Mayor Mashaba leads Zandspruit’s ‘extreme makeover’

17 October 2016

 

Johannesburg Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba left the comfort of his air-conditioned office at Metro Centre in Braamfontein on Friday October 14 to lead an “extreme makeover” campaign in Zandspruit, west of Johannesburg, from the front.

 

In scorching heat, he slipped his hands into a pair of protective gloves, rolled up his sleeves and started patching up potholes in the streets.

The campaign, organised by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), was part of the City of Johannesburg’s Transport Month programme. Transport Month, which has been observed since October 2005, seeks to draw people’s attention to the importance of transport to the country’s economy.

Mayor Mashaba reiterated his commitment to finding long-term solutions to the challenges confronting the informal settlement near Honeydew in Region C. He said he was passionate about changing the way people in informal settlements lived and restoring their dignity back. He re-dedicated his commitment to improving their living conditions and ensuring they owned a piece of land.

“I, however, ask of you to be patient because, unfortunately, this is not something that can happen overnight,” said Mayor Mashaba.

He said the only way to stop service delivery protests was to deliver services and ensure that people’s basic needs were met.

The Mayor said the high rate of unemployment pushed people to find comfort in alcohol and drugs. As a result, he said, they turned to crime to feed the habit. “We can’t have a government that looks after some communities more than others. My team and I are here to serve you.”

Mayor Mashaba said people did not steal electricity because they were thieves but because they needed it. Member of the Mayoral Committee for Transport Cllr Nonhlanhla Makhuba said the beautifying of roads in Zandspruit was only the beginning. She noted that the community needed more than roads.

“We’re going to work very closely with your councillor to ensure there is communication between us. Please allow the JRA team to work peacefully and finish putting tar on these two main roads,” said Makhuba.

She said the City was working towards creating a pro-poor government. This, she added, meant that it needed to build communities that attracted investors so there could be job creation. JRA’s Bertha Scheepers said as part of Transport Month, the entity would focus on roads and ensure that potholes were fixed and kerb inlets were unblocked to allow a free flow of water.

“There are still a number of challenges in the area. One of them is that people dig up tarred roads to make illegal electricity connections. We need to educate our people so they can look after their roads,” said Scheepers. She said there were no markings on some of the roads, while they had faded in others.

“We are happy with the work we have put in. As JRA we want to better the road infrastructure in our communities,” said Scheepers.