Referencing a previous conversation held with a colleague, the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, quoted his colleague as saying that President Cyril Ramaphosa is a ‘medical miracle’.
Mayor Mashaba’s reflection on the conversation came during his address at a breakfast held by the Democratic Alliance (DA) at Ruimsig Country Club on Friday, 27 July.
“I was talking to a colleague who told me that he believes Cyril Ramaphosa is a ‘medical miracle’,” Mashaba recalled. He elaborated for the crowd in attendance at the breakfast that the individual to whom he was relaying the story seemed confused, so he provided clarity.
“I said to my colleague that the person had explained Ramaphosa as a ‘medical miracle’ because he had ‘never seen a human who can walk without a spine’,” Mashaba explained.The shot at President Ramaphosa came after Mayor Mashaba had said that the African National Congress (ANC) cannot correct itself at this point. “The ANC cannot self-correct. They are on the same road with the same bus, they have simply changed the driver,” Mashaba said.
In his speech, Mashaba noted the numerous successes that the CoJ has achieved since August 2016’s elections, but acknowledged that there is plenty of work to still be done. “You [residents] want to see Johannesburg like Cape Town, and you want it yesterday,” Mashaba said. “But, you are not going to see Johannesburg like Cape Town in the next 10 years, I must admit it.”
Before mentioning a few of the successes achieved by the CoJ’s multi-party government, Mashaba made sure to say that he feels “The ANC has incorporated a system of thievery that inflicts the same pain that the National Party inflicted on the people for decades.”
When it came time to mention the successes that they have seen since the institution of the multi-party government, Mashaba listed a number of milestones reached. Here are but a few:
• 520kms of road have been resurfaced
• 13 clinics have been granted extended operating hours
• These clinics have treated 178 emergency cases that “could have ended in a person losing their life” during these extended hours
• Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) has made 20 000 arrests (more than those achieved in the period from 2009 to 2012)
• 50kms of gravel road have been tarred
• 5 800 homes in informal settlements have electricity
• 2 500 homes in informal settlements have running water
• 245 000 tons of waste have been collected through the A Re Sebetseng project
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at northsider@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
