Service delivery shortfalls affecting municipal wards in Region F, such as bad and hijacked buildings that have turned into crime havens and illegal motor mechanics, topped the agenda of this week’s quarterly virtual Ward Councillor Forum meeting. The meeting, presided over by Regional Director Irene Mafune, provided a platform for councillors and municipal officials from various entities such as Joburg Roads Agency (JRA), Joburg Water, JMPD, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, City Power, Pikitup, and Development Planning to thrash out service delivery issues.
Other issues raised by councillors at the meeting, which was organised by the City’s Citizen Relationship and Urban Management (CRUM) directorate, included illegal shops and car washes, homelessness in parks and other parts of the inner city, illegal dumping, overflowing sewers, potholes, and a slew of faulty traffic lights.
Entities and departments in attendance provided high-level feedback on service delivery issues encountered during the quarter under review.
Many entities expressed concern about a lack of budgetary resources, which contributed to the slow pace of service delivery in many parts of Johannesburg.
The majority of councillors expressed concern about the lack of coordination of work in cross-cutting projects between entities, which was impeding the smooth implementation of public services.
Other entities blamed each other at times, while others appeared to be working together seamlessly.
Other concerns raised by councillors included the high rate of employee attrition at entities and the lack of adequate strategies to recruit more staff members to address service delivery issues.
Another source of frustration for most councillors was the long waiting times for service requests sent to departments and entities.
Councillors agreed that detailed reports from departments and entities on what has been accomplished per ward and which solutions would be proposed to address lingering issues would be required on a regular basis.
Mafune told the meeting that the weekly service delivery operations under the Response Service Delivery Initiative (RSDI) were yielding positive results and breaking down service delivery bottlenecks that plagued most inner-city suburbs.
“This month, Pikitup will be assigned 60 JMPD officers who will work closely with the entity to enforce waste management bylaws and fine offenders for littering and illegal dumping,” she explained.
She added that the response time to service delivery issues would be shortened.
“There is an urgent need for us to redouble our efforts and work hard to revitalise our inner city because no business can invest in a region where nothing is working,” Mafune said.