Transcript: 45th Extra-Ordinary Council Meeting, Day 2

Quorum check and counting of councillors

00:00:00[inaudible] of the number of councillors who have signed the register so as to confirm quorum. We will be back at at 10:15. I thank you. Those of us that's outside, can we walk inside? Thank you.

00:00:20We should be seated so that we can be counted. Some of us are walking out, some of us are walking in.

00:01:11Councillor De Lange?

00:01:14Good morning, colleagues. Good morning, Madam Speaker.

00:01:16Colleagues, I'm listening to Councillor De Lange, please.

00:01:20Madam Speaker, I just had a look at the speakers list and if you could refer to item 74 and 75, I would presume those will be in-committee items to consider. And then maybe if our chairperson from Economic Development can just ask that item 76 which is the spaza shop by-law that we've been working on in the committee over the past few months

00:01:51can either be elevated or just moved. Because traditionally if we go in-committee, that's normally our last stint for the day. But if you look at item 76, I think it must just be moved, or we going to have to get out of in-committee and then go to the item 76 for the day. Thank you.

00:02:26Councillor De Lange, I would appreciate if you repeat what you have said after we have checked the quorum, because I gave a 10 minute break for the quorum and I'm once again asking that if we are seated, that we don't move out, because we want to see how many people we have inside and then how many people that has signed the register. No, apology accepted, Councillor.

00:02:54But I I'm just asking that we remain seated whilst we are counting. Otherwise we can also not count properly. And you are going to be the ones, if we vote for anything, that would say we cannot do whatever we have done.

00:03:28Colleagues, you see what I'm saying? We have 113 seated, but you keep on walking in as we are counting. And it's problematic. So I'm going to allow another 10 minutes for counting. Please be seated. Put glue or bubblegum under your seat. There's others walking in, so please put glue or bubblegum those that are seated.

00:04:01AfrikaansAsseblief tog,

00:04:03so we can finish gou-gou today. Thank you. We'll get now what is on the register outside.

00:04:15Councillor Belinda, is that a love look or a hate look? Councillor Belinda, is it a love look or a hate look?

00:04:23Morning, Madam Speaker. I just want to say you look beautiful today.

00:04:28Thank you so much.

00:04:50I have a bank card. I hope I can get the PIN, because it's a business gold card, and it belongs to Miss J. Mdlalose.

00:05:08I would love to have the card, it's a business gold card. So you can come to front if you want it. But you are going to give us proof that you are Miss that you are Mdlalose.

00:06:00Speaker, you are eating in the chamber. Speaker, you are eating in the chamber.

00:06:15I'm not eating. I'm not eating. Whoever that is, I'm not eating. I don't eat before 11:30. I don't even have breakfast. So, I don't eat. Maybe someone wants to buy me breakfast.

00:07:15Colleagues. Colleagues. Councillors. Councillors, we have asked the 10 minutes so that we can count those that are seated. But people like Councillor Maila and the MMC of Transport are moving amongst each other. And then we are finding Niemand and iemand moving. And then we find the Chief Whip moving. And Maluleka.

00:07:53Colleagues, please, we want to start.

00:07:57AfrikaansMaar dit gaan ons nie help nie.

00:08:00I can also move to Andile, and they don't count me. Da Rocha's quiet. Haibo. Nice, nice. Okay, those that are counting, please, they are seated now. Can we do the counting? And also check the the register. On the register we are 145. So we just want to check how many are we here seated.

00:08:34There's two minutes still.

00:10:20Okay, colleagues, everybody has been counted. There's 145 on the register and we are 145 in the chamber, so we are ready to go. Thank you.

Applications for leave of absence

00:10:34Councillors, we proceed with applications for leave of absence.

00:10:39Thank you, colleagues. Leave of absence, we have once again MMC Nkokou, ill health, MMC J Sekwaila, political party business, Councillor G Ramaru, private business, Councillor Z. U. Hugh Hugh, private business, maternity, Councillor D. Dewes, private business, Councillor Brand, ill health, Councillor J. Cherry, political party business,

00:11:13Councillor P. Mokwena, political party business. But I think I see Councillor Mokwena here. Okay, Councillor Z. May, I can see Z. May is here. And Councillor Harris will leave at 12:00. And Councillor G. Ngoepe, private business, Councillor M. Louw, private business, Councillor D. Moloisane, private business. Any apologies from the floor? Councillor Simonse, Councillor Mhlongo,

00:11:46and then Councillor Avant-Smith, then Councillor De Lange, then Councillor Ntombela, and then Councillor Mogapi. In that order, I think you have heard how And then the last of all will be Councillor Councillor Manganyi. There's another one that beat you to last, is Councillor Magwentshu.

00:12:22Chief Whip, you'll be the last of the last of the last. In that fashion.

00:12:29Good morning, Madam Speaker. Thank you for the correction on the LOAs. Just Councillor Ponsonby is away on party business and MMC Kunene is going to be leaving early. Thank you.

00:12:41Next.

00:12:45Thank you very much. Good morning, Madam Speaker. I would like to be excused at 2:00 if we are not done. I have got a doctor's appointment. Thank you so much.

