Broken promises and failing services are sinking Joburg

Joburg Water and City Power are taking noticeably longer to deal with outages and other complaints, such as reinstatements where roads and pavements have been dug up.

Managers are not coping, despite their heroic efforts under incompetent, corrupt political leadership. Ratepayers are treated as sources to be fleeced rather than as deserving recipients of municipal services.

Consider the latest budget documents tabled in council and distributed for public comment. There are no allocations directly for my ward 90, which includes high-ratepaying suburbs Sandhurst, Hyde Park, Hurlingham and Dunkeld, among others.

Although money is allocated for bridge rehabilitation, there is nothing specifically for Conrad Drive Bridge which joins ward 90 with ward 102 at Blairgowrie.

Widening the bridge is essential to relieve heavy traffic congestion. It was on the city’s budget before I became ward councillor in 2016, but not much has happened since. Budget is allocated, then removed.

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Understandably, there’s nothing for the broken Craighall Park “blue bridge” across the Braamfontein Spruit.

Damaged during a storm on 5 March, the bridge took another battering during flooding on 26 March.

As this was too late for the current budget, I have applied for emergency funding. Built in 2006 as a “safe crossing for domestic workers” – following a 2004 drowning – the blue bridge serves thousands of pedestrian commuters, park runners, cyclists, walkers and horse riders.

Scores of businesses, big and small, depend on this thoroughfare, which is now closed for safety reasons.

Will the city allocate anything for repair? We shall see.

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Community leaders are preparing to help.

While money is allocated for reservoirs generally, there’s nothing specified for repairs at the cracked Dunkeld reservoir, which has been sending clean water down Kent Road for more than a decade, gouging a furrow across Christopherson Road. Previously, budget has been allocated and removed.

While there are references to sewer upgrades, there is no direct reference to desperately needed pipe replacements requested in Hurlingham and Sandhurst. Sewage spills occurring there weekly take too long to clear.

All of this makes a mockery of the “integrated development plan” public participation now under way. It’s fake.

A tick-box exercise. Residents are invited to give input to the budget process. Their requests are largely ignored.

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Joburg’s collapse becomes more evident daily. Residents see this and many mock the aspirational slogan, “World-class African city”.

Yet they still somehow expect first-class service. The assumption seems to be that because they pay rates, good service will automatically follow. Not so. In Joburg, links between rates and service are broken.

Yet many refuse to see this connection is severed. They also don’t join the dots between poor political leadership and the city’s condition.

Recently I tinkered with the link inviting ward 90 residents to join a WhatsApp group. When asked whether they would like to take out or renew DA membership, more than 90% said no.

Okay, but please note, rescuing Joburg must include radical change in political leadership. Only one party can fix this city. If it’s too much effort to join, please remember to vote correctly next time.

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After that, there may not be another chance to stop Joburg’s downward plunge.