'The task of saving Joburg continues,' says reinstated mayor Mpho Phalatse

Reinstated Johannesburg mayor Mpho Phalatse says her government is hard at work after almost a month out of office. 

In an online address to residents on Monday, she spoke about the city’s water crisis.

Phalatse was reinstated as mayor by the South Gauteng High Court last Tuesday as it found her removal through a motion of no confidence and the subsequent election of the ANC’s Dada Morero last month invalid and unlawful.

Phalatse said hours after her reinstatement she chaired a virtual meeting of the mayoral committee to the get the city and its executive back to work.

“The rest of the rightful executive committee and I are back where we belong and we are hitting the ground running, picking up where we left off. The task of saving Joburg continues."

Before “the coup” by the ANC, the multiparty government she led had made significant progress in undoing decades of neglect of the water system.

“We made this clear when we debated this urgent matter in council on October 21, when the false ANC leadership said the solution would be JoJo tanks and boreholes.

“It can only be the corrupt ANC that suggests a plaster to heal a severe wound.”

Phalatse said Johannesburg Water had proposed medium- and long-term interventions and projects to ensure the sustainability of water supply. Plans for a new connection from Rand Water to supplement supply to critical bulk water supply areas were under way.

“However, with these interventions, the problem of ANC maladministration remains with our bulk water supplier — Rand Water. This entity has failed dismally in the maintenance of the electric infrastructure which now affects its ability to pump water.”

She promised solutions to “fix Johannesburg”.

“And the good news is the work has already started. We have invested R930m in water supply and sewer infrastructure. We have already started the project of replacing asbestos pipes in the greater Fourways area and started the upgrade of the Brixton and Crosby reservoirs.”

Joburg Water replaced 100.8km of water pipes and 69.5km of sewer pipes from April to June. “Over the coming days we will also work to ensure that urgent matters, such as the water and power crises and the safety and security of residents, are attended to.”

Hot weather and load-shedding affected the city’s ability to fill reservoirs and water towers, leaving residents in high-lying areas with low pressure and, in some cases, no water at all early this month.

Then newly elected mayor Morero responded by proposing JoJo tanks in every household.

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