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Address delivered by the executive mayor of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan
Municipality, clr Ntombi Mekgwe, at the ordinary council meeting, in
Germiston, on 28 January 2010.
Madam Speaker; Clr Patricia Kumalo,
Chief Whip of Council; Clr Mahlomola Mabote,
Members of the Mayoral Committee,
Leaders of Parties in Council,
Fellow Councillors,
City Manager; Mr Khaya Ngema,
Senior Management,
Distinguished Guests,
Members of the Media
Residents of Ekurhuleni,
It is with great pride and privilege, Madam Speaker, that I welcome and
extend warm and deep felt greetings to all our Councillors and
officials, as we all begin our work in this seminal year, 2010.
As we begin this seminal year, 2010, let me on behalf of the leadership
of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality convey our best wishes to you
and the people of Ekurhuleni. We trust that 2010 will exceed all your
aspirations and dreams and that we will rise to the occasion to make
2010, the seminal year that it is, as we work together to speed up
effective service delivery to our communities.
In welcoming everyone, I wish to express great hope and confidence that
as we step into this seminal year for our country and continent, we
will do so with great commitment and determination to ensure that in
our daily lives and in our work places, we ensure that collectively, we
contribute progressively towards building the lasting legacy for all
our people as we work to make the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup dream, the
reality that we set for ourselves and the whole world.
This we will work to achieve as on the occasion of the January 8, 2010
statement of the African National Congress (ANC) President Jacob Zuma
declared 2010: “The year of Working Together to Speed up Effective
Service Delivery to the People”.
We must, Madam Speaker, in pursuance of this theme, as President Zuma
put it: “…ensure that sufficient state and municipal resources and
capacity are set aside to implement local government programmes”.
Honourable Councillors, January 12, 2010, will forever remain etched in
the minds of our brothers and sisters in Haiti. On this fateful day,
the capital of Port- Au-Prince was struck by a devastating earthquake
that left hundreds dead. The scenes from television footages described
the pain and hardship the people of Haiti had to endure as a result of
the earthquake that hit that country. This disaster has left a trail of
misery in Haiti. A number of children are now orphans and many of our
sisters and brothers are homeless.
The aftermath of the devastating earthquake which measured 7.0 on the
richter scale, is still felt even up to date as the count of the dead
continues and the effect of destruction halts attempts to rebuild and
reconstruct the city.
We are confident that through the support of the world and the
resilience the Haitian people have shown they will emerge victorious in
re-building their beautiful mother land. We are certain that our people
will stand up to the challenge and contribute towards rebuilding
humanity in pursuance of the ideal of a better world for all.
Madam Speaker, in about 133 days, the world’s most popular sport will
be played on our soil, and though we are not one of the host cities, we
have to as Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality be well prepared for
this spectacle, as the principal entry point for the majority of
participants and spectators alike. The kick-off of this soccer
spectacle, on 11th June at the “Calabash inspired Stadium”, in
Johannesburg will herald what will go down in history as the greatest
moment for our country and continent in so far as the FIFA Soccer World
Cup is concerned and as this Council we have to play our role.
As, South Africa, we have been waiting for this tournament for a long
time and as a country we have prepared thoroughly for it and we are
confident that this will be the best Soccer World Cup ever and we have
to be proud as Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality that we have played
a big role in all these preparations.
We have to mobilize our residents to give their support to our national
team, Bafana Bafana and ensure that they buy their match tickets in
time and that those who cannot attend the matches have access to fan
parks to show and display their support. Building of this support
starts now and should be ongoing till the end. Let us also ensure that
every resident participates in raising our national flag, encourage and
support the Soccer Fridays “campaign”.
In the words of our icon, stalwart and leader, Rolihlahla Nelson
Mandela, “football is more than a game, it is a great unifying force
that can help us uphold the values of tolerance, of inclusivity and
reconciliation, and of non-racialism, and peace that are still dear to
all of us today”.
Let us as Ekurhuleni, Madam Speaker, join the whole of South Africa and
the continent in welcoming all the visitors from all over the world to
our shores and ensure that they all enjoy our humanity and warm and
friendly hospitality for the duration of the tournament so that once
the event is over, we remain their destiny of choice when they come
back to visit.
Madam Speaker, the dawn of this seminal year also heralds the end of a
decade and the ushering in of the new decade, a decade wherein the
aspirations of our people to access a better life for all and the
advancement towards the realization of the ideals of a non-racial,
non-sexist, united and democratic society where peace and prosperity
prevail will be accelerated.
During this year, Madam Speaker, we will celebrate 10 years of
democratic local government in our quest to entrench and deepen
constitutional democracy. Through the past 10 years of democratic
local government we have ensured that our people’s lives have improved
for the better and their living conditions have also been improved for
the better.
During this seminal year for our country we will be celebrating and
commemorating the 55th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter which
represents the strategic vision of the majority party in government,
the African National Congress, and the kind of society it seeks to
build in South Africa. This vision is shared by the great majority of
South Africans and the progress in realizing this vision is embedded in
the country’s constitution.
This year will also see us commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the
Sharpeville Massacre, when innocent civilians were massacred by the
then apartheid state machinery merely because they dared to express
their democratic right to protest against oppression and discrimination.
During this seminal year, Madam Speaker, we will also be celebrating
the 20th anniversary of the release from incarceration of the first
President of the democratic Republic of South Africa Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela.
