Residents give CoJ a thumbs up
Residents mostly satisfied with CoJ services
According to the residents of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), the overall provision of services has definitely improved on that of previous years.During the CoJ’s bi-annual customer survey, which measures customers’ and residents’ perception of the provision of services, residents indicated that they felt change has definitely taken root, with the result that the overall performance rating increasing to 61 per cent. The previous result (2015) was 59 per cent.
“With this increase, the CoJ’s downward trend, dating back to 2009, has effectively been turned around,” a pleased Herman Mashaba, the Executive Mayor, said.
The survey was conducted in April this year, and customers could rate the performance of the CoJ’s new administration. The results of this survey were also confirmed by a recent six-monthly Government Performance Barometer that was undertaken by Ipsos.
This survey found that residents’ overall perception of how well the CoJ was performing, went from 39 per cent in July 2016 to 53 per cent in July 2017.
Some of the other results (for the same time period) of the survey, include:
• How well the CoJ was handling basic services such as water and electricity showed an increase from 51 per cent to 59 per cent;
• The basic household services indicator, which has also been on a downward trend since 2010, achieved a four per cent increase, from 59 per cent to 63 per cent.
• Residents showed a three per cent increase (the first registered increase since 2013) on their satisfaction with the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), registering a score of 59 per cent.
• However, by-law enforcement decreased by two per cent – from 61 per cent to 59 per cent – continuing its downward trend since 2005.
Mashaba said that he was pleased to state that significant changes in the JMPD are on the horizon. “The recruitment of an additional 1 500 JMPD officers as well as the launch of a number of municipal courts will achieve a major change in customer satisfaction. At the end of August, a new Chief of Police is due to be approved by Council, and our recruitment efforts have focused on finding the right individual to take the JMPD to new heights,” he said.
He added that while some of the customer service satisfaction survey’s results were pleasing, it should be regarded as only the beginning of the change yet to come. “The kind of change our residents require from us is a step-by-step, day-by-day approach that will improve their lives,” the mayor said.
He assured residents that the council will not sit back and relax after learning the results. “Where we succeeded, we will work harder to achieve further on that success. Where change is not coming fast enough, we will take our communities into our confidence and work harder to achieve change,” he concluded.
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