Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya says the city was neglected, with dirty streets, failing infrastructure, weekly power and water outages for residents and inherited a R11 billion debt when the ANC-EFF and ActionSA coalition took over from the Democratic Alliance (DA).
Moya said the city’s budget had been unfunded for several years, meaning there was insufficient income to cover expenses, including the provision of basic services and capital investments.
The mayor briefed the media on a 100-day action plan success on Tuesday in Pretoria.
Moya commended the multi-party mayoral committee for its dedication to delivering services to the residents of Tshwane in just over three months of operation despite circumstances.
“The demand for capital investment over the next decade exceeds R65 billion, yet the city’s current annual capital budget is only R2.3 billion. At this rate, it would take 36 years to meet the 10-year demand.
“Chronic under-investment in repairs and maintenance left the city’s aging infrastructure vulnerable to frequent breakdowns, leading to weekly power and water outages for residents.
“Vandalism and criminal activities, such as cable theft and illegal connections, placed additional strain on our infrastructure and further reduced the city’s ability to provide reliable services,” Moya said these were some of the difficult circumstances they inherited.
The city was led by the DA from 2016 until it was pushed out last year. In its years of power, the blue party was accused of not treating residents equally.
Many said the DA prioritised the white community over the black communities in the region in terms of service delivery.
Although some of the difficulties did not emerge from the previous administration, complaints piled up when the DA took over.
This is despite the DA saying, “Where we govern, we govern better".
Since its term in office, the ActionSA-led coalition has received praise from the residents, political parties and other stakeholders for their commitment to ensuring that the city delivers for its people.
The availability of clean drinking water in Hammanskraal, which has been the subject for over two decades now, is one of the main reasons why people vouch for the current leadership.
Moya said they would commit to the six key priorities to keep the good work flowing.
The priorities included financial stability, economic revitalisation, infrastructure development, equitable basic service delivery and a clean city, by-law enforcement and urban safety and bringing government closer to the people.
Moya said although it’s not an easy task to get the city to its former glory, they will try by all means to prioritise the people.
IOL Politics