, residents of Ekurhuleni gave us a mandate to represent them in council and govern this city. By not giving this mandate to a single political party, the party-political system was redefined,” said Masina.
“Before this, it had been a dominant party-system where the ANC had exercised hegemony as the governing party. In the previous elections, our people mandated us with the task of establishing a coalition government that they trusted to reflect and represent their aspirations,” said the mayor.
Covid-19
Masina said Covid-19 left the economy in a shocking state. “There is an urgent need for the government to reconstruct the economy. “Our onslaught in this battle must be a solid post-Covid-19 Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan anchored on our 10-point plan. It is for this reason that this year’s address is themed ‘Ushering in an era of renewed commitment and unity towards rebuilding a people-centred post-Covid economy’,” said Masina.
Masina stated the highlights of his time in office included:
• Adoption of the Siyaqhuba Mayoral Outreach Programme to ensure service delivery problems are responded to.
“This programme has unearthed matters around delays in projects, service delivery issues as well as criminal matters, including the hijacked buildings in the city,” said Masina.
• The commitment to improve informal settlements through mechanisms such as re-blocking.
“We delivered over 42 773 housing units and 26 543 serviced stands.”
• Electrification of 40 informal settlements and increased number of mobile chemical toilets from 1:10 to 1:5 and re-blocking of 46 informal settlements.
• City’s investment of R283 070 000 to upgrade the network infrastructure in the Germiston area.
“In Wadeville alone, the city spent close to R65-million on the new 44kV cables installation to strengthen electricity supply.”
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• CoE’s investment of R174 000 000 to upgrade the network infrastructure in the Benoni area.
• In Kempton Park Area, the city invested R63 394 000 to upgrade the network infrastructure.
• R1.6-billion to fix roads infrastructure in the Eastern Region.
“A total of 13 053km have been maintained over the last five years. A further 52 666 stormwater drainage systems also received attention.”
• The EMPD precincts in Zonkizizwe, Thokoza, Bonaero Park, Kempton Park and Thembisa.
“These have increased the capacity of the city’s responsibility to maintaining community safety, aiding in reducing crime and related incidents,” said Masina.
“Other major infrastructure projects include the construction of 10 libraries in Thembisa, Zonkizizwe, Langaville, Leondale and Kingsway. Mega projects completed over the past five years include the Dumisani Masilela Theatre, Sinaba Stadium, Etwatwa Swimming Pool and the OR Tambo statue,” said Masina.
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