In celebrating and commemorating these events, we remind and recommit
ourselves to the ideals of a South Africa that belongs to all who live
in it, black and white together united in diversity.
Madam Speaker, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality relocated about
300 families whose informal dwellings in Palm Ridge were flooded by the
recent heavy rains. The Council is also providing the families with
food parcels while at the same time assisting in the reconstruction of
their structures. The families’ new homes are now being constructed on
a piece of land which was earmarked for township development.
Accordingly, a group of about 30 families from an informal settlement
known as Beach Front in Wattville, Benoni, have also been moved after
their homes were flooded as well. These families are awaiting
relocation to the Chief Albert Luthuli development.
Madam Speaker, the search and rescue team comprising of the Ekurhuleni
Emergency Services and the SAPS has found the bodies of the two people
who were swept away by flash floods in Phomolong Informal settlement
near Thembisa on Monday night. The bodies of the 34-year-old mother and
her six-month old baby boy were found 4km away in Esangweni, about 100m
apart.
As Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, we convey and extend our
heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased and remain certain
that the loss of their loved ones through death in these tragic
circumstances will ensure that we all work hard and selflessly towards
ensuring these painful events do not recur.
We have relocated other families that are threatened by the floods to
the Phomolong Clinic, Community Hall and the local youth centre as an
interim measure.
Tom Jones Road in Benoni was also flooded. The EMPD has closed the road
while attempts are being made to clear the water. Atlasville in
Boksburg was also flooded last night. Apparently this is the second
time in a week that this has happened. Our teams are attending to these
matters.
A number of homes in Eastleigh Ridge in Edenvale were also flooded on Monday night.
Let me also share some good news with Council. The Auditor General has
given the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality a clean bill of health
in giving us an unqualified audit report.
The 2008/09 financial year was the first year in Ekurhuleni’s history
that unqualified audit opinions were achieved for all of the companies
within the Ekurhuleni group.
The initiatives were commenced within earlier years, and the continued
process towards improvement to the control environment has now yielded
results. The contribution of the chartered accountants that have been
seconded to the municipality as part of the partnership between the
Department of Housing and Local Government and SAICA must be recognised
as they provided meaningful insight into the new accounting regime. The
ongoing oversight and leadership provided by the EMM Strategic
Management Team as well as the Finance Portfolio Committee and
Municipal Public Accounts Committee ensured that the milestones set
were rigorously monitored until achieved.
This is, however, not the end of Operation Clean Audit as the Auditor
General has still raised control issues in the management letter.
Furthermore, irregular expenditure again occurred in the 2008/09
financial year and various investigations are being conducted. These
matters are to be addressed on an ongoing basis to ensure continued
achievement of unqualified audit reports, financial management of the
highest standards and procurement without any irregularities. With the
combined efforts of the management team and the political leaders, a
clean audit report will be maintained.
We are doing our mid-year review of the financial and performance
result for the year this month. By now it is no longer news that the
financial position of Council is not as positive as we hoped it would
be, yet, effective management is about facing challenges and coming up
with workable solutions to survive in times of economic downturn. We
are presenting our adjustments budget today that is aimed at
stabilising our cash position. In our credit rating review our
opportunity to maximise on gearing principles were cited as an
indication that we should be able to meet our commitments – the plan
presented to Council in earlier months indicated our resolve to ensure
that all projects are fully funded. This was recognised by the rating
agency and our rating remained at AA level. Amongst the various
funding sources, municipal bonds will be considered as a mechanism to
fund projects. Once the adjustments budget has been adopted, a further
review will be performed and we are confident that our rating will once
again reflect that all is sound within our municipality.
The budget compilation process is in full swing and the Budget Steering
Committee that I announced during November 2009 has already completed a
vast amount of work. The budget for the 2010/11 year will be tabled to
Council next month and all Councillors are urged to participate in the
portfolio committee meetings and workshops that will take place during
February to ensure that our budget is truly embraced by all when we
consider it next month.
Madam Speaker, we also take this opportunity to congratulate the class
of 2009 for their achievement in the matric results and wish them the
best in the years ahead as they work towards becoming responsible and
progressive citizens in the process to build a better life for all.
We are also hopeful and certain that the class of 2010 will emulate and
surpass their counterparts as they take advantage of the positive
energy created by this seminal year and yield far better results thus
ensuring that our rich potential as a people and country is realized.
In conclusion, we wish at this stage, Madam Speaker, to convey our
gratitude and sincere thanks to the South African Rescue Team to
Port-Au-Prince in Haiti that included four members from our Emergency
Services. The employees who were part of the team were:
Tshidiso Leotlela – Senior District Manager for Training,
David Tshabalala – District Manager Operations,
William Ntladi – Station Manager for Public Education on Information and Relations
Collen van Niekerk – Shift Manager for Operations.
This was the quickest South African response mission ever sent out to
any country struck by disaster particularly as this was the worst ever
earthquake experienced by any country and the death rate is said to be
around 150 000 while the search for other bodies still continues.
While we are proud of the work that the whole team did in Haiti, we are
certain that our four employees through their bravery and selflessness
will encourage us all to extend a helping hand by getting involved in
agencies that will be set up to assist the people of Port- Au-Prince in
rebuilding their lives and city.
We are also confident that Ekurhuleni will also contribute to the
“Africa for Haiti” campaign which was launched last Friday. The
campaign will focus on the reconstruction and rebuilding of Haiti.
I Thank You!
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