Note to Editors: These remarks were delivered by ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont at the ‘Mashaba Legacy Tour’ event held at Princess Clinic in Roodepoort.
Dumelang, Molweni, Sanbonani, Goeie More, Good Morning;
It is great to be with you in the streets of Princess, on the outskirts of Roodepoort, speaking about the future of Johannesburg.
Not because things are going well, quite the opposite, but to talk about how this city can be fixed, and to talk about the man who began the work of fixing it.
Failed governments led by the ANC, DA and minority parties like Al Jama-ah have come and gone. Johannesburg has had no less than 9 mayors in the last 10 years, and only of them succeeded in delivering tangible, positive change. That was mayor Herman Mashaba.
ActionSA continues this Mashaba Legacy Tour campaign to bring hope to the people of Joburg – to show them that their city was working before, and that under the right leadership it can begin working again.
We stand today in front of the Princess Clinic and the story behind this clinic is a special one.
When Herman Mashaba was campaigning to be Mayor of Joburg he met the Maziko family right here in Princess.
They lived in a small two room shack without water supply. Their oldest daughter contracted tuberculosis and suffered from at least two fits every day.
During mayor Mashaba’s frequent interactions with residents in Johannesburg’s forgotten communities, a number of people told him of family members, neighbours and friends who faced similar circumstances.
At the heart of the issue was a lack of access to healthcare facilities after hours and over weekends, especially in communities which were too far from hospital emergency units in critical cases. As Mashaba used to say, “people don’t just get sick during office hours during the week, and people need to be able to collect their medication after work.”
This is when Mashaba launched the City’s extended hours clinics, the very first in any major city in our country. But because he had inherited a budget for the first 9 months of his mayoralty, he had to begin this project as a pilot study.
And where did the funds come from to run this pilot study for the extension of the operating hours of the Princess clinic behind me you might ask? Mashaba took it from the obscene R9 million budget for what was planned to be Parks Tau’s travel that year.
After a successful trial, the project was extended to other clinics. 27 clinics in total were benefiting from extended hours. Reports from the City’s Health Department revealed that over 300 000 patients were treated after hours, and 522 life-saving emergency situations received treatment thanks to the extended hours programme.
The numbers achieved paint one picture, but the stories we heard from families who benefited from this programme paint another one entirely.
And isn’t it a fitting tribute to Mashaba’s mayoralty that such a successful and vital project could be born out of an interaction between Mashaba and the Mazibuko family on the campaign trail – a political leader that follows through on his commitments.
Mrs. Dlephu, from Freedom Park, shared with us the story of how her 7 month old daughter’s life was saved thanks clinics being open late. She told us, and I quote:
“We rushed her to the clinic. It was late in the day and the nurses at the clinic stabilized my child and called an ambulance. She was later admitted at Baragwanath hospital. If it was not for the help from the clinic, I do not know what would have happened that night.”
Mashaba’s legacy in addressing healthcare in this City stands unrivalled.
During his three years in office, his administration opened six new clinics, procured nine mobile clinics, and opened five free community-based substance abuse centres.
And if you needed another reminder that no other mayor came close to delivering as Mashaba did, consider this – under his administration, 27 clinics had their operating hours extended. In the six years following his term, only three more did. The difference in service delivery is not political, it is factual. Where other administrations failed, Mashaba got the job done.
The following stands as just some highlights of Mashaba’s administration:
- The highest levels of resident satisfaction (74%) in the history of the city.
- Redirecting R2 billion from luxuries and wastage to service delivery infrastructure.
- Reducing power outages from 6.1 to 5.8 per annum (during peak load shedding).
- Reducing water leaks and bursts from 45 000 to 37 000 per annum.
- Achieving R17 billion in facilitated investment in 2018/19.
- Resurfacing 900km of bad roads (24% of all bad roads in the City).
- Building the largest electricity sub-station in the southern hemisphere within schedule and under budget.
- Delivered 7000 RDP homes and 7500 title deeds and 3500 serviced stands.
- The largest expansion of the JMPD with 1500 new officers recruited.
- Establishing a specialized K9 Narcotics Unit.
- Establishing an anti-corruption unit that investigated over 6000 cases of corruption totaling more than R35 billion in transactions under investigation and effecting more than 900 arrests.
- Insourcing over 6000 security guards and cleaners, and affording these workers the dignity of a proper wage and the city direct management of securing and cleaning its own infrastructure.
No mayor has come close to equalling Herman Mashaba’s record of delivery. ActionSA will continue this Mashaba Legacy Tour to highlight this and many more achievements that form part of Mashaba’s legacy.
