By Ndaba Dlamini

In the last five years the City of Johannesburg has scored notable achievements in terms of service delivery and development, despite having its fair share of challenges.

This was said by Executive Mayor Amos Masondo at the media launch of Reflecting on a Solid Foundation: Building Developmental Local Government 2000-2005, on Tuesday, 24 January. It is a report on Joburg's progress since becoming a unicity.

Masondo said Joburg was marking an important point in time by looking back at what had changed in South Africa's largest city, and what had been done to promote and drive that change.

"The document takes stock of where we are today in the process of democratisation, social transformation and acceleration development that started some 10 years ago with the election of democratic municipal councils."

Many local governments across the country have been dogged by protests over alleged poor service delivery and slow development, and Masondo said Joburg had not been immune from criticism either.

Because of the way these protests had been reported, there had been a growing public association between "local government" and "lack of delivery" and words like "unaccountable" and "corrupt".

"It is time we stopped and asked whether this perception, that citizens and stakeholders have of local government generally, is, in fact, true.

"The report we are launching today urges us to think again about how we perceive local government, both in Johannesburg and in other cities and towns. It is because of these challenges, which we must of course continue to address, that we can safely stand up today in front of citizens and stakeholders and publicly account that we have achieved a lot."

After Masondo's speech, City manager Pascal Moloi presented the mayor's end of term report. He said the report provided the "basis for a comprehensive account of the executive's performance".

"The new dispensation ushered in a need to deepen democracy and promote good governance in local government institutions. This resulted in stable and effective governance that enabled focus on service delivery."

A number of initiatives to promote public consultation and accountability were instigated, Moloi said.

"Regular mayoral roadshows with follow-up meetings were conducted. A culture of public service and accountability aimed at meeting and exceeding citizen and customer expectations was cultivated under the banner of Batho Pele."

Despite having inherited a poor financial track record and "little credibility" as a borrower, the City managed to reverse its fortunes and has recorded a healthy real annual average economic growth rate of 4,5 percent.

The City also managed to tar all roads in Joburg's largest township, Soweto, well ahead of schedule. Significant progress has also been made to deliver essential basic services to all communities.

"More than 98 percent of our people now have access to a reliable water supply, decent sanitation, regular refuse collection and are connected to an electricity grid that is currently being overhauled following decades of underachievement in infrastructure and maintenance," Moloi said.

Huge strides have also been made in creating sustainable human settlements in Kliptown, Diepsloot and Alexandra through various housing projects.

Moloi said there were many challenges facing the City. It was targeting poverty, a key challenge, to advance human development with a range of community initiatives.

"The inner city is over a hundred years old and remains an economic focal point. But changing demographic and economic trends contribute to [its] decline. However, the City has come up with inner city regeneration efforts and certain achievements can be noted in the Constitution Hill development, Newtown and Braamfontein."

Source: Johannesburg News Agency