00:12:55Thank you, Councillor.

00:12:59Good morning, everybody. Good morning, Speaker. We have Councillor Huggett on personal business, Councillor Deppe on ill health and Councillor Finn, ill health. Councillors Mazibuko, Masera, Moloisane and Hoon will be late, probably around 11:00, 11:30ish. Thank you.

00:13:22Next.

00:13:25Thank you, Madam Speaker. Councillor Paul Smit has got a doctor's appointment. He will be joining us a bit later at 12:00. Thank you.

00:13:35Thank you. Next.

00:13:38Thank you, Madam Speaker. From ActionSA we've got ill health: Councillor C. Mohlala, Councillor T. Nkomo, Councillor S. Mabelebele. Late arrival: Councillor Chuma, Councillor Zwane, Councillor Ngwetsheni, Councillor J. Mabunda and J. Aphane, Councillor J. Aphane. Councillor Durand requests to leave at 1400 due to family responsibilities, Speaker. Thank you so much.

00:14:10Next councillor, please.

00:14:16Thank you, Speaker. From the EFF we've got the following councillors who are ill health: it's Councillor Nkosi, Councillor Ntoele, Councillor Ngwenya, and Councillor Nhlapo. Late arrivals: it's Mabidilala and Telekoa. Thank you.

00:14:29Thank you, Councillor. Next councillor.

00:14:33Thank you, Speaker. Ndimasheloni. From the IFP we have three apologies. Firstly, Councillor Makhuba, she's running late, and Councillor Khanyile is attending council business in his ward. MMC Mabaso will leave at 2:00 if we are not done by then. Thank you.

00:14:53Councillor De Lange and Councillor Mhlongo. Councillor De Lange, we have people on that are on the podium. Councillor Magwentshu.

00:15:05Greetings, Speaker. Councillor Yongama Zigebe from the UDM is running late. And Councillor Kabelo Gwamanda has just gone to the doctor. He's not feeling well. So we're not sure whether he's going to come in or, but he's just gone to the doctor now. Thank you, sir.

00:15:28Is that all the apologies? There's another apology that has arrived. Councillor Fatima Abdool is also not in today. She has personal issues. Yes, Councillor at the back. The last of the last.

00:15:44No, thanks, Speaker. From the side of the ANC, we have I have Councillor Mphaho, Molefe Mphaho, who requested that if we are not done at 4:00,

00:15:56Councillor, I'm not accepting your apology. I'm not accepting You are seated.

00:16:02My apologies. My apologies, Speaker. Councillor Mphaho requested that if we are not done at 4:00, can he be released? Thanks. My apologies, Speaker.

00:16:17Chief Whip.

00:16:19Speaker, morning.

00:16:23XitsongaNi yima hi marito ya Councillor Belinda wa DA loko a ku namuntlha u sasekile ngopfu.

00:16:36Speaker, I am just standing here to table the apologies we are having, and it's many, Speaker. Councillor C. Ngoepe, writing exam. Councillor S. Ngema, ill health. Councillor F. Ngwenya, arrive late. Councillor D. Francisco, ill health. Councillor Mavhona, ill health. Councillor Mofokeng, family commitment. Councillor L. Ndou to leave early, is going to see the doctor.

00:17:10Councillor Nair, bereavement. Councillor M. Mazibukwana, family matters. Councillor Galeshewe to arrive late. Councillor Raphadu, family matter. Councillor C. Kwapeng, arrive late. Councillor M. Mulelu, late arrival. Councillor S. Phometsi, late arrival. Councillor Godfrey Lebea, late arrival. Councillor Twala, ill health.

00:17:42Councillor Shange, ill health. Councillor Ndou, leaving at at 4:00 if we are not yet done. Councillor Mabuke, leave early at 12:30. Councillor Mzolo, arrive late. Councillor Mulelu Councillor Maake, I'm sorry, leave early at 12:00. Councillor Ramafikeng, she's not feeling well. Councillor Moeti

00:18:13Just hold on, Chair. Chief Whip, Councillor Zitha, please.

00:18:20Councillor Moeti, family business. Councillor Hlatshwayo, ill health. Councillor Mngadi, not feeling well. Councillor Molefe, arriving late. Councillor [inaudible] will leave at 12:00. Councillor Radebe will leave at 1:00. Councillor Mabuza, ill health. Councillor Sindani, leave at 1:00 p.m. Councillor Mgaga will leave at 2:00. I submit.

00:18:55Thank you for the apologies. On a very, very light note, I want to understand, did the ANC caucus eat the same food that we ate yesterday? Because a lot of them has become sick today. But it's fine, we accept the apologies. Councillor Rahn, do you have another apology? Schrader. Yes, Councillor Schrader.

00:19:22Thank you for indulging me, Madam Speaker. Just a quick question, so all these If these sick people are sick, are they at home in bed or will we see them on TV a little later?

00:19:31I don't know, Councillor Schrader. I don't know.

00:19:36Speaker. Speaker,

00:19:38But, colleagues, on a very

00:19:41it's none of your business.

