By Nkhensani Chauke
An accelerated service delivery programme for Johannesburg has been launched by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero.
The “people-centred” programme kicked off in Soweto on Friday. It will address basic service delivery challenges.
These include cleaning up the streets, fixing streetlights, painting roads and patching up potholes.
Lesufi told reporters in Soweto that the programme would be enforced every Friday in communities in Johannesburg.
He said the programme was designed to adopt a proactive approach to addressing community issues, in contrast to the government’s traditional reactive approach to service delivery.
“I believe this an eye opener programme. It makes us understand [the issues in] each and every community… So, we want to go to each and every area every Friday, so we don’t delay things. The government must avail itself to solve these issues,” the premier said.
Morero said that water challenges would also be dealt with, including those in Moletsane and Tladi. There was a water reservoir that was not functioning properly.
He said it would take up to a year to fix the reservoir and appealed to residents to be patient.
“The engineers have identified that the whole process may take 12 months to conclude, but we agreed with the premier that we must find a better solution to shorten the period of fixing the reservoir,” he said.
The Gauteng government’s Expanded Public Works Programme workers, waste pickers and electricians are part of the initiative.
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