Media statement 30 September 2021
Dear Tshwane residents
There are a few key updates from the month of September which I would like to share with you.
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Roads and transport
This past month, our administration delivered on its commitment to launch the much- anticipated A Re Yeng Line 2B route to Menlyn in mixed traffic.
This is an incredibly significant development for Tshwane residents as the expansion of the A Re Yeng Bus Rapid Transit system will assist to advance mobility and promote economic opportunities by taking our people closer to places where they can earn a living.
The launch of Line 2B is particularly significant as it directly connects Menlyn with the inner city. Menlyn is an important economic zone in Tshwane as a hub of retail and commercial business.
In addition to the launch, I was pleased to note that A Re Yeng has acquired a range of new features designed to assist passengers with disabilities. This is critically important to enable accessibility to our public transport network.
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Housing and human settlements
We are pleased to report that one of the biggest social housing projects in the country is close to completion and ready to be allocated to our residents. The Marabastad Townlands Social Housing Project is a multimillion-rand social housing project consisting of 1 200 mixed units and is set to benefit Tshwane residents who do not qualify for government-sponsored housing nor earn enough to qualify for home loans (earning between R1 500 and R15 000).
Through our efforts in pushing for the conclusion of this core housing project we finally reached the rental applications stage, which is open from 20 September until
1 October 2021. The project will be delivered in two phases, where Phase 1 will comprise 691 units and Phase 2 will comprise 509 units.
This month we have also worked hard to distribute title deeds to support the property rights of residents. Through the leadership of the MMC for Human Settlements, Cllr Mpho Mehlape-Zimu, the City has embarked on a door-to-door campaign to hand over title deeds to beneficiaries. Through this campaign we have been able to assist residents who have been waiting for over 20 years to receive their title deeds and in some cases had lost all hope.
This administration strongly believes that the distribution of title deeds is an important programme to empower residents and assert their property rights.
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Expanded Public Works Programme
The City is planning to recruit 5 000 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers on a temporary contract basis starting in November this year. To ensure that the process is aligned with our values of fairness and transparency, the City is implementing its lottery recruitment system, which is an electronic random draw.
This system works independently without any influence by electronically selecting applicants from our EPWP database, which currently has over 150 000 registered jobseekers. We are pleased to put an end to the days where EPWP opportunities were handed out to hand-picked beneficiaries. Under our administration, the residents of Tshwane can trust that our recruitment and selection process is fair, with no corruption and nepotism.
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Mayoral oversight visits
In an effort to keep in touch with our residents and the reality on the ground, I introduced the weekly oversight programme in August with the aim of assessing matters related to service delivery as well as monitoring key capital projects.
This month the programme went to Soshanguve, Mabopane and Klipgat in Region 1. With City officials and ward councillors, the team looked into core service delivery areas such as electricity, water, sanitation, waste management, roads and storm water.
The team also took the opportunity to inspect the progress made with the upgrading of Klipgat Waste Water Treatment Works. The project is currently at 30% completion and has been allocated a budget of R198 million. Once completed, it is expected that the facility will assist in improving water quality in areas such as Mabopane, Ga- Rankuwa and parts of Soshanguve.
Another oversight visit was made to Region 3 in areas such as Daspoort, Hermanstad and Rietondale, where we found many services being delivered, such as replacing worn-out pipes, cleaning storm water systems, painting road markings and patching
potholes. During this visit we also inspected the progress on the upgrade of Caledonian Stadium. The City has budgeted R35 million towards rebuilding the facility to ensure that it meets Premier Soccer League standards.
A third oversight visit this month was made to the Region 5 areas, Rayton and Refilwe, in the north-east parts of Tshwane where we assessed various core service delivery areas.
Throughout the entire oversight programme I have made it clear to officials that services must always be delivered for the benefit of our residents. I will not endorse any officials or regions that put on a show of service delivery only when I visit. It is very important to our administration that services are delivered daily without fail.
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Rand Water challenges
As the City of Tshwane we would like to apologise to the residents of Laudium, Atteridgeville and surrounding areas for the inconvenience of the water cuts as a result of Rand Water’s infrastructure failures. Rand Water, as an independent entity, has been grappling with water supply issues across the province, which is deeply alarming.
I want to note the efforts by the MMC for Utility Services and Regional Operations and Coordination, Cllr Phillip Nel, who has spent the last two weeks continuously travelling around Tshwane to assist residents and communicate on what we are doing to assist them.
We are unfortunately facing continuous issues with the supply of water from Rand Water. As an entity falling under the national Department of Water and Sanitation it is their core mandate to ensure that the major metropolitans in Gauteng receive an adequate supply of water for their needs.
Nonetheless I would like to call on residents to save water. The reality is that we live in a water-scarce country and we need to consume water sparingly.
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Centurion Lake
I have been very pleased with the progress being made at Centurion Lake. When we returned to office, we committed to the residents in the area that we would ensure there is adequate maintenance and de-silting around the lake so that when the rain comes there is no flooding in the area.
The work that is taking place is making an immense impact to ensure that we facilitate the flow of water through the lake which will also reduce the odour that arises when the water is ponding.
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COVID-19 and vaccination
I am pleased to report that we have recorded another weekly decrease of active COVID-19 cases. According to our most recent COVID-19 report, active cases have dropped to 781 as of Monday, 27 September 2021. This is a significant milestone for Tshwane as active cases are now well below the 1 000 mark.
So far the City has administered over 700 000 vaccinations. Of these over 500 000 residents have been fully vaccinated, either through the Johnson & Johnson single dose or two doses of Pfizer. The City has also increased its public vaccination sites to
- These sites are spread across all seven regions of Tshwane to enable easy access for all our residents.
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Bloomberg Harvard programme
On a more personal note, I was immensely grateful to be chosen to attend this year’s cohort of the prestigious Bloomberg Harvard Cities Leadership Initiative. As the only African Mayor who was chosen it is a great privilege to be able to represent my country and the continent on this programme.
Over the course of the next year, myself and 40 other mayors from around the world will be attending a series of classes through both the Harvard Business school and Harvard Kennedy school which seek to engage on some of the major issues affecting the development of cities globally.
The course has been fully sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies and I hope to use it to broaden my knowledge so that I can further advance the work we are doing in the City of Tshwane.
Kind regards
Alderman Randall Williams
