Ekurhuleni mayor Xhakaza promises prudent handling of finances

Ekurhuleni mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza, elected earlier this month, says he is aiming for accelerated service delivery and to foster job growth by working to develop the metro's manufacturing sector revitalisation plan.

He also promised adherence to good and ethical governance principles. 

This is as he made his inaugural state of the city address on Tuesday.

“This government will pull out all the stops to ensure there is seamless delivery of services to our people,” he said.

“We clearly understand the biggest contributor to this agenda is sound, reliable and dependable infrastructure. We understand proper roads, a reliable electricity grid and uninterrupted water supply are the cornerstone of making our city more liveable while being the best place to invest and do business.”

Xhakaza intends to launch a campaign titled Khanyisa Mhlali focused on electrification projects across the city, particularly street light maintenance and the rollout of high mast lights.

Under the city's public-private partnerships (PPP) programme, the goal is for the private sector to invest capital resources while the city provides land for 25 to 30 years, depending on project scope.

“The city will unlock PPP infrastructure projects, putting into the market approved strategic land parcels to ignite investment and create jobs while commercial properties will be packaged for local economic development purposes,” he said.

Xhakaza said repositioning the city as an airport city and the eastern corridor of the Gauteng province as the footprint of the planned aerotropolis, intended to house clusters of industry-related enterprises near OR Tambo International Airport, is critical in the city’s efforts to mobilise private sector financing. 

“We need to strengthen our resolve with regards to the realisation of the aerotropolis because among its ripple effects is an impact on our long-standing characteristics of being a manufacturing warehouse of the country.

“We will focus on township supplier development, township gig economy and township business sites development in which township entrepreneurs will be trained.”

Xhakaza acknowledged concern about the city's finances.

“Mainly because we seem not to be collecting enough revenue, our finances are also not aligned to our priorities.”

However, he said the city's liquidity position is on an upward trajectory. 

“We note and welcome the gradual improvement of the situation from a worrying 12-day liquidity position to 21 days. We remain on track to achieve 25 days and above by the end of June as we continue with our commitment to prudent financial management.”

According to Xhakaza, the city’s efforts to become a smart city are gaining momentum with automation taking place. 

“The city is aggressively becoming paperless, and most services are automated thanks to the rollout of the enterprise resource planning  programme by the ICT department. This innovation has integrated all our systems while ensuring quality management of information.”

He said 25km of fibre has been rolled out, mainly connecting customer care areas in the townships to improve service delivery. 

In a bid to fend off criminals from the customer care centres, he said CCTV cameras are being installed in the  facilities, and priority will be given to crime hotspots including the Germiston, Boksburg and Kempton Park customer care areas. 

“The latest innovation is the introduction of 10,000 early-warning Internet of Things devices that will assist in the fight against cable theft and tampering in our city.

“We are also implementing the automated rates clearance app which will allow ratepayers to access their accounts as and when they need them.”

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