The Honourable Speaker, Councillor Morakane Mosupyoe
Chief Whip of Council, Councillor Jabulane Mabona
Members of the Mayoral Committee
Leaders of the Opposition
Leaders of All Political Parties
Honourable Councillors
Traditional Leaders
City Manager and officials
Honourable guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
Madam Speaker
Nearly a year ago, on the occasion of the acceptance address, we came before this house to inaugurate and set in motion our social and economic development agenda for the term whose embryonic and foundational phase is currently unfolding. On that occasion we mapped the broad contours of our five-year service delivery agenda and spelt out the essential principles underpinning it.
I’m therefore interminably privileged and distinctly honoured to deliver the first State of the City Address of the current administration. The characteristic purpose of this address is thus to update the citizens of our city on our efforts to facilitate veritable social and economic development in their lives.
In our acceptance address we outlined seven pillars that anchored our service delivery agenda and these were presented as follows:
- To amplify the provision of municipal services and infrastructure;
- To accelerate economic growth, job creation and social development;
- To build sustainable communities with clean, healthy and safe environments as well as integrated social services;
- To strengthen participatory democracy and the principle of Batho Pele;
- To promote sound governance;
- To ensure financial sustainability; and
- To intensify organisational development and transformation.
We contemplated these pillars in an endeavour to maximise our strengths and minimise our weaknesses so as to make it possible for us to deliver better and quality services to the citizens of Tshwane. Without any specific order of presentation, what follows is a dissection and a rundown of how the City fared on each of the broad programmatic themes of our service delivery agenda.
Without doubt the single most important dynamic shaping the formative and foundational stages of our service delivery programme was the birth of the new City of Tshwane; through the amalgamation of the erstwhile Metsweding and its two local arms, Nokeng tsa Taemane and Kungwini.
The extent to which we, as an administration, would have been able to rise to the challenge of servicing and meeting the social and economic development needs of the new city is inextricably bound up with our ability to nurture organisational, institutional and administrative machinery to execute all our programmatic commitments.
It’s for that reason, Madam Speaker, that we would like to begin this State of the City Address by reflecting on the steps we undertook to demonstrate our eagerness, willingness and readiness to take on the challenges head-on.
The macro structure of the new City of Tshwane
Naturally, in the context of new challenges flowing from our reconfigured physical and geographic space, uppermost attention went to the harmonisation and consolidation of our capacity and capability to meet our new mandate. Accordingly, immediately following the conclusion of the 2011 local government elections, this Council approved a new organisational macro structure to match the growing demands of the expanded new area.
The approval of the structure paved the way for the filling of the critical positions of City Manager, Deputy City Managers, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Audit Executive and most of the Strategic Executive Directors. All seven Regional Executive Directors (REDs) have also been appointed. All the incumbents are fit and proper men and women who have already brought some measure of stability in the administration. The process of institutional re-engineering has already turned to the micro level and appropriately qualified and capable personnel will soon be placed in the new structure.
It must be said that the full realisation of the prospects of the newly configured Tshwane is partly predicated on the National and the Provincial Treasuries funding the direct costs associated with this process. The recent pronouncement by provincial government has given us cause to be optimistic about future funding prospects.
The recently established and constituted Tshwane Planning Commission will consolidate all our hitherto disparate planning frameworks and assist in the development of our new long-term plan: the Tshwane Growth, Employment and Development Plan 2055.
Still on transformational issues, Madam Speaker, as you will recall, the City commenced with renaming 27 street names in order to bring in inclusivity in the names of the core capital streets in 2007. In spite of successfully concluding the mandatory participation process, the city never finalised the renaming process and we wish to conclude this process by the end of this financial year. We are encouraged by the sheer determination and resoluteness of all parties represented in Council to conclude this matter in a manner that realises social cohesion and undermines racial fault lines.
On the vexed question of the Tshwane/Pretoria name change, we will be seeking audience with the Minister of Arts and Culture to provide clarity on his assertion for further consultation. It should be remembered that Council has fulfilled all its legislative obligations on this matter and it is now in the hands of the minister to speak the final word. We commit to inform the residents of Tshwane and the country on the outcomes of our engagement with the Minister.
Promotion of sound and good governance
Madam Speaker
Good governance ranked as one of the central pillars of our previous term of office and to that effect we committed this administration to run a clean, efficient and accountable administration.
Pursuant to this indispensible goal, for the two years in succession, the city has achieved an unqualified audit opinion. In this regard our end goal remains the attainment of a clean audit, which we are more than ever convinced is indeed achievable. In this respect, it is apposite to thank, amongst others, two institutions, the Ethics Institute of South Africa (Ethics SA) and the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) for partnering with us in support of our quest to run a clean and world-class system of governance.
The immediate impact of this partnership is palpable in two important areas. The first is that, following an assessment by Ethics SA, the City management is implementing various recommendations around three key areas of the King III code of practice: ethics, risk and legal compliance. The second is that, through interaction with the SABS, the City is working towards full compliance with requirements that will see the Municipality become one of the ISO-9001 certified entities in all its functional areas.
Madam Speaker
In our Acceptance Address we left no doubt about the elimination of fraud and corruption as integral aspects of our commitment to a clean, efficient and accountable administration.
For this reason, the Fraud Prevention Strategy has been approved and will be implemented in due course. In addition, we have also increased the capacity of our internal fraud investigation team. The team of investigators who initially resided with the Community Safety Department has been consolidated under the Internal Audit Forensic Investigation Unit. From this highly placed department they will be in a position to conduct investigations across the entire spectrum. This increase in the capacity of the Internal Audit Department is also in line with the recommendations of the Auditor-General.
Madam Speaker
Accurate billing of services is a critical aspect of sound and good governance aimed at ensuring sustainable use of the city’s resources. Yet this has been one of the fundamental challenges in local government throughout the country, including Tshwane.
To remedy the situation, we will, during the 2012/13 MTREF, be launching an initiative called the Security of Revenue Project that entails a full roll-out of prepaid electricity meters throughout Tshwane. The project will link all consumers of electricity in the city to a prepaid meter and this will be enforceable by law. Once in full swing, the project will help the City overcome problems of inaccurate billing and loss of revenue to the City, and secure the financial position of the City. This is a game-changing project and will most likely redefine local government's financial management.