We do this, because Johannesburg residents need a story of hope. They see the metro crumbling before them, undeniable service delivery collapse, and leaders who appear to be more interested in politicking over delivering for the people.
They must be reminded that there was once a mayor who was turning this city around, and that ActionSA can build on that legacy, and steer this city away from the pathway of failure it has been on. We will do this to show residents that they do not need to look far to find a leader with a proven track record of fixing their city.
Mashaba Legacy Tour: Extended Clinic Hours in Joburg Saved Lives, and ActionSA Is Ready to Continue His Work
Note to Editors: These remarks were delivered by ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont at the ‘Mashaba Legacy Tour’ event held at Princess Clinic in Roodepoort.
Dumelang, Molweni, Sanbonani, Goeie More, Good Morning;
It is great to be with you in the streets of Princess, on the outskirts of Roodepoort, speaking about the future of Johannesburg.
Not because things are going well, quite the opposite, but to talk about how this city can be fixed, and to talk about the man who began the work of fixing it.
Failed governments led by the ANC, DA and minority parties like Al Jama-ah have come and gone. Johannesburg has had no less than 9 mayors in the last 10 years, and only of them succeeded in delivering tangible, positive change. That was mayor Herman Mashaba.
ActionSA continues this Mashaba Legacy Tour campaign to bring hope to the people of Joburg – to show them that their city was working before, and that under the right leadership it can begin working again.
We stand today in front of the Princess Clinic and the story behind this clinic is a special one.
When Herman Mashaba was campaigning to be Mayor of Joburg he met the Maziko family right here in Princess.
They lived in a small two room shack without water supply. Their oldest daughter contracted tuberculosis and suffered from at least two fits every day.
During mayor Mashaba’s frequent interactions with residents in Johannesburg’s forgotten communities, a number of people told him of family members, neighbours and friends who faced similar circumstances.
At the heart of the issue was a lack of access to healthcare facilities after hours and over weekends, especially in communities which were too far from hospital emergency units in critical cases. As Mashaba used to say, “people don’t just get sick during office hours during the week, and people need to be able to collect their medication after work.”
This is when Mashaba launched the City’s extended hours clinics, the very first in any major city in our country. But because he had inherited a budget for the first 9 months of his mayoralty, he had to begin this project as a pilot study.
And where did the funds come from to run this pilot study for the extension of the operating hours of the Princess clinic behind me you might ask? Mashaba took it from the obscene R9 million budget for what was planned to be Parks Tau’s travel that year.
After a successful trial, the project was extended to other clinics. 27 clinics in total were benefiting from extended hours. Reports from the City’s Health Department revealed that over 300 000 patients were treated after hours, and 522 life-saving emergency situations received treatment thanks to the extended hours programme.
The numbers achieved paint one picture, but the stories we heard from families who benefited from this programme paint another one entirely.
And isn’t it a fitting tribute to Mashaba’s mayoralty that such a successful and vital project could be born out of an interaction between Mashaba and the Mazibuko family on the campaign trail – a political leader that follows through on his commitments.
Mrs. Dlephu, from Freedom Park, shared with us the story of how her 7 month old daughter’s life was saved thanks clinics being open late. She told us, and I quote:
“We rushed her to the clinic. It was late in the day and the nurses at the clinic stabilized my child and called an ambulance. She was later admitted at Baragwanath hospital. If it was not for the help from the clinic, I do not know what would have happened that night.”
Mashaba’s legacy in addressing healthcare in this City stands unrivalled.
During his three years in office, his administration opened six new clinics, procured nine mobile clinics, and opened five free community-based substance abuse centres.
And if you needed another reminder that no other mayor came close to delivering as Mashaba did, consider this – under his administration, 27 clinics had their operating hours extended. In the six years following his term, only three more did. The difference in service delivery is not political, it is factual. Where other administrations failed, Mashaba got the job done.
The following stands as just some highlights of Mashaba’s administration:
No mayor has come close to equalling Herman Mashaba’s record of delivery. ActionSA will continue this Mashaba Legacy Tour to highlight this and many more achievements that form part of Mashaba’s legacy.
We do this, because Johannesburg residents need a story of hope. They see the metro crumbling before them, undeniable service delivery collapse, and leaders who appear to be more interested in politicking over delivering for the people.
They must be reminded that there was once a mayor who was turning this city around, and that ActionSA can build on that legacy, and steer this city away from the pathway of failure it has been on. We will do this to show residents that they do not need to look far to find a leader with a proven track record of fixing their city.