Joburg's Morero promises robust service delivery in wake of G20 Summit

City of Joburg Mayor Dada Morero has vowed to continue his citywide by-law enforcement and service delivery operations aimed at restoring law and order across city regions despite the recent conclusion of the G20 Summit.

On Tuesday, Morero led another high-impact service delivery programme in the Roodepoort Central Business District.

The operation included law enforcement operations, road resurfacing, repairing of traffic lights, illegal dumping clean-ups, and other initiatives.

Morero said service delivery will not stop just because the G20 Summit has ended.

He added that he and his team are intensifying efforts to reclaim all the towns under the City of Johannesburg, which have suffered neglect in the past.

"This is the first Tuesday after the G20 Summit, and the work continues after the summit. We are going from region to region. In the inner city, we are going precinct by precinct. The intention is to reclaim Johannesburg," he said.

Unlike in the past, where the city was known for service delivery failures, ahead of the G20 Summit, Morero said there will no longer be service delivery failures in the city.

"There will be no service delivery failures. We are unlocking service delivery, so that we respond to whether that is potholes, streetlights, or traffic lights. Where there are challenges, we must respond."

Furthermore, the mayor has put a call out to informal business owners and traders, urging them to submit detailed building plans, including architectural drawings, structural considerations, and compliance documentation, to ensure adherence to local building control regulations and avoid potential violations.

He said compliance in this regard will help the city and businesses to deliver the best business offerings to the residents of the city.

His request comes as the city recently concluded its informal trader verification process in the Johannesburg City Centre last week, following the recent High Court ruling, which compelled the city to speed up its verification process.

On Sunday, on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, Morero commended global leaders for arriving at the leaders' declaration despite the US boycott of the gathering.

He stated that the G20 Declaration itself puts Africa in a better position to advance on issues that have been affecting the continent, from climate change to debt reform, emphasising that African governments must push forward to achieve the reforms they seek.

He said some of the declarations will assist the city, which has recently undergone an extensive revitalisation drive that has been visible across all seven regions. 

"As you know, in June, we passed a fully funded budget covering all seven regions, and this region (where the Summit is being held) is part of those. We didn’t have to top up on anything for G20. We just had to implement what we have budgeted for," he told the media gathered at the Nasrec Conference and Expo Centre on Sunday.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za