The metropolitan council of Tshwane, despite the ongoing debate around the use of the name, is meeting its challenges head-on and seems certain to meet its goals, according to the city’s executive management.
Executive mayor Dr Gwen Ramokgopa heads the 152-member council, which is led by an ANC majority. In terms of local economic development the metro’s most important assets include its strategic location, availability of office and residential space, existing industrial development and an extensive labour market. Tshwane also boasts excellent education and research facilities.
The metro, despite its current R710,9-million in outstanding debts, ranks among the least debt-ridden of South Africa’s municipalities, says the council.
The metro has developed a city development strategy (CDS) for the next 20 years. Service delivery is being modernised in a phased restructuring plan. It has seven focus areas based on a public-led investment programme to develop new housing patterns, transport links and business opportunities in the northern, less affluent, part of the metro.
A recent transport needs assessment, in which 7 500 households were involved, led to an in-depth understanding of the metro’s needs: for example, the construction of pick-up points for meter taxis at shopping malls, new bus services and road resurfacing in Mamelodi.
‘One of our challenges is to get those who qualify for subsidised transport to use the services accessible to them. There is a large proportion of public transport users who spend more than 10% of their income on travelling to work, yet many of them still use unsubsidised services,” says Ramokgopa. The executive mayor also announced recently that only registered indigent households would receive free basic services.
The overall low quality of train services is another problem the metro is seeking to address with transport providers Metrorail and Transnet. Because of their environmental impact, roads will not be able to meet future transport needs. This is why a mix of public transport has to be made available in the right areas to stimulate development and meet future demand.
The metro has a good track record in consulting with its residents through community consulting sessions. Public meetings are well attended. After such consultations, the mayor receives a report from the CFO with a summary and proposed action plan.
Chief whip of the opposition in the council, DA member Natasha Michael, paints a different picture. Service delivery, she says, is far from improving. Complaints about electricity problems, in particular, reach the DA’s offices at the rate of hundreds per week. The party has deployed staff on behalf of its constituents to sort out these problems.
Freedom Front Plus leader Piet Uys confirms this. He cites the complexity of the accounts system as being at the base of the problem.
‘Things are going from bad to worse. The electricity billings are in chaos. Problems are not being sorted out. There are many vacant managerial positions on the council; leaving staff to drift rudderless for months on end while being accountable to no one and the situation is not improving. As for the council itself, there was a decision taken to have bimonthly meetings in order to give committees enough time to prepare reports. This has already been proven to be unfeasible. The bad quality of the reports, which are often totally useless, is but one problem. This council seems to want to be a rubber stamp organisation,” says Michael.
‘We need to pay attention to things that really matter, not just to the name change issue. The metro police, for which a previously suspended policeman has now been appointed police chief, has become a matter of serious concern. The credibility of the police service is at stake. We have put forward, on several occasions, alternative action plans to deal with crime. For instance, we know that syndicates target certain areas and move around from one hot spot to another. We have suggested that large numbers of policemen are deployed when it becomes clear where the current hot spot is. Our suggestions have been sidelined,” she says.
A ‘zone of choice” has been developed as the council’s focus area for strategic development in the north. It already has a strong economic base in the industrial hub of Rosslyn and Akasia. Abundant vacant land currently under public control will be progressively built up with mixed-use housing. Says the council: ‘Some areas, close to work opportunities and transport, are well suited to high-density housing for low- to medium-income households. Transport and mobility are of pivotal importance in opening up the north, which is why the council sees it as a strategic intervention in its own right.”
The Tshwane Metropolitan Council has, over the past few years, instituted several initiatives to encourage and attract business. Of these, the Bitts (Business, Investment, Trade and Tourism) Centre, the MCDC (Mabopane Centurion Development Corridor) and the Ring Rail Development, with plans for five new stations, have been brought into being. Yet a phone call or visit to some of these initiatives does not leave one with an impression of high-level, professional assistance. Hopefully this will improve over time. Dealing with the metro council seems equally difficult for residents, councillors and journalists alike — trying to scale an impenetrable wall that seems intent on keeping people out, rather than approaching a vibrant service-oriented organism that seeks to render a service to its ratepayers.