00:19:42very, very important note, can we then move through the agenda swiftly without us doing funny tricks, so that we are able to finish our agenda? Because it seems like by 3:00 we are going to lose quorum. So if we are serious today, can we move? Let's not make keynote addresses. Let us move swiftly and stick to the item. Councillor Mmbengwa, I hope you got the message. Thank you, colleagues.

00:20:16Let's move on as the apologies Councillor Mazibuko.

00:20:22No, Chair, I just want No, Speaker.

00:20:26Our legs are not working today, neh?

00:20:30No, Speaker, I think you corrected yourself. I was just about to say we have not adopted the apologies.

00:20:35Yes, I wanted to do that. Colleagues, can we can we then Are these apologies accepted?

00:20:49Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you, colleagues. Thank you. So, we'll start the meeting. No, no, colleagues.

00:21:09Colleagues, we are Colleagues, it is noted. It is noted as you responded. It is noted as you responded. So we move on to the next item. Thank you.

Tabling of recommendations and request to elevate items

00:21:25Councillors, we are on recommendations to council.

00:21:33Councillor or MMC Mabaso, recommendations to council.

00:21:46Thank you very much, Speaker. Greetings to yourself and the MMCs, all the colleagues that are in the chamber. Speaker, I rise to table the executive reports to council for consideration. Thank you.

00:22:00Thank you. Chief Whip.

00:22:09Thank you, Speaker. I rise to to consider the recommendations to council as tabled. Thank you.

00:22:19Thank you, Chief Whip. Councillor De Lange,

00:22:26Afrikaansjammer man.

00:22:29No, you are correct, Speaker, I must speak now. Speaker, I think our quorum is very thin at 145. If you would please refer to the last item on the agenda, item 76. Speaker, this is a by-law emanating from our Section 79 committee. And as we know, these by-laws are time sensitive. For that reason, can we please elevate, I've just discussed it with our chairperson and I've just discussed it with theclaim

00:23:05Chief Whip as well, that we elevate this item immediately for debate. Because this is one of the items it must pass or it mustn't pass, but we can't wait and then we lose quorum, and then we going to have to restart this whole process from afresh. Thank you, if you would allow that, Speaker. Thank you.claim

00:23:30Yeah, no, we will do that. We will we will do that. We'll elevate it. We'll accede to your So we'll start off with item 76. Councillor Sifumba.

00:23:44Thank you, Speaker, and thank you, Councillor De Lange. Speaker, may you just allow the Chief Whip to actually elevate the item, not yourself? Thank you.

00:23:54Pardon?

00:23:55May you allow the Chief Whip to elevate the item, not yourself?

00:23:58Okay. Okay. Apologies, colleagues. Thank you so much. We are here to teach each other. Chief Whip, can you elevate the item?

00:24:08Yes, Speaker. I just ask that we must elevate item 74, 75, and 76. And then Chief Whip, I would like us, while we are still here all of us, we start with item 76, and then we go to 74 and 75, as Councillor Mnyameni will be leaving.

00:24:32Thank you so much, Chief Whip. Thank you.

00:24:38Okay, so item 74, item 76, 75 and 76 is elevated, but it was asked that we first do 76, and then we go to the other two items. ActionSA, Munyayi. They are confusing me here. It's not me.

00:25:02Thanks, Madam Speaker. I thought even the Chief Whip maybe will also elevate item 54. It's also the the by-law of waste management. Through through you, Madam Speaker, maybe if we can speak with the Chief Whip also. Thanks.

00:25:18Chief Whip, can you can you please listen to what comes from the floor? Councillor,

00:25:29can you repeat, Councillor?

00:25:32Okay. Thanks, Speaker. Maybe I should speak in Tsonga.

00:25:36Uh-uh.

00:25:36Okay. Through you, Madam Speaker, to the Chief Whip, we are also requesting that if it's possible, we can also elevate item Isn't 54? The the by-law for waste management, considering that we'll end up losing the the the quorum. It's item 54, Chief Whip.

00:25:58Okay. Just hold on, Chief Whip. Hold on. Councillor Sifumba.

00:26:07Thank you, Speaker. I tend to disagree with the councillor from ActionSA. Item 54 is actually an oversight report. It's not the by-law itself. So it cannot be elevated. Yeah.

00:26:17It's a by-law. It's a by-law.

00:26:19But it's written oversight report on the draft by-law. It's not a by-law report. It's an oversight report.

00:26:28Okay, let let me check what's it before you before you get up, Chief Whip.

00:26:35Okay, it's from the committee. It is a by-law. Okay.

00:26:51Okay, colleagues, I think let us let us move with the items that were there.

00:27:04Okay, let's move with the items that were called first. We will deal with that item as soon as we've sorted it out on the table. But let's move with those that we have. Chief Whip, and then Chair Mnyameni.

Adjournment for whippery consultation

00:27:23Speaker, I'm just standing to say maybe I must call the Whippery and then we discuss on the agenda and see what we want to keep it up and then we come back and brief you quickly. We can just ask for only five minutes, Whippery.