Promotion of safe and secure communities
One of the promises that we made when we assumed office was that we would, once and for all, resolve the situation of the Schubart Park flats. The technical report on the structural integrity of the Schubart Park building has been completed by a team of experts and it immediately became clear that we will be remiss in our duty if we allowed our people to continue living in a building declared dangerous for human habitation.
Hence evacuation became a matter of urgent necessity and we will, on full account of the determination of the court, come to a final decision on whether the building should be completely demolished or revamped to address the structural defects. We would like to sincerely thank our men and women in the Metro Police for ensuring that the evacuation unfolded with minimum incidents. The process also prevented criminal elements to orchestrate all sorts of illicit dealings.
Madam Speaker
An integral component of our commitment to the creation of a safe and secure city is the regeneration of the inner city to reverse its gradual deterioration on account of various factors, including the increasing influx of people in pursuit of economic opportunities. We have embarked on a number of initiatives to cultivate a user-friendly environment that will restore the faith of our citizens in the city as their home.
We have created the Church Street flea market to accommodate the number of hawkers who would like to do business in the CBD. The result of this is that hawkers are no longer permitted to operate in certain intersections. In the process, we did our utmost best not to erode the advantages of informal trading. We have also instituted a regime of inspection to make sure that all food and merchandise traded in the inner city meet hygiene standards.
We have also, through the Metro Police, embarked on operations to close down illegal taxi ranks that have been mushrooming recently. Taxi associations are being reallocated to alternative places to reduce congestion in specific areas. The deployment of traffic wardens through our partnership with Radio 702 and OUTsurance has made it possible for our Metro Police officers to focus on high-end priorities.
These adjustments have already seen noticeable changes on the corners of Van der Walt and Vermeulen, and Van der Walt and Pretorius, where it is now safe to walk in the city centre. Also, there has been a notable decrease in the traffic gridlock, especially during the afternoon peak hour after 16:00. We have also noted a decrease in incidents of reckless and negligent driving.
Madam Speaker
Let me emphasise: The operation is not aimed at depriving our people – taxi owners, drivers and hawkers – of their livelihoods. Instead, the operation is aimed at, first, ensuring that everyone feels and is safe in the city centre.
These efforts will intensify over the coming months as we turn around the Metro Police to implement the Ward-based Deployment Strategy, aimed at deploying ten officers per ward at any given time. The Strategy will evolve in three interlinked phases:
The first is the renewal of the ageing Metro Police fleet. In this regard we will be receiving new vehicles to the value of R21 million before the end of the current financial year, with more funds allocated to this in the coming financial year.
The second is the strengthening of the shift supervisory cadre within the Metro Police with the appointment of seventy Superintendents, who will be shift supervisors. They will be commencing their duties next month – April.
The third and last process is the recruitment of five hundred students who will undergo two-year training to become Metro Police officers. It is our aim that, come 2014, the overall number of Metro Police officers should have risen from the current 1 600 to 3 500.
We will soon turn our attention to the regulation of parking space in our city and by the end of this year the city will have drastically changed the way parking bays are managed. A suitable service provider will be recruited to, through hand-held devices, ensure that parking is managed decently while creating jobs and increasing revenue for the city.
Provision of social and technical infrastructure
Madam Speaker
The success of our social and economic development agenda requires that we continuously renew our social and technical infrastructure, which in turn implies that we should be able to attract and retain investments.
As part of our support for the National Department of Public Works’ initiatives to resuscitate the city through the Re Kgabisa Tshwane project, the whole section of Paul Kruger Street between the Pretoria Station and the Pretoria Zoo will be upgraded to demonstrate how we intend to fundamentally adapt, shape and improve the inner city to be more accommodating for non-motorised commuting. We are happy to announce that detailed design will be completed soon and construction should start early in the next financial year.
Madam Speaker
Still on the concept of regenerating the inner city, by 1 June 2012, we will conclude a partnership agreement with the Tsela Tshweu Consortium on Tshwane House, the new municipal headquarters. The agreement will cover issues around the design, construction, financing and full service operation of Tshwane House for a period of 25 years from turnkey completion of construction in 2014.
Pre-construction on site will begin as early as April 2012, with delivery of the first building, including a new state-of-the-art council chamber by as early as February 2014, and the last building three months later. In order to make way for site works leading to later construction, all staff located in Munitoria will be moved to the Isivuno Building across the street from the site in April 2012.
Another sterling example of how the City deals with the regeneration of the inner city is the way the Marabastad Land Tenure Upgrade issue has been handled. The Marabastad Land Tenure Upgrade report was approved by Council on 26 January 2012. Identified owners of buildings will now, after centuries, be the legal owners of the properties on which they have built.
Another fascinating aspect of the City’s pursuit to unlock development is the Special Rating Area policy that the City is applying. The purpose of Special Rating Areas is to allow an additional rate to be levied on property in the defined area to raise funds for improving or upgrading the area as stated in section 22(1)(b) of the Municipal Property Rates Act 2004. The City of Tshwane is presently undertaking the prescribed public participation process in order for the policy to be submitted to Council for consideration this financial year.
As we embark on this drive to attract partners for development, we owe it to our partners (current and future) to ensure that the values of their properties are maintained or appreciate over time. For this reason, the City has drafted a Derelict Buildings By-Law that is currently subjected to public participation before final approval by the end of the current financial year.
Madam Speaker
We have identified strategically placed parcels of land within the city for release as tools to unlock development. To this effect and after advertising the request for proposals for the planning and development of strategic land portions owned by the City of Tshwane, an overwhelming response from credible and interested parties was received. These strategically located land portions that will support the strategic objectives of the City of Tshwane. Successful tenderers have been informed in March 2012.
Designated land portions in the West Capital Precinct have been earmarked as catalysts to unlock development through a process of developing reform strategies which, amongst others, will alter the inner city urban form. This process is characterised by high-density mixed development of retail, commercial, office and residential uses. The plan responds directly to the plight of the student community in the city in line with a study which indicated that the city has a student accommodation backlog of about 66 000 beds. The West Capital Precinct development is the third game-changing initiative. It will significantly alter the spatial form of the city and fatally undermine apartheid spatial planning. The poor will be located in the inner city, and environment-friendly uses of open spaces and a heavy bias towards mass transport and non-motorised transport will prevail. Calls for development proposals are already out and contract negotiations with the successful bidder should be concluded by August 2012.
