OPINION | Tshwane mayor must prioritise basic services to gain residents' confidence

I am a supporter of the City of Tshwane mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, and the executive team that she leads. I am a supporter not because of the brilliant work currently done by her PR team, but because she has brought hope with her new type of on-the-ground-focused leadership in the metro.

While we are yet to see any tangible results, however, one gets a sense that if she is given more time to lead the city, even post the upcoming local government elections, things might go back to stability for residents who have been denied basic services for years.

Moya’s leadership of wanting to get things right on the ground and her experience in understanding the key role of how the administration and political leadership must work hand-in-hand to get the city to work effectively in delivering on its constitutional mandate gives hope.

I have been a Tshwane resident for 15 years, and in those years, I have managed to traverse across different townships and suburbs to understand the state of service delivery since the 2016 local government elections. Many of the residents have been complaining about the same problems repeatedly: no water in their taps for months, refuse removals taking weeks to be collected, and the old problem of electricity in the homes.

These are basic services that are denied to many residents, whether you are in a township or in the suburbs. What is concerning is that Moya and her team seem to not give priority in fixing those issues, because every week there are similar complaints about the lack of these services, and nothing seems to be done to fix them on time.

For example, some of the residents in the central business district (CBD) and Soshanguve have been without electricity and water for days, and the city keeps on telling them that they are “investigating” while the situation is getting worse. Not only residents are affected but businesses, courts and police stations too. Courts in the CBD are forced to suspend their operations at times because of having no water and electricity.

It goes without saying that Moya and her team inherited not only collapsing water and electricity infrastructure but also a culture where residents’ complaints are often ignored by customer service departments.

It would be unfair to think that Moya can magically fix all the basic services demands within a short space of time given that they are not even a year in office. However, giving priority to fixing water and electricity challenges and openly communicating effectively would go a long way in making residents not only understand the challenges in fixing the problem but also give support to the leadership.

Moya will never win the hearts of Tshwane residents if there is no water and electricity in their homes. She can do well in enforcing the bylaws, but residents will remember more the days when they had no water and electricity than the city having closed supermarkets and spaza shops that do not comply with the health standards.

The city ought to do a thorough inspection on its water and electricity infrastructure so that it can be proactive in quickly addressing these issues. Additionally, with criminality also a contributing factor as some people have made their business to vandalise water and electricity infrastructure, the metro police and the crime wardens must guard and protect these assets.

A working City of Tshwane is one that will be able to provide its residents with water and electricity, and Moya has an opportunity to ensure that such services are prioritised.

Kekana is a freelance journalist and works in civil society

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