00:27:44Colleagues, before you clap those hands, colleagues, let me say it is granted. It is granted, Chief Whip. But Chief Whip, can we stick to five minutes, not a second longer? Five minutes. So you are leaving now. It is My watch says 10:30, you come back at 10:35. Colleagues, wait, Councillor Mnyameni?

00:28:24Chair. Chair Chair Mnyameni, can you come this way, please?

00:37:56Colleagues, can we settle down? The 10 minutes is gone. Can we settle? We don't want to have a situation where we don't have quorum for this meeting. Can we settle down?

00:38:23Legal, Sigala, come to your place.

00:38:29Councillor Sifumba, be seated.

00:38:40Councillor Mnyameni, Chair Mnyameni. All of us that's walking in, can we walk faster? Otherwise I mina I can go home at 7:00. I don't mind, I'm here to work. Zitha, go to your seat.

00:39:02isiZuluAyi, hlala phansi.

Confusion over which items to elevate

00:39:07Chief Whip, you asked for a time with the whips. Can you report back to us, please?

00:39:15Thanks, Speaker. We I have called the whips. We have an agreement with the whips that item 74 and 75 will refer it to the next council because it is in committee and it needs time. And then we will start with item 76, and then we go to item 54, and then we go to item 58, and then we do 57, 64, 50 and 35. Thanks.

00:39:59Can I hear from the acting LOEB, are we fine?

00:40:09Can you repeat what you said, sir? I got confused because now he's mixing up the reports. I thought that they will be engaging on the legislature reports only. So, he can't elevate reports on our behalf.

00:40:27Exactly, that's why I'm asking can we get from the LOEB what you are...

00:40:31Because what I had requested from the whip was that because we've got item 34 as the report that we want the council to consider today, so the report that they are elevating must not go above item 34. And now I'm hearing him now reporting on other items, which are executive items. So, if he could share that list with us so that at least we agree.

00:41:02Okay, let's just have a look at this. Item 54 is an oversight report on public participation. That's the draft by-law, right? Item 58 is motivation that council recover or certify as recoverable and regularize unauthorized and irregular spending. 57,

00:41:3457 is Joburg city safety strategy. 64 is the ruling of the presiding officer. That is... Yeah, that's rules. 50 64 is also rules. 85. Is it 8... What? 55 or 65?

00:42:0365 is also a performance assessment report for group finance. Those are the reports, LOEB.

00:42:19Now I'm getting confused.

00:42:22I've got 76, 54, 78, 57, 64, 50 and 65. And 74 and 75 has been taken out completely, unless I didn't hear right.

00:42:38Okay, Speaker, can you just have five minutes? Yeah, because really I'm getting confused and I don't want to be confused.

00:42:46Yes, I'm also confused. Councillor Rahn.

00:42:53Thank you, Madam Speaker. Could I make a recommendation that the Chief Whip and the LOEB just take five minutes,

00:43:01Yes.

00:43:02and just so we all be on the same page. Thank you.

00:43:05Chief Whip and acting LOEB, can you have your five minutes and agree on what is what? Ayi, we are going home at 6:00 tonight.

00:46:41catch a klap.

00:46:43And now look, you're on.

00:46:44Like what?

00:46:45The microphone is on.

00:46:47But you are talking.

00:46:48Yeah, well I'm not the one saying you're going to get a klap.

00:48:47Can we be seated? I think as the table, we are fine. Can we get to our seats, please? We want to start.

00:49:11ActionSA, be seated. Councillor Nguse, be seated. MMC Tshwaku. All of us, can we be seated so we can start? Whip, can you start, please?

Agreed order of business announced

00:49:29Thank you, Speaker.

00:49:31GCFO.

00:49:33We have agreed with the LOEB that item 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64 will be deferred to the next council.

00:49:46Item what?

00:49:4859 to 64. And also item 74 and 75 will be deferred to next council.

00:49:5870 what?

00:50:01If we remain silent, we will hear what the speaker on the podium is saying.

00:50:08And we agreed that we will start with item 34. And then we will go to item 76, 54, and item...

00:50:30And item 54 and 57 and 58 in that order. Thank you, Speaker.

00:50:42Okay, so let me just repeat. The items from 59 to 64 will be done in the next council sitting. The items 74 and 75 has also been deferred to the next council sitting. The first item that we are going to do now that has been elevated is item 34, item 76,

00:51:12item 76, item 54, item 57, item 58, and then we go back to our normal agenda. I'm certain that we all got that. So we're starting off with item 34, which the Secretary to Council will read into record now. I thank you.

Item 34: Concurrent public participation process (Rea Vaya / Dobsonville depots)

00:51:40Councillors, item 34 is authorization to concurrently manage the public participation process as contemplated in Section 33 Subsection 1A of the Municipal Finance Management Act of 2003 and Regulation 5 Subsection 1A and 34 Subsection 1A of the Municipal Asset Transfer Regulations.

00:52:02Thank you, STC. Can we go to the first speaker that's from ActionSA, Councillor B. Ntlemeza.

00:52:16Greetings, honorable Speaker, fellow councillors, guests in the gallery and our beloved residents of City of Johannesburg. We as ActionSA we note the report, however, the community is tired of the public participation that are not solving their problems because lack of capable leadership. Thank you.emotive

00:52:41Thank you, Councillor. Can we have Councillor A. Komane from the EFF.

