Mayor Moya And Her Coalition Are Winning The War Against Potholes

Note to Editors: These remarks were delivered by ActionSA National Chairperson, Michael Beaumont at the 3rd Leg of the ‘Mayor Moya Delivery Tour.

Dumelang, Molweni, Sanibonani, Goeie More, Good Morning;

Thank you for joining me in Hammanskraal today, as we talk about the one metro in this country that hasn’t been characterised by unequal service delivery.

This coalition is delivering, despite being in office for just 18 months. There is a mountain that still needs to be scaled, and many steps still need to be taken to get our capital working, but the progress is undeniable. The city inherited by this coalition was teetering on the edge – from disastrous finances to failed basic service delivery. Not only has Tshwane been pulled from the Brink, but it has now been stabilised and is progressing for the first time in a long time.

Residents in growing numbers share this optimism, but it wasn’t always this way. The progress we’ve made is now being questioned by the same people who created the catastrophe’s we’ve had to fix. The same people who caused the Hammanskraal tragedy, who racked up billions in debt to Eskom, and who delivered services only for some are pointing fingers because, truthfully, their record is one of breaking our capital city.

Residents must know that for the progress to continue, they must give their vote to the party leading the restoration of our Capital. The past 18 months have proven that voters don’t have to rely on the failed and middling records of the old parties. They can put their vote behind the only party who has created jobs, grown the economy, and restored the rule of law in Tshwane.

Today I want to discuss how Nasiphi Moya, and the coalition she leads, is waging a war against potholes and bad roads in Tshwane.

In just a year, this administration has fixed 18 000 potholes. When we talk about getting the basics right, this is what we mean.

In other metros, we see theatrics around the issue of potholes. Mayoral candidates swim in potholes, whilst failed mayors scramble to fix issues after 3 years of doing nothing. There are no theatrics in Tshwane. Mayor Moya and her multi-party coalition government is simply getting on with the job, which is exactly what residents want.

In the last year, this coalition has fixed more than 200km of roads and proactively resurfaced nearly 100km of roads. The road we are standing next to here in Hammanskraal represents a fraction of the work, with 10km of roads here being resurfaced.

Nearly R8 million has been spent on the procurement of Jetpatcher pothole patching vehicles. These vehicles are able to repair between 3 to 5km of roads a day, and has enhanced the City’s repair work capacity. With renewed focus on internal capacitation, residents can be rest assured that more Jetpatchers will be on their way.

To preserve road infrastructure, weigh bridges have been opened for the first time in a decade in both Akasia and Centurion. These facilities help keep vehicles who break transport by-laws off the road, ensuring repaired roads are maintained.

Dr. Nasiphi Moya has also leveraged the City’s strategic assets, many of which were left to decay by previous administrations, in her crusade against potholes. The Bon Accord Quarry, located here in Tshwane, proudly provides the asphalt used to fix our Capital’s roads.

Mayor Moya is also testing innovative new materials used in the fixing of potholes. Groovetech, the brainchild of a local entrepreneur, takes mostly plastic waste and turns it into mixture which can be used to fix potholes and cracks. This product will be trialed over the next 9 months as the City looks into forward thinking solutions.

While we acknowledge the work that has been done by Mayor Moya, credit must also be given to our MMC for Roads & Transport, Tlangi Mogale, who has played an instrumental role in the restoration of our road network. ActionSA is not arrogant, we govern in a coalition and we recognize those that govern with us and have played a key role in moving the city forward.

But Nasiphi Moya and her coalition’s record stretches beyond road infrastructure.

The following stands as just some highlights of what Mayor Moya has been able to achieve in just a short period of time:

  • TMPD is recruiting 200 officers, the first expansion in a decade
  • For the first time in years, Tshwane has passed a fully funded budget
  • The City’s historic debt to Eskom has been decreased by over R2 billion
  • The historic municipal worker wage dispute has been resolved
  • Internal capacity is being increased and the municipal fleet expanded by over 100 vehicles
  • In one financial quarter, Tshwane created more jobs than Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni combined
  • R86 billion has been pledged in investments as part of the Tshwane Investment Summit
  • A pilot project to extend clinic opening hours across Tshwane has been trialed at Olievenhoutbosch Clinic
  • R14.4 billion in of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure has been investigated
  • Over 3300 title deeds have been handed over
  • Areas of non-compliance in the auditing process have decreased from 13 to 6

These achievements have only been possible because partners in the Tshwane coalition have put their egos aside in the interest of residents. This coalition is led by someone who sees politicking as an insult to residents, and who has a passion for ensuring Tshwane serves all its resident.

We will continue this Mayor Moya Delivery Tour, because South Africans need to know what the ActionSA difference looks like. ActionSA does not deliver platitude and promises; it delivers change that can be measured and demonstrated.

As much as those who broke this city now ambulance chase the very crises they created, ActionSA celebrates the maturity and focus of our mayor in just getting the job done, bietjie-bietjie, one step at a time in the face of great provocation.

This year, Tshwane residents can put the era of weak, ineffective, and self-interested leadership behinds us. But it starts with putting your vote behind a party who has delivered.

We believe that ActionSA and Nasiphi Moya’s record speaks for itself.

Thank you.

 

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