Johannesburg - The Speaker of the Johannesburg Municipal Council, Colleen Makhubele, has promised Johannesburg better days to come in the New Year after a year of leadership squabbles and slow service delivery in 2022.
In 2022, Johannesburg residents were faced with a revolving door of mayors, with several motions of no confidence filed, leading to a court battle that saw the DA retake power in the city.
That was not the only problem; the city was also rocked by challenges concerning the payment to service providers, something that affected service delivery and crippled the city in carrying out essential services to residents.
Makhubele said the next year would see the emergence of a government of local unity comprised of the minority parties with the support of the ANC as a majority partner.
"For the residents, they must know that once we take back the administration, we are going to focus on the energy crisis. We want to make sure that when the new administration comes in as the legislature, we are going to push them to put back the power stations on the grid and to make sure that those power stations that were closed down. We want to go and put money into City Power because they have plans that are not being considered by the multiparty government," Makhubele said.
Makhubele said it was unfortunate that the instability in the City of Johannesburg had created concern among some workers. But she said there were plans to ensure that the city gets back to good financial health as soon as the government of local unity emerges in the New Year.
"For the workers and the unions, we want them to know that we are going to reclaim the City of Johannesburg, and we are going to ensure that there is adequate funding," Makhubele said.
She said there were plans to create more employment in the city, especially for young people and people living with disabilities. During 2022, there were problems with the city’s recruitment processes.
"We want to make sure that our young people are employable, and we are going to put pressure on our economic development portfolio to make our people employable, give them skills, and to improve their earning potential as well," Makhubele said.
Makhubele said the challenges that came with the DA-led multiparty government included the lack of presence from the leadership in communities that were affected by poverty and service delivery challenges. She said she was opposed to the increase in attention to wealthier areas in Johannesburg, such as Sandton, and the neglect of the more impoverished areas, such as Soweto and Alexandra.
"It was strange for me that there was a road in Benmore in Sandton that was being redone just now in November. We are struggling to get to people’s homes in Alexandra, but we are busy surfacing roads in Sandton. What we have done this year to the townships is disgusting, but the government of local unity has helped them," Makhubele said.
Makhubele said she had noted that there were problems with littering in the city centre, something that she said needed urgent attention as soon as the government of local unity emerged.
The Star