The Tshwane International Conference Centre (TICC) and supporting mixed-use development are expected to be well underway before the end of this year. The TICC site is expected to include not only a conference centre of up to 30 000 square meters, but up to three hotels, commercial retail, general office space of as many as 150 000 square meters, residential mid to upper market flats, and a public transport facility. The project, under a full development plan over several years, will generate a capital project to the value of several billions of rands and create at least 15 000 jobs.
Another critical catalytic project relates to the inner city transport infrastructure in the form of the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRT), the fourth game-changing initiative. The initial BRT route has been re-aligned in line with recommendations from National Treasury and the National Department of Roads and Transport and goes more through residential areas. It will commence in the Zone of Choice coming to town. A demand study will determine the number and positions of the stations. This study will be concluded by April 2012.
BRT construction from the CBD to Menlyn via Sunnyside and Hatfield is expected to start in July 2012. The first BRT station will be constructed in Hatfield by the end of July 2012. The procurement of the first BRT buses for the implementation of the overall BRT system is in progress. The public is called upon to participate in the naming of the BRT and this process should be concluded by the end of April 2012.
The notoriously unreliable Tshwane bus service is receiving our immediate and urgent attention. It is appropriate at this time to apologise profusely to the loyal users of the service for the poor service they suffered. We will be considering and approving a turnaround strategy for the service by the end of April 2012. The turnaround will address the need to replenish some part of the fleet and retire some other part; introduction of electronic fare collection; scheduling of routes and overall management at Tshwane Bus Service. An efficient; reliable and safe service will act as a feeder and distributor for the BRT as part of an Integrated Rapid Public Transport Network.
Promoting economic growth, investment and industrial development
Madam Speaker
An enabling climate for investment is critical for economic growth and social development within the city. For that reason, the City of Tshwane has embarked on a number of initiatives to cultivate and sustain a favourable environment for this.
The City has taken a conscious decision to develop and promote a partnership with the automotive industry due to its strategic importance to the City and the country as a whole. The doubling of Simon Vermoten Road is one of the projects that will have positive economic outcomes especially in making sure that the Ford Motor Company anchored in Waltloo continues to be competitive. The plan is to have a contractor established on site before the end of this financial year, with full-scale work starting in the new financial year.
The relationship with BMW is at an all-time high. The production of the new BMW 3 series commenced last month in Roslyn. Installed production capacity is set to increase beyond 90 000 units by 2013 with the introduction of a third shift. BMW exports from South Africa are set to more than double, bringing in the much needed economic activities to the city and resulting in the creation of 600 new jobs.
The BMW Group announced late last year that it will partner with the City of Tshwane on a waste-to-energy project. The project is similar to a landfill gas programme, which is responsible for providing BMW Plant Spartanburg in South Carolina, USA with about half of its energy requirements.
Madam Speaker, the BMW example is just one of many private sector-led developments that are taking place in the city. Even though the world economy is still under pressure, the city has seen new investments worth a total of R1 310 billion in the form of Tata Motors to the value of R114 million; Aurecon to the value of R496 million; and Nampak to the value of R700 million.
Since the gazetting of the National Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Bill by the Department of Trade and Industry, efforts are at an advanced stage to declare the Automotive Supplier Park in Rosslyn as an SEZ, as this classification will position the facility as an integral element of the City’s investment facilitation strategy and broader industrial development programme. In this regard, the City of Tshwane and the SPDC have committed funding for the purpose of undertaking a comprehensive economic impact assessment on the facility as an SEZ.
Promoting job creation and facilitating growth of SMMEs
Madam Speaker
The Tshwane Jobs Fund Strategic Framework was approved by the Mayoral Committee in order to leverage private and public sector funding to raise R1 billion in the course of the programme. To date, the City has packaged 25 projects that will be submitted as joint projects with private sector stakeholders. The City is also about to review and strengthen its Investment Enabling and Leveraging Incentive Strategic Framework in order to attract and stimulate investment in the city in a manner that will crowd in and leverage private sector investment in the development of the city.
To date, 450 SMMEs graduated from the Tshwane Enterprise Development Programme offered by the University of Pretoria, and an additional 250 SMMEs will undergo the capacity-building programme before 30 June 2012.
A project was piloted in partnership with Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) for 150 street traders to sell Coca-Cola-related products at the city’s trading sites. Traders are provided with training and equipment to service customers in line with the City’s by-laws and ABI specifications.
A three-way partnership was entered into between the Department of Trade and Industry, Google and the City of Tshwane to provide a platform for small businesses to develop their websites free of charge.
The City has earmarked Regions 5 and 7 for agricultural development amongst other priorities. In keeping with this, the City has deployed four tractors and equipment in the two regions to cultivate maize on 150 hectares. Seeds and fertilisers were provided to the farmers through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme. By the end of the second quarter of the 2011/12 financial year the City provided 1 454 agricultural starter packs to indigent households.
Through our partnership with the Institute of Business Advisors, over 120 business entities have gone through the mentorship programme wherein over 1 100 mentorship hours were allocated to date. It is envisaged that over 2 200 mentoring hours will be allocated and 250 business entities will be mentored by the end of the financial year.
The City officially opened Phase 1 of the Tshwane Market’s agro-processing facility on 15 November 2011. Agro-processing is a sector that not only contributes to economic growth but, most importantly, is central to industrial development, food security and job creation. There are currently 12 agro-processing and prepacking businesses established at the Tshwane Market, accounting for 261 jobs.
The EPWP remains a key initiative for empowering communities while rolling out much needed infrastructure. In the 2011/12 financial year, 38 000 work opportunities were envisaged, and for the political term of office ending in 2016 the target is 375 000 work opportunities. As at the end of quarter two, about 7 000 work opportunities were created. This, however, will increase drastically in quarter three as the City has set aside R60 million on an EPWP project known as Vat Alles, aimed at ensuring a cleaner city, rivers, stadiums and taxi ranks. The tender has been awarded, 3 000 EPWP participants have been recruited and work will start before the end of April 2012.
Madam Speaker
The country hosted the COP17 programme in Durban where the City participated through exhibitions and the hosting of three business seminars that focused on green building technologies, green automotive technologies and green investment opportunities.