00:52:59SesothoSpeaker, ke a le dumedisa kaofela,

00:53:10councillors. Speaker, if you may allow me to take this opportunity, this moment to wish my colleague seated here right hand, on my left hand, sorry, a wonderful and joyous birthday.

00:53:31May this day be filled with happiness and love every and every blessing she deserves. Colleague, may you enjoy this day to the fullest and may life grant you prosperity, fulfillment and yes, may you be granted land and every opportunity that comes with it.

00:54:03And will uplift you and your constituency, the residents of Johannesburg.

00:54:11Thank you.

00:54:13Happy birthday, and may many, many more years to follow.

00:54:18Thank you.

00:54:20Speaker, going back to the item that I'm here for, the approval of this report is not a procedural matter. It is strategic intervention that directly contributes to job creation and economic development. Rea Vaya has historically contributed significantly to both permanent and short-term employment, especially within the communities where its routes and facilities are located.

00:55:00Enterprise participation and income generation for many families. Speaker, as the Economic Freedom Fighters, we remain unwavering in our commitment to support any initiative that expands sustainable and dignified jobs for our residents. We believe that every decision of this council must be assessed by its ability to uplift communities, empower workers and open economic channels for SMMEs.

00:55:36It is also important to highlight that for the operations under this report to be implemented effectively, the bus operating company must be granted a long-term right of use of the Dobsonville depots. Without this security of tenure, the operational rollout will be compromised, delayed and potentially rendered ineffective. A long-term right of use ensures stability, proper planning and efficient delivery of services.

00:56:14Speaker, approving this report is therefore approving economic growth, approving skills development and approving real opportunities for SMMEs and workers within the transport value chain, also considering that it be done in an honorable and ethical way. EFF

00:56:3820 seconds.

00:56:39supports and approve the authorization stated in the recommendation of this report. Speaker, I thank you.

00:56:50Thank you so much, Councillor Komane. ANC, Councillor B. Magwaza.

00:57:02isiZuluEh ngibingelele uSpeaker, ngibingelele o-MMC abakhona, ngibingelele abahlali base-City of Johannesburg.

00:57:11As a ANC, we note the report. Thank you, Speaker.

Item 34: MMC Kunene's response and points of order

00:57:15Thank you, Councillor Magwaza. MMC Kunene.

00:57:23Thank you, Madam Speaker. Let me greet you, let me greet the Chief Whip of the fastest growing political party in South Africa. Let me greet the Joburg 10, the very active councillors deployed by the Patriotic Alliance. I'm the 11th one. Madam Speaker, before I speak to the item, let me respond to

00:57:53Councillor Crichton for misleading the residents of Johannesburg and this council yesterday when I am not here. Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, this is my time.

00:58:12Can you just hold...

00:58:13This is my time.

00:58:15MMC, I'll stop your time. Councillor Belinda.

00:58:21Madam Speaker, Councillor Kunene is out of order. He was not... MMCs had an opportunity to respond yesterday and he did not utilize his opportunity to respond. And today he wants to make personal attacks that is completely out of order. Please, can you correct him? Please.

00:58:44MMC Kunene, before you start, don't worry, I'm keeping your clock. Before you start, I'm just quickly consulting something here.

00:59:24Councillor Kunene, MMC Kunene, before you light your mic,

00:59:37you should just start your speech, you say whatever you want to say in your speech, and don't be... Don't talk to people personally. But just... No, no, no, wait, Councillor. Don't be personal. Speak and speak, what-]

01:00:00whatever you speak. Do your speech, but don't become personal and don't deal with. Okay, and, and can you hear me? You speak as it is your time to speak, but you don't become personal and don't call personal things and don't respond to personal things. Just speak as you are. You have 5 minutes. Speak.

01:00:31Colleagues, colleagues. Can I ask you, it is Councillor or MMC Kunene that's responding. And if you want anything, you put up your hand and you say what you want to say. You say it in a point of order. You don't speak over the Speaker. And I don't mean myself, by the person on the podium. Thank you, Councillor.

01:01:01SesothoHa ke lebohe, Madam Speaker.

01:01:04Eh, Madam Speaker, Coloured lives matter. Coloured lives matter.

01:01:13Councillors, Councillors, Councillors, Councillors, can I, I've asked for MMC to respond. I don't mind to be here until 6:00, I have not put an apology that I'm leaving early. So please, Councillor, can, MMC can you please respond to your item.

01:01:39Coloured lives matter, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker,

01:01:46Hold on. Councillor EFF at the back, I'm not sure you, I can't see your name.

01:01:52Okay, it's fine, Madam Speaker. Uh we have paparazzi in the gallery. There's a paparazzi that's taking us pictures up in the gallery there. If you can caution us, please.

01:02:02The media is in the gallery. The media is here in the gallery recording the session. They have, they have, they have got applications to be here. Councillor Da Rocha, are you having a, a point of order on the paparazzi?

