DA Response to the State of the City address

Note to editors: The following speech was delivered by Mmusi Maimane, DA Leader in the Johannesburg Caucus during a debate on the State of the City address today.

Gauteng, Khutsanyana tsaka di shetswe teng, was a chant by the late Mme Miriam Makeba, describing the irony of this province. She describes the blessing of opportunity, the dream that so many held in coming to a city overridden by the curse of apartheid and the evil disempowerment of many black South Africans. It is this spatial heritage and history the microcosm of South Africa that is Johannesburg is in a battle against. For many are without food security.

It is a welcome experience that the Honourable Mayor places before us the challenges that our freedom so needs to still give birth to. Birth to the same opportunity that so many dreamt of in the migration to the city, and that so many still hanker for in their travels to Johannesburg.

To a large degree, all of us here in Joburg want so many similar things. We want the right to look after our children, to work and be productive in our city, to have basic services met appropriately and in a manner that future generations will inherit a functional and green city. Ultimately, we want the right to express setso sa rona, and cheer and chant for the teams we so choose regardless of the fact that they may not be Orlando-based but perhaps from Phefeni or Dobsonville.

Madame Speaker, these are today's realities that cannot be suspended to a time when there is a full expression and fulfilment of the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) process in 2040. In this address, I welcome the GDS as we have already done in this chamber, but want to speak about our immediate tomorrow. The tomorrow that many of us experience even when we travel it.

In the metaphor of the bridge that can be easily exemplified by the Nelson Mandela bridge, a structural icon similar to that of the man himself and a symbol of the shift from past to future, so much needs to be done for our tomorrow.

It is in this regard that we welcome performance service level agreements. These turnaround times will be fundamental to us delivering an immediate tomorrow. In your acceptance speech executive mayor, you requested so many to do the honourable thing. It is still our expectation that when service level agreements are signed and passed through this house - that indeed all of us from the executive down to the cleaner will do the honourable thing.

Mo Di Khutsanyana tsa rona as Miriam Makeba so aptly placed, we are challenged Madame Speaker that in the discourse regarding social inclusion and delivery of service to the poor, and against the backdrop of a National intervention into health care into the province, that we still can't pay our nurses in our city clinics and that extended clinic services have been suspended. Ke Dillo tsa bana ba rona, who live in communities where alternatives cannot be found.

The delivery of houses is always so ambiguous to us. While so many can share the dream of a home as Mme Kubeka wrote, many in Protea South, Diepsloot and Zandspruit worry about the looming winter without shelter. Furthermore, some whose homes were given to them are required to be rebuilt as is the case in Diepkloof. Whilst Cosmo and Lefhareng are held as successful examples, let us not claim easy victories, for the climb in terms of the delivery of housing is still steep.

For so many who long to have opportunity, in this city, the Rea Vaya provides an adequate mechanism for many to get from one place to another. What is of concern to so many who don't call Soweto their home, is what alternates they have to transport. They will wake up on the 1st of April confronted by tolls, knowing that Metrobus is being disbanded, that they travel on city roads with potholes and that if they don't leave before the crack of dawn they may be stuck at another traffic light that is not working, shortening their working hours significantly.

For many whose bills remain inaccurate or absent, there is the prospect of being cut off all in the name of credit control. The step change plan and road map are sound documents, and we will relentlessly hold the city to account for the promise of resolving 60000 bills in the month of June.

Furthermore Madame Speaker, re utlilwe dillo tsa bana ba rona ba ko Gauteng when they said, let it be so that at the very least, let's have services delivered to us. They stood in unison at Section 79 for Infrastructure, noting the registrations for access to free basic electricity declining. That Eskom's provision of free basic electricity in Soweto has all but been suspended.

Our promise of an average of 10kl of free water is a right that each and every resident should be enjoying. Perhaps if you spoke to the indigent policy you'd realize that some simply can't do with 6kl, and we should focus our efforts on the provision of basic services to the poor in our immediate tomorrow.

Gcina Amanzi was a notable omission to the address that we have highlighted. Up to 38% of water is unaccounted for. We must see a renewed commitment to resolve this, as this is about our tomorrow, our immediate tomorrow. You see Soweto must have a project team that deals with this challenge. For we will have no resource to speak of in 2040. This Madame speaker is about our tomorrow, our immediate tomorrow.

Joburg is the birthplace of so many dreams. In your speech, you highlighted developments in Lanseria. These will be welcome projects in the long run but I humbly request that if we deal with unemployment, let's talk about our immediate tomorrow. There has been a disbandment of EPWP programs due mainly to poor project management. The broadband infrastructure has failed with only one centre operational. So to a large degree a child who grows up in one suburb will not have same opportunities as another.

Our libraries still don't have internet. The promise of a 100 billion rand infrastructure spend is an ambitious promise against the incapacity to spend the average of 3 billion annually on Capex in the city at present. With the high vacancy rate within the city, it is a struggle to see how we will be able to increase spending from 3 billion to 10 billion per annum over the next ten years. Basho bathi re tla bona teng.

Furthermore, I'm often perplexed that even in planning, the ANC members of this house, sang struggle songs prior to the opening of the state of the city address, even some banned songs, such as Dubhula Ibhuno. But the most fascinating of the lot was the song of 'this is the land of communist', it left me confused when I noted the high levels of reliance on the private sector for the purpose of development and investment. If the pursuit of a developmental state is the ambition of the African National Congress, surely by definition more government must be in place, yet we see evidence of poor administration every day.

Ideologically, we must decide what route we want to go, if socialist movement - articulate in the freedom charter - MOE's are failing. Today so many of our residents have their rubbish still outside their gates, with the new motto NO YOU PIKITUP. Before we separate at source, deal with the environment, let's collect rubbish on time. We hold the view that it is better to privatize what is not working so that we can get the best deal possible ,not for the Unions, but for the residents of Joburg.

The safety of our residents is paramount; we welcome the police in wards. We should speak about Aarto and by-law enforcement going forward.

Madame Speaker, mangi vala le ndaba, let's say it will be exciting after all that we see police in each ward. A future where we can see the bobby on the beat. Partnerships as so eloquently pronounced by the mayor are so vital to combating crime.

So in conclusion Madame Speaker, Nelson Mandela bridge is a symbol of our tomorrow. Let's not make it a bridge too far. Let's begin now and deal with our basic cancerous cells which hold our GDS process hostage. Let's turn the legacy of Gauteng Khutsanayana tsaka di shwetse ko teng to a legacy of the former glory where Jozi ke ko Maboneng, ke ko retla fumana metsi, matlu, Jozi my home my pride.

Black and white

Let it not be a bridge too far...

Issued by the DA Johannesburg, March 23 2012

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