Flowing from experiences and lessons during COP17, the City is developing a green economy strategy and programme in partnership with the CSIR and UNEP, wherein the CSIR will project-manage the process and the UNEP provide the technical assistance to both the CSIR and the City of Tshwane through a non-financial partnership agreement. The draft strategy will be made available for public comment in May 2012, and will seek to ensure that at least 2% of the City’s GVA is set aside for green and environment-sensitive activities through strategic procurement, investment, building control regulations and technologies, and skills development.
As part of its COP17 commitment, the City has embarked on a greening initiative which is manifesting in various forms. This year alone, the City planted 18 478 trees and donated 204 trees to schools.
Promoting use of clean energy and clean technology
To date, 15 716 solar water heaters have been installed. 125 W mercury vapour lights are being replaced by 70 W high-pressure sodium street lights in an effort to reduce energy consumption. So far, 13 000 have been replaced.
Madam Speaker
Technology remains a key strategic tool of this century in the quest for bettering the lives of our citizens. Consequently, the City has taken a strategic decision to embrace the Smart City concept. We are in discussions with the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to explore potential support for Tshwane’s Smart City initiative; the fifth game-changing initiative. USTDA is currently supporting Tshwane through the funding of a technical study tour focused on “smart grid” development, highlighting best practices and lessons learned in electricity distribution modernisation and smart metering.
Broadband will form the backbone for most of our Smart City initiatives. We have already deployed in excess of 500 kilometres of fibre through our Smart City project, which has resulted in significant savings over the last three years by connecting buildings and infrastructure on City-owned networks and by making use of our own infrastructure as opposed to outsourcing voice and data communication.
By the end of this financial year, every municipal library facility will have internet access for use by the public. This is in recognition of the centrality of the internet for business purposes; as an enabler for job seekers; a tool for staying up to date on local and global affairs; an important knowledge dissemination tool; a critical enabler of distance learning; and a medium for digital access to tenders without cumbersome and costly travelling to municipal buildings.
Another aspect of the Smart City is the tetra network. Due to the massive undertaking of providing communication to the city, as well as the capital required for this, the City of Tshwane’s digital trunked radio communication is being rolled out in phases. Phase 1 of the digital trunked radio communication has been completed and the additional base stations will be constructed to fill in the radio coverage gaps.
In February 2012 we managed to switch on Ekandustria and Donkerhoek radio communication high sites which will now increase coverage by including the Cullinan and Bronkhorstspruit areas which were recently incorporated into the City of Tshwane.
Provision of basic services, water and sanitation
Provision of clean and safe water for drinking is a priority given the centrality of clean and safe drinking water for the sustenance of human life. To date, 2 686 new water connections have been made, mostly to residents in Regions 1 and 2 where the backlogs are severe. Those who are living in areas that receive water through community taps are targeted for upgrades to yard connections. So far, 181 have been upgraded.
The current anaerobic ponds of the Ekangala Waste Water Treatment Works have been declared unacceptable by the Department of Water Affairs. The new Ekangala Waste Water Treatment Works is under construction to provide treatment capacity for the current and future waterborne sanitation systems in Ekangala and Zithobeni.
The deterioration of the Centurion Lake has been brought to our attention by the affected communities and we have increased the rate of maintenance and de-silting of the lake from July to October 2011. Consequently, for the first time in years, there was no flooding of properties during December 2011 and January 2012 rainfalls. We have committed more resources in later years to restore the lake to its original wetlands river status.
Madam Speaker
Another problem that faced us towards the end of last year was the Rooiwal sewer spill into the Apies River, resulting in farmers complaining of contaminated borehole water. We vowed to be responsive and, as we speak, the situation at the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) has drastically improved. Much of the equipment has been repaired and the City will keep a close eye on the situation until an extension and refurbishment of Rooiwal WWTW worth R950 million is completed in 2015.
Until this problem is completely resolved, farmers along the Apies River are regularly supplied with clean water for household purposes by means of water tankers.
The City is also challenged by sinkholes, with Region 4 being the most prone to dolomitic sinkholes. Two of the most recent occurrences are the ones in Jean Avenue and Basden Road. As these are busy roads, the inconvenience to the community has been significant and the City would like to resolve the matter with speed. By May 2012, the Jean Avenue sinkhole will be completely fixed, the site completely rehabilitated and the road re-opened to the public. The Basden Road sinkhole will be completely rehabilitated by August 2012.
Madam Speaker
One of the primary mandates of the City remains the provision of services, especially to the impoverished communities. Normalising the standards of service has long been a priority for the City. One such aspect of normalisation has been waste collection. The previous government provided waste services in differentiated standards: 240L wheeled bins for suburbs and 85L bins for townships.
The City rolled out 240L bins in exchange for 85L bins in various townships. During the 2010/11 financial year, 20 408 were rolled out to the following townships: Temba Unit 1, Temba Unit 2, Unit D Extension 1, Leboneng Unit 3, Chris Hani Unit 9, Extension 6 Unit D, Kanana, Renstown, Refilwe, Skepaneng, Tamboville, Unit 7, Portion 9, Hans Kekana View, Mandela and Unit 5. Bins will be provided to the following areas in the near future: Unit D Extensions 5 and 6, Refilwe, Skampeneng, Tambo, Chris Hani, Portion 9, Renstown and Winterveld Extension 3. At the end of December 2011, the City was servicing 220 788 households with a waste removal service.
With respect to the recreational space within previously deprived communities, we view the greening and beautification of neighbourhoods as a central part of the development of such communities. To that end, we resolved to raise awareness of these issues through neighbourhood park development.
The Mayoral Committee has already adopted the concept of two parks per ward in an effort to redress the backlog emanating from the previous planning dispensation. We are nearing the completion of a consultative process with various Councillors to enable communities to have a significant input in the design and location of such recreational infrastructure. Our vision is for these neighbourhood parks to have standard features such as ablution amenities, ablution blocks, walking trails, playground equipment and requisite park furniture.
Promotion of culture and celebration of diversity
With respect to the observance of cultural rights, we are acquiring suitable land to establish a regional cemetery in the north in the next financial year. The cemetery will have a lifespan of 75 years and we hope this will go a long way towards ensuring that our communities send their loved ones to their final resting place with dignity. Areas like Stinkwater, Suurman and Majaneng have long been without proper cemeteries.
