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Today, the City of Tshwane Mayor, Alderman Randall Williams and the City of Johannesburg Mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse held and delivered their state of the city addresses.

The DA is excited to see and announce the great progress that has been made by both Mayors in a short space of time since taking over office following the November 2021 Local Government elections.

In Tshwane, Mayor Williams highlighted the following successes and priorities:

• To secure electricity supply and mitigate power outages across Tshwane, the City has invested R134 million towards the refurbishment project that will see the Wapadrand substation rise from the ashes.
• R18 million has been invested towards the provision of water demand and to replace 14 kilometres of old asbestos pipes.
• To improve the Hammanskraal water quality, the City has invested R325 million towards the construction of an additional 10 Megalitres per day (Ml/d) treatment capacity which will improve the operations at the plant and the treated effluent that is discharged into the Apies River.
• 2776 households have access to water and sewer services as well as toilet top structures.
• 349 water connections and 439 sewer connections have been completed in Mamelodi Ext 6.
• The Refilwe Ext 10 project is at 39% towards completion and will benefit 778 households with water and sewer services.
• To enable better access to public transportation and connect residents to economic opportunities the city launched the A Re Yeng bus operation of Line 2B which connects the inner City to Menlyn.
• The City created 11 725 work opportunities and is committed to the goal of creating 17 975 jobs by this financial year's end.
•The City has reduced the R4 billion deficit inherited from Administrators to R613 million deficit.

In the City of Johannesburg, Mayor Phalatse, once again showed her commitment to delivering on her manifesto’s seven priorities for the city. To ensure a city that gets the basic rights, a safe and secure city, a caring city, a business-friendly city, an inclusive city, a well-run city and a smart city.

Mayor Phalatse highlighted the following successes and priorities:

• Through the city’s partnership with Dial Direct and Discovery Insure, 7524 potholes were filled in just 7 weeks
• Through the Expanded Social Package (ESP), indigent residents will continue to benefit from free basic services, while the debt rehabilitation program has been reinstated to facilitate debt write-offs.
• 1800 JMPD Officers have been deployed into the inner-city to restore law and order and stimulate safe economic activity.
• Two new clinics have opened for use by the public in Bophelong near Soweto, and Florida, and in the next three years, 10 new, modern, robustly sized clinics will be constructed in different parts of the city.
• The City will be hosting an Energy Indaba in the month of May, gathering all relevant and related stakeholders for their collective input into resolving Johannesburg’s energy crisis.
• The establishment of the JTC is aimed at ensuring that Johannesburg becomes a tourist destination of choice on the African continent and that it uses Conventions, Sports, Retail Tourism and Events as key drivers for tourism and economic growth.
• In May, the city will host a Business Collaborative Conference to create an inclusive and sustainable economy.

The DA wishes to congratulate both Mayor Williams and Phalatse on the great progress they have made, we look forward to seeing more of the good governance and quality service delivery that the DA is well-known for.

Issued by Solly Msimanga - DA Gauteng Provincial Leader