City of Joburg Mayor Dada Morero insists the city is not a failure, despite ongoing power and water crises, pothole riddled-roads, malfunctioning traffic lights, hijacked buildings, service delivery issues and a filthy CBD.

Morero argued that dedicated teams have been established to address each crisis.

“You’d know that since 2016, there have been bigger challenges in the city. We have now been given an opportunity to address those challenges, and we need time to do so. That’s exactly what we are doing,” Morero said during the opening of the Naledi clinic in Soweto’s Region D on Wednesday.

This comes after the city called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene and assist with the metro‘s severe challenges that have taken the shine off the city's catchphrase "A world class African city".

Earlier this month, IOL News reported that Ramaphosa had announced that the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group (PJWG) would be dispatched to help the city address its dire challenges.

During his visit to Johannesburg, Ramaphosa expressed concern about the city’s deteriorating state.

The city is grappling with ongoing issues such as pothole-riddled roads, malfunctioning traffic lights, water shortages, hijacked buildings, a power supply crisis, and uncontrolled waste.

These challenges had persisted for years, but nothing had been done to address them, leading to a decline in the city’s standards, according to Ramaphosa.

However, Morero acknowledged that the city’s “war rooms” focused on addressing various challenges.

“We also welcome the support by the President, because it is going to help us actually to fast-track the programmes that we are currently working on.

“You would be wrong to suggest that it's a failed city. It's not a failed city, it's a city that has challenges,” he said.

“It's a city that has been able to pass a R80 billion budget, which has not been revised for the 2025 and 2026 financial years. That’s an indication that we are now beginning to see results in the work we have put in over the last year.”

Morero added that the city is already seeing improvements in revenue collection.

“We have been conducting revenue operations across the city to collect money from those who owe for water and electricity,” he said.

He expressed concern with large power users who are consuming both water and electricity without paying.

“We are on them and doing our work to ensure that we can collect revenue and improve on the financial state of the city,” Morero added.

simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za

IOL News

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