Madam Speaker
We are in an advanced stage of establishing a Heritage Advisory Council to help the City to identify, preserve, protect and promote diverse and precious cultural heritage and legacies. The council will have thirteen members who are familiar with the dynamics of heritage. They will also play a compliance and enforcement role to prevent illegal demolition and renovation of, or alterations to heritage structures by developers and private persons without regard for our historical and architectural streetscapes and landscapes.
The City welcomes the national government’s declaration of the Voortrekker Monument as a national heritage site. As part of telling the complete South African story, we will be completing the Solomon Mahlangu precinct so as to elevate it to a full-fledged heritage site. This should also be seen as part of the many projects to revitalise many of our townships.
In Mamelodi, Phase 1 of the non-motorised transport project was implemented in the 2010/11 financial year to the value of R11 million. Phase 2 of the project is being implemented in the 2011/12 financial year. Funding was approved for paving walkways for pedestrians and cyclists, providing street bins and benches, and planting trees. This project was implemented from February up to December 2011.
National Treasury has approved an amount of R82 million for the following Tsosoloso Programme projects to be implemented by June 2012:
National Treasury: Approved funding
| Project names | Budget (R) |
| Nellmapius Clinic Extension | R10 800 00,00 |
| Stanza Bopape Library IT Centre | R 6,000, 000.00 |
| Upgrade of the Tsamaya Activity Spine, Phase 1 | R6,000, 000.00 |
| HM Pitje Stadium Precinct | R11 850 00,00 |
| Non-motorised transport, Phase 2 | R12 500 00,00 |
| Refilwe Business Node Landscaping | R9 900 000,00 |
| Nellmapius Skills Development Centre | R12 550 00,00 |
| Nellmapius Recreational Centre | R12 400 00,00 |
| Total | R82 million |
The City has also received approval of business plans from the national Department of Tourism for the following projects:
National Department of Tourism
| Project name | Budget (R) |
| Mamelodi Rondavels | 9 000 000,00 |
| Moretele Park Upgrade | 9 000 000,00 |
| Ga Mothakga Resort Upgrade | 10 000 000,00 |
| Total | R38 million |
Implementation of these EPWP projects commenced in February 2012 and they are to be completed by the end of the year.
Madam Speaker
In line with developments elsewhere in the country, the City will celebrate Freedom Month during April 2012 through a number of activities aimed at building and promoting unity, deepening democracy, strengthening social cohesion and reconciliation, and restoring human dignity to our residents.
Guided by the national theme of the 2012 national Freedom Day celebration, "Working together to promote unity in diversity", the City of Tshwane will host and present the following series of build-up programmes and activities:
- Week 1: Solomon Mahlangu Commemoration Week
- Week 2: Restoring Human Dignity
- Week 4: Amazing Freedom Race
Sustainable communities with clean and health environments
Madam Speaker
A sustainable, clean, healthy and safe environment is an indispensable and non-negotiable bottom-line for the dignity and integrity of our communities. To this end, the City has embarked on a number of interventions towards the realisation of self-sustained, cleaner and healthier communities.
A crucial feature of sustainable and healthy community life is quality and availability of health infrastructure. To this end, the Hercules, East Lynne, Stanza Bopape and Lotus Gardens facilities were upgraded in the last three years. Currently the City is upgrading the Pretorius Park and Nellmapius Clinics while the Danville and Olievenhoutbosch facilities will be upgraded in the following year.
We coordinated two flagship campaigns as part of our programme to raise general health awareness within our communities:
The Chemical Safety Week focused on paraffin safety at home targeted at schools, nursery schools, old-age homes and other institutions in Tshwane.
Initiation schools focused on health and safety issues and 120 schools registered with the City of Tshwane during the 2011 season, 111 male and 9 female schools. There were 2 350 initiates in total.
Madam Speaker
We also looked at issues of human resource development within our health infrastructure, as our clinics cannot operate without the presence of appropriately qualified and highly motivated health personnel.
98% of Health and Social Development personnel had their Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) for their training needs for better service delivery completed.
In this respect, 98% of Professional Nurses in our facilities are trained in integrated management of childhood illnesses to ensure that the Millennium Development Goal of reducing the under-five child mortality is realised.
All clinics provide the total package for the prevention of mother to child transmission to ensure that babies born to HIV-positive mothers are born HIV negative.
95% of the City of Tshwane’s clinics are connected to computer network points to improve communication through internet and email.
PHC clinics have implemented the National District Health Information System, the Datacare Patient Electronic Data System and the Electronic TB Register System to better patient record management and ease access to patient records.
The Electronic Antiretroviral Patient System has been piloted at Atteridgeville Clinic for better ART patient treatment, files management and data accessibility.
Madam Speaker
We have pioneered the concept of sustainable agricultural villages as a participatory approach to environment-sustainable rural development that simultaneously develops the social, ecological and technological infrastructure of communities.
We continue to honour our commitment to communities in distress through our indigence policy as part of our poverty relief interventions. The characteristic orientation of this intervention is to help communities help themselves. To date, 153 indigent households exited the programme against the target of 300, and 187 indigent people have been linked to job opportunities.
Madam Speaker
Food security is an indispensible indicator of the quality of life of communities. The Tshwane Food Bank was launched during the World Food Day commemorations on 14 October 2010 at the Tshwane Market. This is a joint initiative between the City of Tshwane, PWMSA and FBSA.
The Food Bank is a charity food programme that provides immediate hunger relief to individuals and families who are unable to afford food and receive adequate government financial assistance. During this 2011/12 financial year the City provided 43 891 beneficiaries with hot meals from 711 registered NGOs.
With respect to refuse removal, after serious consideration of ways to introduce efficiencies in the provision of this service to our communities, we came to the conclusion that it is not cost effective for the City to manage and maintain fleet vehicles for refuse removal. We accordingly decided to award a tender for the leasing of waste management vehicles and a handover ceremony was held on 13 May 2011. Tender CB287/2009 makes provision for the lease of 92 state-of-the-art vehicles over a period of three years, allowing the City to focus exclusively on the provision of the primary service, namely refuse collection, and not be detained by exigencies of the upkeep and maintenance of vehicles.
