City of Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse said on Thursday that there is anecdotal and documented evidence that the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) only ploy is to corrupt, capture and collapse the municipality.

Phalatse held a media briefing, where she stated that should the ANC get the keys to the City, the municipal bank account would be emptied out like never before.

“Much was said about the finances of the City, because of course that is where the attention of the corrupt is focused. There was little to no truth about what was said, in the main because the figures are unaudited. We have nothing to hide because the audited figures will be presented before Council, as per legislation,” she said.

A motion of no confidence was meant to be tabled on Thursday against Phalatse, however, Joburg council speaker Colleen Makhubele withdrew the notice on the basis that the motion was inadmissible.

Phalatse highlighted that what was of concern, was how “nonchalant” former Joburg Mayor Dada Morero was about the delayed R2-billion short-term loan from the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

She explained that a report was supposed to have been revealed at the last Council sitting but was blocked, and had been kicked further down the road due to the cancellation of Thursday’s Extra-Ordinary Meeting of Council.

This showed that the ANC is willing to collapse the City in order to grab power, she said.

She noted that while its finances were not in the best position, the municipality was taking active steps to rectify this.

Phalatse highlighted that the notion that there was anxiety about the payment of salaries was a fabrication and claims that the municipality cannot meet its financial obligations were a lie.

She said the City of Johannesburg was in fact one of the few municipalities across the country that does not owe Eskom or Rand Water.

“In the less than 30 days that the illegally elected government was in office, we began to see and hear of the tearing down, bit-by-bit, of the foundations and structures of good governance and the effects thereof that we had established,” said Phalatse.

REPAIRING JOBURG

She said while another motion of no confidence against her was staved off, Phalatse said she was aware that another motion was already in the works.

She added that data showed that the Multi-Party Government were beginning to repair Joburg.

“Residents have shared their experiences of the rebuild of Joburg. Indeed, the City was starting to gradually look and feel better. The Multi-Party Government is not claiming to have done a perfect job, but we had only just begun,” she said.

The already set out budget of the Multi-Party Government has allocated R795-million to water supply infrastructure, and an additional R600-million for sanitation infrastructure.

Phalatse explained that many of these projects are on the go, and will see completion between 2023 and 2024. Some storage and distribution projects were delayed because the scope of the projects had to change to accommodate the inclusion of back-up power generation, she added.

Joburg Water has made steady progress in replacing Johannesburg’s old sewage and water piping infrastructure, and in completing road reinstatements following emergency and scheduled maintenance.

In the final quarter of the 2021/22 financial year over 100 km of water piping, and just under 70 km of sewage piping, was replaced against the targets of 26 km and 15 km respectively.

Rolling blackouts having tragically becoming part and parcel of everyday life, with deep and negative effects on the economy and people’s way of living. The Multi-Party Government, through City Power has partnered with the  Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to procure 15 000 solar water geysers at no cost.

City Power will develop the criteria for the beneficiaries who need them the most such as orphanages, hospices, old age homes and animal shelters.