City of Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya has announced that the City of Tshwane is on the brink of catastrophe and that urgent action needs to be taken to save it.
“Residents of Tshwane, the City is in a dire state and this is evident in the reports and presentations by the City’s top management, from which we gained an unfiltered understanding of the situation we have inherited without the veneer of political spin,” said Moya.
Be that as it may, Moya didn’t want to put the blame on the previous DA-led administration regarding the mess that the City of Tshwane finds itself in presently.
Moya served as Deputy Mayor under the previous administration which was led by the DA’s Cilliers Brink.
“I have made it known that I want to stop the culture of political mudslinging in the City of Tshwane, so may I please be given the opportunity not to do what I promised not to do and focus on the future of the City that we are all working for,” said the Mayor.
Moya said this while addressing the media at Tshwane House on Wednesday morning regarding the 100 days plan initiative which, according to her, is aimed at turning the City of Tshwane around by January 2025.
Regarding the issue of outstanding salary increases to the City of Tshwane municipal workers, Dr Moya revealed that the City and the labour unions will meet at the Labour Court but the atmosphere won’t be antagonistic as both sides have agreed that the issue must be resolved amicably.
“We are due in court on the 28 of November 2024 regarding the issue of outstanding salary increases and it would be very sad if we and the unions appear before the court and sound like we are not from the same institution,” said Moya as she pointed out that her administration was still waiting for the City’s accounting officer to inform them about the options that the City has regarding the issue of outstanding salaries.
On the burning issue of illegal electricity connections, especially at informal settlements, Moya said an alternative approach must be worked out to provide electricity to such areas so as to avoid destroying transformers which residents of such settlements have installed illegally.
She mentioned the following issues as being the ones that have led her administration to believe that the City of Tshwane is in a dire state:
1.The City’s budget has been unfunded for several years now, meaning there is lack of sufficient income to cover expenses, including the provision of basic services and capital investments.
2.Tshwane’s debt stands at over R11 billion, with R6, 76 billion of it owed to Eskom.
3 Capital projects are behind schedule.
4.Chronic under-investment in repairs and maintenance has left the ageing infrastructure vulnerable to frequent breakdowns which often lead to residents having to endure weekly power and water outages.
5. It will take the City of Tshwane 10 years to meet its capital investment demands.
6.There is rampant theft and vandalism of the City’s property and infrastructure.
7.There is a vast disparity in the quality of services between affluent areas on the one hand, and townships and informal settlements on the other.
8. Around 34,9% of Tshwane’s 4 million residents are unemployed.
9.Residents have lost hope in the City of Tshwane’s willingness and ability to improve their living conditions.
Moya then revealed that the following issues are her administration’s priority areas.
1. Financial stability.
2. Economic Revitalisation.
3. Infrastructure development with focus on energy and water infrastructure.
4. Equitable basic services delivery.
5.By-law enforcement and inner city rejuvenation.
6. Community engagement which entails taking the City of Tshwane government to the people.
Moya then reiterated her invitation to all Councillors, irrespective of their party affiliations, to work hand-in-hand with her administration.
“We are here to work, work with us,” said Dr Moya.
Dr Nasiphi Moya speech on 100-day plan:
Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya {Media Advisory 100-day plan press briefing} (EdVN) 2