The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), councillor Herman Mashaba, announced the approved budget adjustments recently.
During a council meeting held on 23 February, the adjustments for the 2016/ 17 period were tabled. “When our coalition government walked into office on 23 August, it faced many challenges. The most difficult of these was inheriting a budget from the previous administration that was approved just seven weeks before the municipal elections,” Mashaba said.
Although the Adjustment Budget process does not allow major changes to the city’s budget, a very real sense of the promise of change has begun to emerge.
Mashaba said that, in the past, the administration only served the politically connected few. Those who did not have the right membership cards or connections, who reported service delivery issues into the black hole of bureaucracy, who are no clearer than before on where they stand regarding title deeds and those in the informal settlements who are still without basic services, are the forgotten people.
“This administration will focus on them. We will dedicate this term of office to them,” he said.
Here are some of the highlights of the adjustment budget, which includes the following:
– An additional R41 million has been allocated to electrify various informal settlements, including Lindhaven Plot 8, Princess Plot 61, Kliptown Ext 11, Ruimsig Portion 77 and Freedom Charter Square.
– R2 million has been allocated to the building of homeless shelters in various areas.
– R31 million has been allocated to the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) to recruit 1 500 extra officers to assist with the combating of crime, by-law enforcement and management of traffic congestion.
– R6 million has been allocated to the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to replace cabling in key traffic intersections.
– JRA will receive R60 million to procure the necessary material for pothole repairs as well as a further R28 million in salaries to provide the required capacity behind the operation.
– To address public transport issues, R51 million was allocated to purchase additional Metro Buses and a further R5 million for the refurbishment of the existing fleet.
– The adjustment budget also provides for the improvement of the infrastructure of some of the CoJ clinics, including Noordgesig, Florida and Orchards.
– Pikitup has received R49 million to undertake additional cleaning shifts in both the inner city and the informal settlements. This is to help clean up the CoJ.
Mashaba concluded by saying, “I believe, in the coming weeks, the city’s forgotten people will start seeing progress. The days of being ignored, dismissed, pushed aside and forgotten have come to an end. A new bright light of hope, where previously there was only despair and hopelessness, has dawned on our city.”
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