City on the right service delivery track

22 March 2016

 

Despite several issues and concerns raised by stakeholders, the City of Johannesburg made significant gains in the past financial year in pursuit of its mandate to deliver services to improve the quality of life of its residents, Executive Mayor Councillor Parks Tau said on Friday March 18.

 

Speaking during the tabling of the City’s 2014-2015 Integrated Annual Report in the Council Chambers in Braamfontein, Executive Mayor Tau said through its adoption of an outcomes-based approach, the City of Johannesburg had made a number of important achievements in the financial year under review.

These included:

• A capital budget surpassing R10-billion;

• The issuing of the first Green Bond;

• The reduction in the demand on the power grid by adopting sludge-to-electricity conversion technology;

• The conversion of the Metrobus fleet to biogas hybrids; and

• The acceleration of food security initiatives.

“It’s not just about spending capital but spending it in a way that is sustainable and positively adds to the value chain and impacts the people we serve,” Mayor Tau said.

Councillor Sam Cowan, Chairperson of the Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC), told the council sitting that despite “serious issues” raised in the Auditor-General’s report, the City had improved its performance year on year.Cowan said the oversight committee had noted that the City had received an unqualified audit opinion, with six of its 12 entities receiving clean audits from the Auditor-General, an increase from four in the previous year.

He said the MPAC had further noted concerns regarding, among other things:

• Expenditure management, despite a noted marked reduction;

• Mature accountability and governance;

• Incomplete investigations and the need to ensure timeous and necessary action is taken;

• Compliance;

• Poor monitoring control and accuracy, which in effect prevented the achievement of a clean audit; and

• Critical skills shortages.

Councillor Cowan said going forward it was recommended that oversight reporting be increased to ensure target deliveries were met and concerns regarding maintenance expenditure addressed.

The municipal-owned entities that received clean audits are Johannesburg Social Housing Company, Joburg Theatres, Joburg Roads Agency, Joburg Property Company, Joburg Development Agency and Pikitup.

The report also reveals that:

• The City has reduced the mortality rate by 4.22% as a result of quality emergency services;

• Support was given to an additional 39 078 food insecure households; and

• Common crime has been reduced by 9.55%.