In a meeting held with the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) yesterday (8 June) to interrogate the reasons behind the massive backlog in the filling of potholes in various parts of the Joburg, I discovered that while there are historical challenges that exist beyond the immediate control of the Entity, the service delivery model employed to try and address the backlog lends itself to regional disparities leaving parts of the City with less than desirable levels of service delivery.
Data presented to me by the Entity revealed that although an overall City-wide reduction in the number of potholes by 23,298 was achieved in the last 4-months, the regional breakdown paints a concerning picture. While 9,207 potholes were filled in Region D of the City, Regions B and E only had 1,010 and 1,705 respectively, with the rest of the City falling somewhere in-between.
Whereas various reasons behind this skewed distribution of service were advanced, it is my firm belief that we can review our service delivery model and afford all residents of Joburg, across its seven Regions, a smooth and safe travel experience as we all endeavour to contribute towards our collective economic recovery.
I have shared my thoughts with the Entity on low-hanging fruits we can immediately tackle, and I have further written to the MMC for Transport, Cllr Funzela Ngobeni, to urge him to monitor the work and ensure that the Entity serves all our residents in a fair and equitable manner.
The Entity has undertaken to ensure that this gap is immediately addressed, while they work on a longer-term strategy.
This further highlights the need to fast-track the implementation of digital service delivery performance dashboards to empower Joburg and its residents to monitor work done by City Departments and Entities. Plans are being put in place to improve transparency so the City can be held accountable by all its constituents for its services to them.
In the meantime, my Office will do daily monitoring to ensure that this glaring gap is closed.
MMC Ngobeni and the JRA will present their short-term turnaround strategy to my Office on Wednesday next week.
As of 1 July 2022, when the Joburg Multi-Party Government’s 2022/23 budget takes effect, the JRA will have an allocation of R918-million for repairs and maintenance, and just over R1-billion for capital infrastructure projects.
We believe that this budget will go a long way to address associated causative factors requiring additional resources.
The Joburg Multi-Party Government wishes to assure all residents of our commitment to improved service delivery standards, and to services that are distributed in a fair and equitable manner, reflecting the beautiful diversity of our City.
ENDS
For media queries, please contact:
Mabine Seabe
Director: Mayoral Communication
Private Office of the Executive Mayor
084 677 7851
09/06/2022
