Herman Mashaba
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Delivering Diphetogo End of Term Report Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba Foreword by the Executive Mayor On the 3rd of August 2016, the residents of Johannesburg rejected the status quo of the previous two decades, and voted for change. With a clear mandate from the electorate, the Democratic Alliance (DA), with the support of six formal coalition partners – including the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Al Jama‐ah (AJ), Congress of the People (COPE), Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the United Democratic Movement (UDM) – and backed by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on an ‘issue by issue’ basis, formed the first multi‐party government in the City’s history. It was through this highly complex arrangement that I was elected as the Executive Mayor of the City on the 22nd of August 2016, and undertook a journey to deliver the change the residents had demanded. The past three years have seen the multi‐party government come to grips with challenges far beyond what we expected to find in the City. As a businessman, I thought I was familiar with many of the challenges facing not only Johannesburg, but South Africa at large, including rising unemployment, growing inequality and endemic corruption. It was not until I was charged with tackling these issues on behalf of the City’s 5 million residents, that I was fully able to appreciate their impact on the lived experience of our people. Indeed, in the private sector one has the luxury of being academic about both the challenges we face, as well as the solutions required to fix them. In government, one has no such luxury. The past three years have seen our complex governance arrangement struggle on a daily basis to make slow but persistent progress in turning Johannesburg into a City that works. As I have long maintained, a Johannesburg that works, is a South Africa that works. My time as the Executive Mayor has been the most arduous of my life. Running a City with 33,000 employees and a budget approaching R65 billion is a formidable task. Despite this, I look back on the past three years with a feeling of profound gratitude for the opportunity I was given to make a difference in the lives of the City’s residents. My experiences have brought into sharp focus the plight of South Africans who, 25 years after Apartheid, are still denied the dignity of meaningful employment. My eyes have been opened to the daily struggle of our people who live in poverty, often without access to basic sanitation, while a small politically‐connected elite have grown wealthy at their expense. Above all, I have been touched by the deep desire of the vast majority of residents to see our City and our Country succeed. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for the support offered to me by the Members of the Mayoral Committee, my caucus, my political partners, the devoted staff in my Private Office, as well as the City’s administration led by City Manager, Dr Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni. Turning around a City as large and complex as Johannesburg requires a concerted effort by scores of like‐minded and equally dedicated individuals working in tandem. It was a privilege to be lead such a team. Lastly, I would like to thank the City’s 5 million residents, including civil society and the private sector, for giving the multi‐party government your support. The successes we have achieved over the past three years were achieved not by myself, but through a collective effort involving many partnerships. Experiencing the willingness of fellow residents to be a part of delivering change has been an inspiration. There can be no doubt that change takes time. A large ship turns slowly, but turn it will. I am proud of what we have achieved over the past three years and leave the City knowing that we have delivered Diphetogo, “real changes”. Cllr Heman Mashaba Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg August 2016 to November 2019 Page | i Contents Foreword by the Executive Mayor ................................................................................................................................... i Acronyms and Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................................... iv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Inherited backlogs ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Strategic evolution ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 Outcome 1: A growing, diverse and competitive economy that creates jobs ................................................................ 3 Bringing investment to the City ................................................................................................................................... 4 Reclaiming the Inner City and turning it into a construction site ............................................................................... 4 Empowering those seeking opportunity ..................................................................................................................... 5 Providing economic growth and development ........................................................................................................... 6 Special Ratings Areas Policy ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Public Transformation and Empowerment Policy ................................................................................................... 7 Outcome 2: An inclusive society with enhanced quality of life that provides meaningful redress through pro‐poor development .................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Investing in improved and more accessible healthcare to residents of Johannesburg.............................................. 7 Improving access to primary healthcare ................................................................................................................. 7 Fighting substance abuse ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Investing in housing opportunities in the city ............................................................................................................. 8 Other Housing Policies ............................................................................................................................................. 9 Providing services to informal settlements ................................................................................................................. 9 Building inclusivity and cohesion in the city .............................................................................................................. 10 Insourcing of security guards in cleaners in the City ................................................................................................. 10 Assisting residents with debt rehabilitation .............................................................................................................. 11 Outcome 3: Enhanced, quality services and sustainable environmental practices ..................................................... 11 Addressing the inherited public infrastructure and service delivery challenges ...................................................... 11 Repairing and maintaining water and sewer pipes ................................................................................................... 12 Stabilising the electricity grid through the refurbishment of substations, and bulk infrastructure ........................ 12 Installing public lights in the city ................................................................................................................................ 13 Cleaning up the city ................................................................................................................................................... 13 A Re Sebetseng ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 Improving road conditions in the City of Johannesburg ........................................................................................... 15 Roads and bridges .................................................................................................................................................. 15 Potholes ................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Traffic signals ......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Providing Visible Service Management ..................................................................................................................... 16 Page | ii Introducing a new Service Standards Charter ..........................................................................................................