Joburg is a better city today than it was three-years ago
21 October 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noted the resignation of Herman Mashaba as Executive Mayor of Johannesburg. We respect this decision and wish Mr Mashaba all the best with his future endeavours.
The resignation of Mr Mashaba as Mayor of Johannesburg does not signal an end to the DA’s commitment to the people of Johannesburg and South Africa.
In order to ensure political stability, the DA Federal Executive (FedEx) will urgently convene in order to assess the impact of today’s decision, and how we respond in the best interests of the people of Johannesburg.
By any measure, the DA and its coalition partners have made significant progress in turning the City around, specifically in the areas of unlocking opportunities, stopping and acting against corruption, and accelerating the delivery of quality services.
In just three short years, the DA-led multiparty coalition government has made huge progress in a number of areas but not limited to:
- 1 500 Metro police officers have been recruited to assist in the fight against crime.
- The City's newly established corruption busting unit has recorded over 5335 cases worth more than R34 billion in transactions.
- We have seen an increase in investments in Johannesburg's inner city from R5 billion to R16.355 billion to build affordable residential units and student accommodation.
- The latest results of the Household Satisfaction Survey show that more people are satisfied with the services rendered by the City than previous years. Overall, the Household Satisfaction Index increased by 12 points, from 61 in 2017 to 73 in 2019.
- The City’s preliminary reports demonstrate that at the end of the 2018/19 financial year it was in a stronger financial position with a closing cash balance of R4.4 billion. The following are estimations of spending performance for that year:
91% of CAPEX spent;
A debt redemption fund valued at R2.5 Billion;
100% USDG funding spent;
A debt to revenue ratio that remains in line with National Treasury’s norm.
In addition, National Treasury‘s preliminary Local Government Revenue and Expenditure Results, published in early September, rank the City of Johannesburg as the top performing metro in South Africa in terms of aggregate revenue (at 98.5% of budgeted revenue), and second only to Buffalo City in terms of expenditure (at 97.5% of budgeted expenditure).
The South African Democratic Project is not an easy one to advance. Which means building a capable state, fighting for non-racialism, pushing for economic redress and inclusion through sustainable programmes, respect for the rule of law. We will not falter in our mission to bring real change to South Africa.
We would like to thank Mr Mashaba for his service to the people of Johannesburg.
Issued by Solly Malatsi, DA National Spokesperson, 21 October 2019
