Randfontein Executive Mayor Sylvia Thebenare delivered her State of the Town Address at the Mohlakeng Stadium on 18 March.
This was to address challenges and achievements of the Randfontein Local Municipality and reflect back on the transition of the town since the inception of democracy 20 years ago.
According to Thebenare, although a lot has been achieved to date, a lot still needs to be done to take Randfontein forward.
“We recognize that this country is better than it was before 1994 and that is because we are united in our diversity and our dignity and respect as been restored.
“The quality of life has improved and we can exercise our rights including the right to vote without fear.
“However, I wish to remind you that prior to 1994, the people of Randfontein, especially Mohlakeng and Toekomsrus did not own houses. All houses were rented but the situation has changed and that indicates improvement on our part.
“Owing to this, I am excited to report to you that a total of 5913 houses have been issued by the municipality,” says Thebenare who adds that in partnership with the Department of Human Settlement, 4072 houses have been built in various parts of Mohlakeng.
She also boasts that they are working on formalizing certain informal settlements in Randfontein.
According to Thebenare the municipality has once again maintained its blue-drop status and is ranked number 4 in the province and number 9 in the country as a municipality that with regard to the quality of our drinking water.
“We are aware that our communities are outraged by the state of our roads.
“However, I can assure our people that our engineers and technical experts are working around the clock to ensure that our roads are user friendly,”
According to her, service providers have been appointed to repair the roads and interuptions have been caused by recent heavy rains.
Apart from this, Thebenare also addressed socio-economic issues and said that the municipality is also working around the clock at eradicating issues that hamper societal development in Randfontein.
According to her, there are still scores of people who are poverty stricken and unemployed and this remains a serious problem.
To address this, Thebenare says that they have partnered with the Department of Economic Development to establish entreuprenal opportunities.
“I am very passionate about youth empowerment and I see this as a way to take our country forward because the future lies with our children.
“I have set up an annual bursary fund which has provided numerous children with an opportunity to further their studies.”
Thebenare says that having noted the challenges in office, the municipality will be focusing on strengthing public service and accountability among people within the municipality.
She also says that there will be systems enforced aimed at fighting corruption and focusing on the management of infrastructure as well.
“We are prepared to look into what needs to be done to better the lives of our people.
“We are also prepared to control spending and focus on urban growth as well as enhancing economic competitiveness,” says Thebenare who adds that they will be reviewing the Independent Development Plan.
“We are confident that such initiatives will encourage investment, employment and growth in the economy of Randfontein.”
