ANC promises another five years of joblessness under Tau
20 June 2016
On Saturday night the ANC announced that the incumbent Johannesburg Mayor, Parks Tau, will be the ANC Mayoral Candidate for the upcoming Local Government Elections.
This decision shows that the ANC is not serious about creating jobs and bringing real change to the struggling people and stuttering economy of this city.
The fact that the ANC has taken so long to back his candidacy, with just weeks to go before the election, is indicative of how Tau does not enjoy a clear mandate from even his own party.
The people of Johannesburg deserve better than another five years of broken promises and financial mismanagement under a Tau administration.
Not only should the return of Parks Tau as Mayor of Joburg concern the residents of this city, but the fact that the ANC has included convicted criminals and people facing serious criminal charges on its list of candidate councillors.
One such individual is Chris Mabunda who is facing murder charges relating to the brutal assault and killing of two people in Alexandra.
It is alleged that he enjoys widespread support from the Gauteng ANC leadership and is considered ‘vital’ to what will be a tough election for the governing party.
Allowing such individuals to appear on the ANC list highlights the moral and ethical decay of this once great liberation movement.
Under Tau’s leadership, the ANC administration in Johannesburg has overseen mass job losses, misuse of public finances, infrastructure decay and failed service delivery.
Unemployment
Almost one in three Johannesburg residents do not have jobs. Unemployment has soared to 869 000 people, 66 000 of whom were added to the ranks of the unemployed in the first quarter of 2016.
Unemployment is creating a sense of hopelessness in far too many people and resulting in a rise in crime and drug abuse which is plaguing our city, especially its youth.
Financial mismanagement
Over the past five years Parks Tau has overseen over R5 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. The people of Johannesburg should punish Tau for this misuse of public money.
On top of this gross disregard for proper management of public money, the ANC-run council failed to fulfill its legal requirement to conduct an investigation to determine whether any officials are liable for the expenditure and to recover the money if liability is proven. One is left asking, what are they trying to hide?
Failed service delivery
City power outages are on the rise with over 300 outages being experienced a month. Lives are being lost while the city faces a R68 billion electricity infrastructure backlog.
19% of Joburg’s electricity was lost in the last financial year, resulting in R2.3 billion in lost revenue. Nearly R1 billion worth of electricity was lost as a result of an inability to maintain electricity infrastructure.
R850 million worth of water was lost to leaks in 2015, while many communities still have no access to clean, running water.
A recent Stats SA census revealed that the City of Johannesburg provides only 7% of its indigent households with access to clean water.
Protracted Pikitup strikes have left our city filthy, creating a serious health hazard.
Wherever one looks, potholes are prevalent, traffic lights are out, and rubbish is piling up.
Human rights abuses
Over the past six months I have visited townships and informal settlements that personify the failures of the ANC and Tau’s administration.
I have been left dismayed at the conditions residents of this city’s informal settlements have been left to live under. The City has only budgeted for the upgrade of four of Johannesburg’s estimated 180 informal settlements in the current financial year.
With the city turning a blind eye to this reality, I have been left with no option but to file complaints on behalf of seven communities with the South African Human Rights Commission.
The communities of Zandspruit, Noordgesig, Alexandra, Kwa Mai-Mai, Kliptown, Princess and Melrose Street have been abandoned by an ANC administration that places self-interest above that of its people.
Johannesburg needs something new. Johannesburg needs realchange that will move this city forward again.
I have a clear vision for this city. One that creates thousands of jobs, makes corruption public enemy number one, increases spending on public infrastructure, and ensures that quality service delivery reaches every community in Johannesburg, not just a select few.
The people of Johannesburg have an important choice to make on3 August. Possibly, the most important decision since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
The people of Johannesburg must decide if they want to vote for five more years of soaring unemployment and the same broken promises or unite behind a new vision for our city under a DA government.
I am ready to serve the great people of this city; working together we can make Joburg a city of golden opportunities.
Issued by Nkele Molapo, Media Officer, 20 June 2016