01:02:23No, but he hasn't spoken and you can't have a point of order on a point of order. Please, colleagues. Can I allow, I'll allow you, but I'm allowing you, but your, your leaders are cautioning you. Your leaders are cautioning you. MMC.

01:02:40AfrikaansPraat volgens jou speech.

01:02:44AfrikaansBaie dankie, Mevrou Speaker.

01:02:48Madam Speaker, when I arrived here as a councillor and an MMC

01:02:55Just hold on. Just hold on. There's media that is dealing with the, with, with media for the session, but if you are just an ordinary person that was invited by someone, you are not going to take videos and I'm going to let protocol take you out. I'm going to let protocol take you out or take your phones.

01:03:27Thank you so much. Only media. Margaret's friends cannot take, take any pictures. Thank you. Thank you. MMC.

01:03:425 minutes begins. Uh, Madam Speaker, when I was appointed as MMC of Transport, indeed the BRT stations were not in a working state. As we speak, Madam Speaker, during my tenure, we started the process of renovating these BRT stations and that process is ongoing.

01:04:13When I took over, Madam Speaker, Piotrans, yes indeed had problems and, Madam Speaker, for the first time, Piotrans got the attention of the City through my office and Piotrans is under business rescue. Piotrans was failed by national government in the model of the BRT, how it was structured.

01:04:43And people who were used to run taxis were put in a corporate structure, appointed CEOs and CFOs who stole them blind. And, Madam Speaker, I have tried my best to assist until the court appointed a business rescue practitioner. Madam Speaker, Transport Department has improved

01:05:14under my leadership. Jiti was never advertised for 13 years,

01:05:22but after I took over, an advert went out, it was processed, a report was given that it was non-responsive, it was advertised for the second time. But the point I'm making is, for 13 years no advert went out. During my tenure an advert went out and that process of evaluation took place. Madam Speaker, I don't know who did I throw under the bus. Because certainly

01:05:54I have not thrown anyone under the bus. 1C could not progress. There were challenges when it comes to 1CA. When I came in and I took over, Madam Speaker, we fast-tracked that process, the BOCA was signed. Just 2, 3 weeks ago we launched the 68 buses and we're ready to hit the streets. Unfortunately,

01:06:24one of the directors of ABC was shot, and the taxi associations requested that we postpone uh the operations so that they can bury uh one of their leaders. So from a City point of view, we are ready to run. The stations have been fixed, the BRT stations have been renovated, security has been deployed. So I don't know who has been thrown under the bus.

01:06:54Sometimes, Madam Speaker, we must speak the truth and not speak to campaign in council by misleading the residents of Johannesburg. I get praises from the opposition when they call me to respond to the challenges in their wards. But when they come here, they don't sing the praises that they, that they sing to me in private.

01:07:24They don't say things in this council that the WhatsApp messages that they send to me, thanking me. So, Madam Speaker.

01:07:33MMC, just hold on. Colleagues on my, on my left, please, and colleagues on my right, please. MMC, you can carry on. You have, you have 1 minute left.

01:07:47When I took over, Madam Speaker, for 7 years

01:07:50MMC, just hold on. Councillor Belinda.

01:07:55Hey, she likes me, this one.

01:08:00Madam Speaker, I'd like to.

01:08:02I can't hear the councillor.

01:08:04Madam Speaker, um MMC Kunene mustn't flatter himself, that's the first thing I wanted to say. Secondly, he still has not responded to Ward 74 queries. So he's not getting any compliments from people in private. I'm just saying.

01:08:18Thank you, Councillor. Thank you. MMC, you have your minute.

01:08:23Madam Speaker, when I took over, for 7 years automated fare collection uh tender could not be finalized, for 7 years. Within less than a year, a company was appointed. On the 31st of October last year we went cashless. And we saved the City from theft between 3 and 4 million per month. That the revenue that is coming

01:08:53into the coffers of the City because of that implementation. Madam Speaker, I can go on and on. But speaking to the item, Madam Speaker, the tender went out. It is now in a public participation process. We need to go out on public participation so that this, this process can be finalized. We therefore request uh council to note this particular item. Thank you very much. Salute.

01:09:18AfrikaansOs baiza nie, Coloured.

01:09:24Colleagues. Colleagues. Colleagues, I, yeah, you guys are in a December mode. Recommendations are on page 10.10. Is the item agreed to?

01:09:37Agreed.

01:09:39Thank you. STC.

Item 76: Township Economies By-law public participation report

01:09:42Uh, Councillors, we're now on item 76 and that is Section 79 Economic Development Oversight Report and comments regarding public participation on the Township Economies By-law for the period 19th August to 30th September 2025.

01:10:04A member in charge, Councillor T. Mhlongo.

01:10:12Thank you very much. Greetings to you, Madam Speaker. Greetings to the Executive Mayor in his absentia, to the Chief Whip of Council, Councillor Kasamula Chauke, to the Chair of Chairs, uh Councillor Marema, the son of the hunter in his absentia, members of the Mayoral Committee, sbali, Acting Mayor, Acting LOP, and to all of the MMCs. Greetings to the Section 79 Chairperson,

01:10:42all Councillors and colleagues in the august house. Greetings to the members uh to the uh of uh members in the gallery. Madam Speaker, I rise to table item 76, Section 76 Economic Development Oversight Report and comments regarding public participation on the Township Economies By-law public for the period 19 August to 30 September 2025,claim

01:11:10to be considered and approved by this council. Thank you so much, Madam Speaker.

