A massive R77.3 billion has been budgeted to fix the ‘broken and ailing’ infrastructure of the City of Johannesburg that has ‘fallen into a state of disrepair after many years of neglect.
Tabling her maiden budget speech for the 2022/23 financial year, themed the Golden Repair, MMC for Finance Julie Suddaby said this budget was dedicated to fixing a broken City – filled with broken roads, broken promises, broken street and traffic lights, broken power substations, broken sewers and broken water pipes.
“We need to get the basics right and we cannot continue to build on broken infrastructure because what we build today will be broken the following day for as long as our foundation is broken. We want to fix the foundation, and only then can we start to build,” Suddaby said.
She linked the City of Gold to an art form, Kintsugi, where broken pottery is carefully restored by filling the cracks with gold. The repaired object unashamedly showcases its flaws, though it is once again useful and even more precious than before.
“The artist’s painstaking work not only shows care but also a hope that what was once broken can be repaired. Hence, this process is called the Golden Repair and this is what we’re doing with this budget to fix the city that has fallen into a state of disrepair after many years of neglect,” she said.
Suddaby said the goal of the multiparty government was not to hide our breaks and imperfections. “What was broken can be redeemed as we work together, as communities and the city, to heal the cracks that are a part of our story. In the end, our city will be even more vibrant due to the Golden Repair,” she added.
She said the city had decided to use the basis of what is available to express its resilience in the face of challenges that lie ahead. “Restoration takes time and a meticulous focus. The glue must dry and harden before it can be dusted with gold, teaching us patience as our Egoli is brought back to her glory days.”
Suddaby concluded that the ‘Golden Start’, as enunciated by Mayor Mpho Phalatse earlier, has taken root. “This next phase is where we cultivate the Golden Start, that we are proud to call the ‘Golden Repair’.”