To better respond to the challenges of veld fires posed by the vast areas that came with the Metsweding merger, ten grass fire vehicles and five command response vehicles were acquired.
Twenty Category B reservists were trained in different skills programmes, such as Basic Fire Fighting, First Aid Levels 1-3, Hazmat Awareness, Advanced Basic Fire Fighting and Basic Presentation Skills.
A Youth Brigade was established in Ward 22, Mabopane, where 22 people from the community were capacitated to be the backbone of this initiative. Our intension is to establish youth brigades in all the regions and to be in the position to maintain them.
The City continues to train communities in basic life skills, buddy aid, basic fire information, candle safety, paraffin safety, LPGAS safety, pre-winter awareness and flood awareness.
Sustainable livelihoods and the provision of housing infrastructure
Madam Speaker
In our Acceptance Address we made it abundantly clear that we would spare no effort to eradicate informal settlements so that residents could stay in areas that are serviced and obtain title deeds. This process received a timely boost from the Gauteng Provincial Government in the form of accreditation to assume more responsibilities as far as the construction and allocation of houses are concerned. To date, sixty-three informal settlements receive rudimentary services and twenty of these are in the former Metsweding areas.
As for delivery through the concept of serviced stands, the City has so far ensured that 4 800 stands receive both water and sanitation as part of formalisation.
Actual housing delivery is also progressing well. In Ga-Rankuwa Unit 10, we are 92% complete with servicing 1 200 stands. By the end May 2012, the project will be fully completed. In this area, the City has allocated R17,5 million to the developer for the provision of roads. The designs have been approved and the work has commenced and will be completed by 30 June 2012.
In Thorntree View we are constructing access roads and a water reservoir. This project will benefit 2 100 households in Soshanguve South Extension 7 and a further 3 200 stands in Soshanguve South Extension 6. As we speak, the water reservoir is about 30% complete while the provision of roads is about 40% complete.
In Winterveld, the City is constructing 200 top structures and a sewer link line, access roads are provided and land is expropriated. So far, more than 190 concrete slabs have been completed. The top structures will be completed before the end of the financial year. The provision of access roads is about 30% complete. There are currently negotiations with the land owners whose properties have been identified for expropriation. The funding for the expropriation is expected to be spent in the current financial year.
As part of transferring old houses to owners, the City also promised to issue title deeds to those who have been living in such houses. To date, 3 568 title deeds have been transferred to owners. There are still challenges of owners not coming forward to claim their title deeds and we appeal to residents to start coming forward.
The City has also acquired Portion 34 (a Portion of Portion 19) of the Farm Oog van Boekenhoutkloof 288 JR and the Remainder of Portion 19 of the Farm Oog van Boekenhoutkloof 288 JR, totalling 52 hectares which can accommodate about 2 000 households.
In line with the national priorities of looking after the affairs of military veterans, the City has prioritised military veterans for the allocation of houses in the Ga-Rankuwa Extension 24, Thorntree and Winterveld project. The official launch will be at the end of March 2012.
In the coming budget, provision has been made to deliver the following housing projects:
Projects in planning
|
Project name |
Number of stands |
Completion date |
|
Claremont (Bremer) |
170 |
March 2013 |
|
Danville/Elandspoort |
131 |
March 2013 |
|
Lady Selbourne |
5 000 |
March 2013 |
|
Atteridgeville Ext 19 |
2 000 |
March 2013 |
|
Fortwest |
7 000 |
March 2013 |
|
Zandfontein/Kirkney Erf 82, 63 and 67 |
7 500 |
March 2013 |
|
Lotus Gardens |
2 000 |
March 2013 |
|
Pedustria |
6 000 |
March 2013 |
Together with the Gauteng Provincial Department, the City will be running a programme aimed at providing decent accommodation for backyard dwellers. This programme, which will commence in April 2012, will see almost 1 000 backyard dwellers getting upgraded and formalised dwellings.
The private sector has also been roped in to assist with the delivery of houses. For Cullinan, the City is finalising a land availability agreement to enable the delivery of the mixed development settlement, including over 3 500 low-cost houses. Another similar development is earmarked for Nellmapius/Willows, accommodating 3 000 low-cost houses.
The City is putting in place revitalisation plans for Cullinan, Rayton and Bronkhorstspruit. These plans will be incorporated with the respective Regional Spatial Development Frameworks. The City will develop detailed plans for the development of a new Cullinan Town Centre. This will enhance the economic and tourism potential of Cullinan. It is envisaged that this work will be completed before the end of this financial year.
Electrification and electricity distribution infrastructure
Madam Speaker
The issue of access to electricity is at the heart of modern forms of life and inevitably a reliable measure of the extent to which there are tangible improvements in the quality of life of a people.
On this measure, to date 83,79% of households in Tshwane have access to basic electricity. 76% of households without electricity are people living in informal settlements. In order to address the electrification backlog, the City will be spending R323 million to completely eradicate the backlog in informal settlements. The City has started with the provision of electricity in informal settlements. This year, 6 500 households in informal settlements such as Brazzaville, Itireleng, Letlotlo and Rethuseng will benefit from the electrification programme.
The City of Tshwane is working hard to eradicate the backlog on dysfunctional street lights to ensure a turnaround time of 48 hours for the repair of reported faulty lights. Furthermore, interventions such a real-time monitoring of street lights will be investigated as part of proactive maintenance to ensure 100% visibility at night. Furthermore, an additional 3010 street lights and 30 high masts will be installed across the city, including informal settlements, to the tune of R30 million.
Madam Speaker
With respect to those areas that are directly supplied by Eskom, most of whom are in the north, the City of Tshwane in partnership with Eskom has committed an amount of R1,559 billion over a period of five years towards strengthening and refurbishing projects in pursuit of the City’s goal of universal access.
The following is a breakdown of how this amount will be allocated to different areas in accordance with the needs:
- The rebuilding of Nonyane substation near Winterveld will utilise R43 million.
- In the Mabopane area, Eskom will spend R108 million, for the upgrading of Nooitgedacht substation.
- R62 million is to be spent in the Ga-Rankuwa area to upgrade hotel and midway substations.
- R352 million will be spent around the Babelegi industrial area. This will help resuscitate business operations that are necessary for job creation and combating unemployment.
