Announcing a swathe of previous and newly installed project approvals in the region valued at almost R25 billion, Moerane also said R150 million had already been paid to ERWAT waste water specialists to begin cleaning up sewage spillages immediately in Emfuleni. Moerane was recently speaking in a meeting at Stonehaven, Vanderbijlpark where the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC), the Gauteng Provincial Government and ELM convened to discuss municipal challenges and development opportunities. President Ramaphosa is expected to attend the investment summit focused on the Marine economy of the Vaal on Heritage Day, September 24, and his presence will focus national attention not only on the Vaal region and river economy as an investment and job creation destination, but also on major local government service bottlenecks.

Moerane was also emphatic it would “no longer be business as usual at ELM” and that the embattled local authority should already have been out of partial Section 139 administration imposed by Gauteng Province.

He said the management of ELM would also be restructured as it was “too top-heavy” and the capacity to execute its function was the most important factor. The Stonehaven meeting was convened after the GTCoC piled on pressure on ELM and the provincial Government to halt new “exorbitant” electricity tariffs but also to suspend two top ELM officials over the smart meter fiasco and alleged irregular appointments. Moerane committed ELM to working with business to stimulate investment and development in Emfuleni and acknowledged the local authority could do more to create a business-friendly environment. Gauteng Province Finance MEC, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, said she did not approve of business going to court to halt vastly increased ELM power tariffs as the was “cutting off your nose to spite your face”. However, she said a “new 2019 dialogue” needed to be initiated and sustained with businesses also on power tariffs as old as 1987 preferential power agreement with certain business could not be maintained. Approved developments announced by Moerane included the Vaal River City project (R11 Bn) to uplift the township economy, newly-declared industrial zones in Duncanville, two new SA Breweries factories for glass and lactose production (R11 Bn) and a massive project of 80k square metres for 10 000 student accommodation beds that would dwarf even the Vaal Mall.