JOBURG – This term of office, the City of Johannesburg will focus on forgotten people.
This is what Mayor Herman Mashaba said the adjustments in the current budget were.
The Adjustment budget was tabled and approved on 23 February.
The adjustments seemed to closely follow Mashaba’s 10-point plan, which he revealed shortly after taking over the reigns.
The mayor has repeatedly said he had inherited the previous administration’s budget and that he could only make amendments now.
These are the agreed upon adjustments:
Housing
R1 million was allocated for a study into how people can be protected along the banks of the Jukskei River. From the National Grant, R546 million will go toward electrifying some of the incomplete housing units being completed in the city.
“An additional R41 million has been allocated to the project to electrify various informal settlements.”
R2 million was also allocated for the construction of homeless shelters in various areas.
Safe and connected communities
R31 million has been allocated to Metro police for the recruitment of a further 1 500 officers. R6 million has been allocated to replace cabling in key traffic intersections. R60 million was allocated to the Johannesburg Roads Agency to get the necessary material for pothole repairs with a further R28 million for salaries.
“R51 million [more] has been allocated for the purchase of additional buses for Metro Bus, with a further R5 million for the refurbishment of the current fleet. In addition to this, we have further allocated R14.3 million for the Intermodal Transport Facility in the inner city,” said Mashaba.
Healthcare
R4.3 million will be allocated to extend the operating hours of public clinics. The Randburg Clinic, Zandspruit and Albert Street Clinic in the inner city will soon operate from 7am to 7pm on weekdays and will be open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 7.30am to 1.30pm.
Inner city renewal
Funding to the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) increased and now amounts to R219 million. This will help purchase buildings that will be refurbished within the inner city and converted into affordable rental units.
An additional R49.2 million was allocated to Pikitup for additional cleaning shifts in the inner city and within informal settlements.
Growing the city’s economy
R3.6 million more was allocated to development planning to capacitate the units that address key performance areas that will help grow the city’s economy. An additional R5 million has also been allocated to the completion of the Shared Industrial Production Facility in Alexandra, which is a fully serviced shared production facility for Alexandra-based SMMEs operating in the informal manufacturing sector.
Good governance and the fight against corruption
R38 million for the full capacitation of the Anti-Corruption Unit led by General Shadrack Sibiya will continue. R5 million was also allocated to the completion of the skills audit.