- R376 million will be spent on the former Nokeng tsa Taemane and Kungwini.
- 8 005 indigent customers identified by the City in Eskom Areas of Supply will continue to receive 100kwh per month of free basic electricity which is funded by the City in line with the City’s policy.
- The City and Eskom have put together a technical task team to ensure that 80 identified high-mast lights are connected timorously to improve service delivery and security.
- A total of 1, 6 million Cols have been rolled out and Eskom is already busy with a sustainability programme on this programme. We have committed a roll-out of an additional 200 000 CFLs, and 15 000 solar water heaters have been rolled out.
Development and maintenance of good quality road infrastructure
Madam Speaker
Our IDP lists the provision of decent roads as the number 1 priority for residents, especially those in impoverished wards. To respond to this need, 45 km of road was gravelled to formalise un-proclaimed areas in Mamelodi Extension 18, Hammanskraal West Proper, Hammanskraal West Extension 1 and Nellmapius Extensions 6, 7 and 8.
The eradication of the roads infrastructure backlog especially in old townships is also being attended to. 16 km of road and storm water systems have been constructed to eradicate backlogs in Mabopane unit X, Kudube Extension 7, Soshanguve Block L, Odinburg Gardens, Soshanguve Block XX, Ga-Rankuwa, Matenteng and New Eersterust. These areas were prone to excessive flooding due to substandard or lack of storm water systems.
Consultants for the upgrade and doubling of Maunde Road have been appointed to do detailed design, the target date for completion of the detailed designs being 27 April 2012. EIA applications were submitted on 20 February 2012. The City is working hard to have a contractor appointed and established on site in July 2012.
Madam Speaker, the City is looking at creative funding instruments to help finance both the economic and social infrastructure needs. The City will be very active in the debt capital markets. We will be looking to raise over R10 billion in the next five years to finance our strategic capital investment projects. We will be raising over R1,5 billion in the next financial year through the municipal bond. As basic management principle, the City will be increasing the share of the maintenance budget to protect current assets and increase their life span. We will be looking to doing the little things right and on time, fixing the broken window.
Fostering participatory democracy and Batho Pele
In addition to a range of measures we have put in place to strengthen our institutional presence at ward committee level so as to cultivate and sustain a climate of meaningful participation by our citizens, we also deemed it fit to constantly measure the extent to which we are responsive to the needs of communities through surveys that measure the levels of satisfaction with our service provision.
This can only help improve our operations. To this effect we conducted an annual rating survey of City of Tshwane clinics from 14 to 18 March 2011. Questionnaires were distributed to the clinics and had to be completed by 10% of patients attending a clinic monthly. Altogether 9 883 questionnaires were distributed. Of these, 7 847 (79%) questionnaires were completed and returned. This is the same percentage as that of the 2010 survey.
The questionnaire focused on three categories, namely clinic cleanliness, staff attitude and the impression of services rendered.
93% of the respondents indicated that the clinics were clean (91% in 2010), while 6% did not agree and 1% did not answer this question. Regarding staff attitude, 93% of the respondents were satisfied (2% improvement on the previous year), 6% were not satisfied and 1% did not answer this question. In terms of services rendered, 87% of the respondents were satisfied with the services rendered (82% in 2010), 11% were not satisfied and 2% did not answer this question.
For all 14 items, 89% of the responses were positive, which is a 4% improvement from the 2010 survey, and 10% were "not satisfied" and 1% did not respond.
There has been an overall improvement from 2010 to 2011. Since the Health Services Division strives for excellence, each clinic is now called upon to study its results and compile a performance improvement plan based on these results.
Madam Speaker
One of the ways that the residents gauge our commitment to service delivery is through interaction with our call centres. The unattended queries remain a key irritant in their eyes. With the implementation of overtime and the internship programme the backlog was brought down to its knees. Interns handled an average of 4 500 emails, which accounted for 65% of the backlog, while agents handled complex queries from customers.
To address the skill development gaps within the call centre and walk-in centres, an internship programme was initiated with the Services Seta. Interns were trained for a week on SAP to address customers’ complaints. They were further assessed on a weekly basis to evaluate their competency when assisting customers. The programme was run for six months and interns received stipends from the Services Seta. It is worth mentioning that 60% of those interns got permanent employment at various companies, after the completion of the programme.
The construction of the Call Centre in the North will address unemployment in surrounding areas. The project is geared to employ a minimum of 150 agents upon completion. The project is estimated to be completed by July 2012.
Madam Speaker
The promotion and fostering of participatory democracy also require that we strengthen and preserve civil society formations. We will all recall the critical role played by non-government organisations in bringing about political change in our country, and these continue to play a crucial role in strengthening our democracy.
Pursuant to our vision of preserving and strengthening these organisations, they were supported by the City through linking them with donors. The following NGOs benefited:
- R100 000 donation from SABMiller to the SALCIAH and Aganang community organisations of Mabopane for environmental improvement projects for Mandela Month.
- Le Rena Rea Shoma Disability organisation of Soshanguve received donations of furniture and school equipment from the City.
- Olerato AIDS Home Based Care organisation of Soshanguve received beds and linen from Legae Medi Clinic, coordinated by the region.
- Reitumetsi High School in Soshanguve was linked with DESTO Company who donated building material for the school’s office block.
- Fruit trees were sourced and donated to new low-cost houses in Winterveld.
- Vegetable seedlings were sourced and donated to Hope for Life HIV/AIDS Home Base Care organisation in Winterveld.
Organisational and human resource development
Madam Speaker
Without a highly trained, appropriately qualified and adequately motivated workforce all our plans run a high risk of remaining good intentions without any chance of practical implementation. In our IDP we identified this issue as warranting conscious consideration and undivided attention of the City.
Strategic focus areas and training priorities have been addressed and around 329 learning programmes and interventions will be implemented. Two middle management development courses have been presented and will be attended by 50 learners.
MFMA courses are being presented by the University of Pretoria to ensure that learners meet the National Treasury minimum competency regulations requirements.
Something like 62 different learning programmes/interventions as per the prospectus of courses are presented by the TLMA each year on an ongoing basis.
In the region of 90 new apprentices are taken aboard each year in the technical training workshops. These include electricians, boilermakers, welders, fitters and turners, petrol and diesel mechanics.
