Non-essential name change robs residents of services
19 October 2021
It is unconscionable that Ekurhuleni Mayor, Mzwandile Masina, is splashing out what is currently estimated to reach up to R300 000 in renaming over 40 locations, routes connected to the N12 and a network of roads to celebrate the ANC within the city.
The naming of roads and precincts has an important part to play in building a unified South Africa where existing names are offensive and serve to divide communities. But name change for its own sake cannot come at the cost of remaining focused on providing resident-centric service delivery.
The non-essential name change of locations is a cost-intensive exercise that cannibalises resources for other services – the cost of changing signages or updating databases can run into the millions of Rands. This is a cost not only for the government but businesses as well who may need to update registrations and signage as part of related costs arising from name changes. This only serves to increase the cost of doing business in the city.
As matters stand, residents have only been made aware that the name change project has already kicked off and is set to continue under the 2022-2023 budget. Equally, the City has failed to specify how much money would be allocated in the 2022-2023 financial year or how many years the project would take to be finalised.
All in all, millions of Rands could be spent an exercise to self-promote the ANC at the cost-of-service delivery.
The renaming exercise is not only blatant electioneering using taxpayer’s money but fails to prioritise the use of every cent of public money to alleviate the plight of residents within Ekurhuleni; all caused by the criminal neglect and corruption of the ANC.
The ANC in Ekurhuleni has led the City to near ruin with a failed industrial sector, once a source of much-needed jobs; presided over rising corruption within the city; failed to address RDP housing scandals and the desperate need for affordable accommodation; ignored the problem of increasingly hijacking of buildings; failed to provide stable access to waste management and ablution services, particularly to poor communities; and just recently, households in communities such as Duduza have been left without access to electricity for 5 months without any intervention from the City or its ANC councillors.
Communities across South Africa are gatvol of politicians who treat them with no regard and only work to enrich themselves and their cronies – this is exactly what Masina and the ANC have done and why we must vote them out of government in the coming Local Government Elections.
Mayor Masina and his cronies cannot be allowed to continue treating Ekurhuleni Metropolitan as a fiefdom and abuse limited financial resources for the interests of the ANC instead of residents.
ActionSA stands ready to provide an alternative to the broken political system that has failed South Africans. We have assembled a team of South Africans committed to public service and not service of political parties, who have the skills, experience, and knowledge to advance South Africa.
To kick-start the recovery of Ekurhuleni, ActionSA would prioritise:
Creating an environment for jobs within the city by cutting red-tape and making it easier to open manufacturing businesses within the city;
Rolling out entrepreneurship and opportunity centres targeting young people and providing business support to residents;
Ensure that corruption is fought at every turn;
Emulate the work of Herman Mashaba in revitalising our inner city;
Increasing the roll-out of social development services to the poorest of residents; and
creating a cleaner and safer city by expanding the capacity of proper waste management services.
These are just the first changes ActionSA-led governments would prioritise to ensure service delivery to residents across, not just in Ekurhuleni, but across Gauteng.
Issued by Tlhogi Moseki, City of Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate, Action SA, 19 October 2021