01:11:15Thank you, member in charge. Freedom Front Plus, Councillor F. De Lange.

01:11:24Thank you, Madam Speaker. All protocol observed. Madam Speaker, what a wonderful by-law. Just a bit of background, if we look at the informal economy in South Africa, through a bit of research that was done, it looks like a 900 billion to 1 trillion rand informal economy. And some research has shown that it is 28% of GDP, but unfortunately a lot of this is unregulated. Just in a snapshot,claim

01:11:54uh spaza shops 190 billion, uh the fast food section of spaza shops 90 billion. Now, Madam Speaker, if people want free universities, free schooling, housing, free university, free healthcare, it's all a good idea, but let's all pay our taxes. I think this is what makes this by-law long overdue. But unfortunately within the City we pass these by-laws. The problem is, is the implementationclaim

01:12:24of these by-laws, Madam Speaker. So even in the committee, when we looked at this item on Monday in haste, I just mentioned that there's been a lot of complaints from informal traders with bribery with JMPD. So every region must have 10 JMPD only members working in a specific unit to regulate, so when fingers are pointed in a region, you know those 10 are taking bribes and it's much easier to investigate. On the implementationclaim

01:12:54side of this, Madam Speaker, I'm taking Region C as a good example. Region C has got uh 101 Christiaan de Wet, the Civic Center, which is quite central, to have a one-stop shop there for informal traders to get regulated. Just up the road, two blocks down on Dekkers is Horizon SARS. Then the South African Revenue Service maybe once or twice a week can also sit there to regulate these individuals.claim

01:13:24The problem is when we have the public participation, and this is what worries me, Madam Speaker. Very few people attend these public participation sessions. So the question stands, and this is my last comment. How many South Africans, legal South Africans are trading through the informal economy, and how many illegal, undocumented, I'm not talking about asylum seekers, are trading within the City? Is that why one of the reasons

01:13:55that these public participation sessions are so poorly attended? In closing, Madam Speaker, we're going into the implementation stage now. The City must look at different ways and means to implement this specific by-laws because it is daunting for anybody to start their own small business in South Africa to get regulated. I thank you, Madam Speaker.

01:14:21Thank you, Councillor De Lange. UDM, Councillor Zigebe.

01:14:32Um good morning, Speaker. Thank you very much. This by-law is fundamentally about dignity, safety, and economic justice in our townships. The public participation process, nine meetings across all regions from 19 August to 30 September 2025, made one message clear: our communities want regulation that protects them, not stifles them. Uh Speaker, we must welcome the progress made. Residents raised concerns about unsafe food, inconsistent enforcement,claim

01:15:02corruption, digital exclusion, and infrastructure constraints, and the report responds with practical, implementable measures: formalizing township businesses so they can grow within the law, introducing annual monitoring and evaluation, strengthening compliance through JMPD standard operating procedures, and supporting traders through training, digital inclusion, and a proposed Township Business Compliance Support Fund. Critically, Speaker, the inclusion of Section 24A, modeled on national

01:15:32liquor licensing enforcement, closes a supply chain loophole that allows unlicensed shops to access food that puts our people at risk. This is accountability with development, penalties that recycle back into compliance support. This council must now approve these recommendations not as a punitive instrument, but as a pathway to safer food, fair competition, and a township economy that is regulated, empowered, and inclusive. I support the report. Thank you.

01:16:02Thank you, Councillor Zigebe. ActionSA, Councillor Moatshe.

01:16:12Thank you, Speaker. Greetings to you. Greetings to the fabulous 44. Greetings to fellow councillors, guests in the gallery, honourable residents of the City of Johannesburg. Speaker, before I can even start, I would like to share what I've observed from yesterday. Actually, two things stood out for me, if you do not mind me sharing. Uh, the first one being the fact that uh our honourable Speaker

01:16:43could not get a hand of the mute button. It must have been an early Christmas, I guess. But I take for today we are safe, Speaker. The, the second one would be the issue of the Tshwane Mayor, the ActionSA Tshwane Mayor, Dr. Nasiphi Moya. Uh, you know, uh they usually say uh you can be the moon, but still, you know, um possess jealousy over the stars. We need to give credit where it's due. If the Brazilians

01:17:14can do it from afar, let us please praise our own from home. Dr. Nasiphi Moya is indeed doing well. Speaker, as I rise to speak on item 76, um and without any waste of time to um this chamber, I actually was privileged to chair one of the public hearings. Impressive as it was, the attendance was impressive, the inputs were very interesting. The special plea, though,

01:17:44will be uh that uh implementation be a priority key when it comes to uh that which we've already done. On that note, Speaker, ActionSA notes the report.

01:17:58Thank you, Councillor. EFF, Councillor Telekoa.