Madam Speaker
In 2010 the Municipality started to directly contract former labour broker employees while mapping out ways and means to ultimately appoint them permanently on its staff establishment. On 6 July 2011 the Mayoral Committee resolved that labour broker employees who complied with the criteria of the report, be appointed in a permanent capacity with a proviso that benefits with financial implications be phased in over a period of two years. The Mayoral Committee further mandated Strategic Human Resource Management to negotiate that aspect with organised labour.
A significant milestone has been achieved in that an agreement was concluded with the local branches of both SAMWU and IMATU. The collective agreement was ratified by the National Bargaining Council on 8 December 2011. Following the written verification of the endorsement of the collective agreement by the National Bargaining Council, the permanent appointment of the labour broker employees began. We are about to finalise the letters of appointment for the 4 396 employees, which will be furnished by 31 March 2012.
Awards
The Annual Mayoral Matric Awards, through which the City recognises schools and learners who performed well and motivates those who did not fare well, were conducted. This year 30 learners from all over Tshwane were duly rewarded with, amongst other prices, laptops. We would like to sincerely thank Mr Michael Ntshabele of Baraka Enterprise Consulting for donating the thirty laptops.
Wonderboom Airport received a “Silver Arrow” award from Professional Management Review Africa (PMR) in October 2011 for being a municipal owned airport contributing towards local economic development in Tshwane.
On the emblematic identity of the new City of Tshwane
Madam Speaker
We embarked on seeking new symbols to embody the soul and spirit of the new City of Tshwane as a fountain head of dynamism, innovation and excellence. We requested our tertiary institutions to, through a competitive process, translate our brand values – leadership, inspiration, innovation and excellence – into an expression that captures and conveys what we are all about.
The logo design and the pay-off line or slogan were the main considerations and a total of 61 entries were received from eight institutions. After deliberations the adjudication committee concluded that the two best logos should be combined into a final design. The winning slogan of that competition, "Igniting excellence", is what carried this year’s State of the City Address. It was decided, Madam Speaker, to divide the prize money of R50 000,00 between the students as follows:
- R20 000,00 each for the two designers who designed the winning logo. Both winners, Mr Moss Ngoasheng and Ms Bridgette Phaahla, are third-year graphic students at the Tshwane University of Technology.
- R10 000,00 for the student whose slogan won. The student is from Open Window and her name is Jessica Adendorff, a third-year student in Visual Communication.
We sincerely thank all the institutions that participated and demonstrated that ours is indeed an academic hub of our country. Thanks also to the more than capable judges who were a combination of our own internal staff and external experts, namely Mr Herman Botes of the Tshwane University of Technology, and Mr Gordon Cook of the Vega School of Brand Innovation.
Madam speaker
Allow me to call the three students to come and help me unveil our new logo: Ms Bridgette Phaahla and Mr Moss Ngoasheng for the logo, and Ms Jessica Adendorff for the pay-off line.
In conclusion
Madam Speaker
We have given a balance sheet and an account of our efforts to facilitate social and economic development in Tshwane. We organised our service delivery work for the year under review under the theme: “Consolidating service delivery, accelerating job creation and strengthening foundations for a city of excellence”. The various thematic and strategic objectives gave programmatic expression to the organising theme for the year under review.
This balance sheet also represents the first in a series of instalments within our five-year service delivery programme. It therefore occupies an important and special place as it stands at the foundational and formative stages of the long five-year journey. It goes a long way in shaping the path and setting the tone for how the whole journey will unfold.
Madam Speaker
The end of one financial year marks the beginning of another. We will soon return to the house to present estimates of income and expenditure for the forthcoming financial year. The budget statement will also communicate our programmatic intentions for the coming period, building on the lessons of successes and shortcomings of the previous year.
For the forthcoming financial year, we have opted for the theme “Igniting Excellence”, following the excellent work done by our very own students, to communicate a very clear message that we remain as uncompromising and unrepentant when coming to the provision of good quality service.
Excellence remains an inimical and irreplaceable characteristic defining feature of our overall approach to our mandate as bestowed upon us by our citizens. In terms of what it means to strive for excellence as we rightly proclaim ourselves to be, this is what Aristotle, the eminent ancient Greek philosopher and encyclopaedic, had to say:
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those [virtue and excellence] because we acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
This is of cardinal importance and perhaps we should borrow and paraphrase the words of another towering intellectual of his time, the German philosopher, Karl Marx, when he said:
“There is no royal road to excellence and it is only those who do not dread the fatiguing climbs of its steep paths that stand a chance to reach its luminous summits!”
We aim to make service excellence an enduring habit of our approach to service delivery that should be stubbornly and single-mindedly pursued. This and only this attitude will help ossify the foundational pillars of our endeavours to cultivate fine traditions of quality, superiority and distinction in our commitments to our people.
Whether or not we succeed in our pursuit of excellence will be attested to by the history of the term unfolding before our own eyes. As for those of us in the crucible of the service machinery striving for this goal, we remain resolute in our commitment to imbibe and internalise the values and ethos of excellence.
We remain acutely aware that the road ahead will be long, hard and full of potholes and therefore habour no unjustifiable illusions about the impending difficulties to be traversed.
We are also clear that our role is merely that of enabling, facilitating and coordinating; for the success of our vision of a city of excellence, the bulk of the responsibility resides with the citizens. They hold the key to surmount an incredibly diverse set of challenges and obstacles on our road to get there.
To those of our citizens whose trust we are yet to earn with our pursuit of excellence as an indelible feature of the City’s life, please note that everything we do, we do for you. This might constitute moments of inconvenience in the short term, but ultimately these efforts will permanently secure the long-term interests of all of us.
If excellence and sustainable quality service remain the platform on which you employed us and tasked us to manage your common affairs, then you have no option but to rally behind a set of programmatic measures designed to nudge our city in that direction.
You, the citizens of Tshwane, are therefore called upon in your various forms of existence – whether as individuals, professionals, youth formations, student formations, churches, business associations, sporting clubs, villages, townships, trade unions, women formations, formations of people with disabilities, residents associations and non-government organisations – to all pull together to help the vehicle propel us towards our destination.
Let us all spare neither strength nor courage to make sure we both severally and collectively surmount the social and economic development challenges facing our citizens.
All out towards the realisation of a kingdom of excellence!
