Joburg to invest R30 billion on Infrastructure developments

Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau on Tuesday confirmed that the City of Johannesburg is to spend about R30 billion on infrastructure developments and service delivery in the next three years.

Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau on Tuesday confirmed that the City of Johannesburg is to spend about R30 billion on infrastructure developments and service delivery in the next three years.

Addressing the Service Delivery Summit, Tau said the City had prioritised to relook at its finances. This, according to him, is to enable the City to address service delivery issues much better. “We felt it was imperative to rethink how money is spent,” he said.

Tau said since the City had decided on tightening the belt during the past two years, it had yielded positive results.

The Summit is aimed at informing communities about the City’s plans and encouraging them to engage the City in matters involving service delivery.

Tau told delegates at the Summit that the City was aware of the growing population and that it was doing everything to ensure that its economy grew as well.

The Mayor used the opportunity to encourage communities to pay for municipal services. He said people who do not pay for services make it difficult for the municipality to provide services.
Tau discouraged communities from illegal electricity connections, saying it was costing municipalities a lot of money.

Gauteng MEC for Local Government and Housing Ntombi Mekgwe said the high rate of migration into the metro places pressure on services such as clinics, education and infrastructure.

“This needs a cautious approach to supply mass low cost housing but rather a mixed housing approach despite the high demand,” she said.

The City of Johannesburg is South Africa’s biggest and wealthiest Metro.

The Summit was attended by local councillors, representatives from government departments, community members and representatives from non-governmental organisations.