Newly appointed Mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni Tania Campbell of the DA said now is not the time for promises, but it is the time to get things done.
WATCH: A video showing newly appointed Mayor Tania Campbell’s address.
Campbell announced this during the inaugural Council sitting after her appointment as mayor at Germiston Civic Centre Council Chambers.
She took over the reins from former mayor Mzwandile Masina, who has governed the City since 2016.
The agenda for the Council sitting, presided by city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi, included swearing-in of new and returning councillors.
During a highly contested and fair voting process, councillors also voted for the new speaker of council and whip of the council.
Out of 220 votes, the new speaker of council Raymond Dlamini came out victorious. The election of the whip of council went to DA’s Khetha Shandu.
Among many other councillors sworn in on the day were Alberton councillors.
The councillors included Ward 94 councillor, Samantha Nair, returning Ward 38 councillor Malcolm Maifala, Ward 37 councillor Ivan Naidoo and Ward 106 councillor Timothy Denny.
During her address, Campbell said this is the change that residents have been waiting for, for at least 20 years.
“For far too long our people have been living in conditions that are substandard in Ekurhuleni. Our residents have been living in a metro where service delivery is nearly nonexistent. And where millions of rands have been spent on housing projects, business centres and substations, and yet there is nothing to show our residents out there.
This ends today,” she said.
She reiterated that challenges in the City are countless and it will only take a team effort to overcome those problems.
“Today, we start a process of giving our people their dignity back. We start the process of ensuring every tender issued is done so in a transparent and fair manner and that value for money is ensured at all times,” said Campbell.
Dlamini said: “We will have to deal with the issue of service delivery and make sure we deal with the issue of unemployment since we are sitting with 60 to 65% of unemployment in the youth. We have to make sure we have the right people in the right position to help us achieve that.”