01:18:16Councillor that just spoke from ActionSA, can you switch off your mic?

01:18:25There we go. Okay. All right. Thanks, Madam Speaker. Uh I'm not Councillor Telekoa, but uh I'll speak on this one. And uh greetings to yourself, the Caucus Leader of the EFF, Councillor Dr. Mgcini Tshwaku, the Chief Whip of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Councillor Thabiso Mogapi, and all the 29 battalions of the EFF. I greet you all and all colleagues in the house. Uh, Madam Speaker,

01:18:56like I indicated, I'm not Councillor Telekoa. But nevertheless, always the more, EFF will note the report. But we would like to say this, uh Madam Speaker. Uh I know Councillor De Lange has raised this issue of a very small number that uh takes part in these public participations. I think we should as councillors

01:19:29uh make it a point that we are the ones who drive this to its fully effect, to make sure that we encourage people to go and participate in this uh public participations. Although we know around that time it would have been the time when we had the by-elections and stuff, which also needs our attention. But then uh I would like to urge all councillors

01:19:59to ensure that when these public participation are taking place, we are the ones at the forefront of ensuring that uh all our people are there and participate. Because to avoid things like now, we are found wondering as to whether the reason uh there were so low numbers in these public participations, it could be because of the people who are participating

01:20:30in this uh uh businesses in townships and stuff. It should not be concluded that it's foreign nationals and stuff while we know our people are there as well participating. It's just that sometimes we don't reach them enough as councillors and the people who should be doing so. I thank you very much, Speaker.

01:20:54Thank you, Councillor. Um ANC, Councillor Mulelu. It's M-U-L-E-L-U.

01:21:06Correct.

01:21:07Thank you.

01:21:08Thank you. Thank you very much, Speaker. Uh greetings to yourself, the Executive Mayor in absentia, Chief Whip, our MMCs, Chair of Chairs, fellow councillors, and the residents of Johannesburg. Speaker, I rise to consider item 76, which is the report on the public participationclaim

01:21:38process for the Draft Township Economies By-laws, together with the related amendments to the Waste Management By-law as advertised in the Provincial Gazette of the 13th of June 2025. This by-law is intended to unlock township economy activities, to bring regulations where there has been uncertainty, and to support the thousands of residents who rely on township enterprises for income and survival.

01:22:10But it must do so with the communities. Speaker, the report shows that the City conducted an extensive public consultation program across all seven regions. Written comments were solicited through the Provincial Gazette and City platforms. Physical meetings and stakeholder engagements were held in regions from Region A to G,

01:22:39with signed attendance registers forming part of this item. An online public participation register also captured digital submissions and interest from residents. These records demonstrate that residents, businesses, community structures, and traders took the process seriously, and it is our duty to honor that effort. Speaker, across these regions, people raised concerns:

01:23:09regulatory clarity. Communities asked for a by-law that is simple, implementable, and supportive of livelihoods rather than punitive. Health and safety. Many participants stressed the need for better oversight of food handling, fire safety, and waste management. Fairness and enforcement. Residents required consistent application of standards so that compliant traders are not disadvantaged

01:23:40by those operating outside the rules. Participants emphasized that township entrepreneurs need access to permits, training, infrastructure, and economic opportunities, not only enforcement, Speaker. The City has captured these concerns in the annexures and has provided written responses to the issues raised. Council should also note that stakeholders also submitted

01:24:10their proposals, which included a proposed new Section 24A seeking to prohibit the supply of food to unlicensed spaza shops. This reflects the public concern regarding accountability in the food supply chain and the health safety of consumers, especially our children. While opinions may differ on this provision, what is clear is that residents expect the City to take

01:24:40food safety, licensing, and compliance seriously. This by-law is not simply a legal document, Speaker. It affects the woman running a home bakery to support their children. It affects informal traders who employ two or three of their neighbors, and the residents who rely daily on township shops and services. Now, our responsibility today is to ensure that the framework

01:25:10we adopt promotes economic participation, protects public health and safety, creates certainty for both traders and suppliers, reflects the voices captured through the public participation process. If adopted, the real test will be in the implementation. It needs to have fairness, communication, and support. The by-law must enable township economies to grow, not to force them further into informality.

01:25:43In conclusion, Speaker, the document before us shows a comprehensive and transparent consultation process. The City listened. Communities contributed. Now council must act. Let us adopt a by-law that is firm, but fair. One that regulates, but also empowers. One that strengthens township economies rather than uh stifling them,

01:26:14and one that reflects the values and aspirations of the residents that we serve. I hereby table my support for processing of item 76 with a clear expectation that the implementation will continue to center the voices of our townships. Thank you very much.

01:26:34Thank you so much, um Councillor. Can we have the MMC that's responding to the item, MMC Makhafola?

01:26:54Thank you so much, Speaker. Speaker, all the concerns and, and contributions made are noted. I thank you.

01:27:04Thank you, MMC. Colleagues, the recommendations are on pages 76.4. Is the item agreed to?

01:27:12Agreed.

01:27:15Okay, we've agreed to the item. Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. Member in charge, apologies. Cause you're wearing a Joburg Zoo jacket, so I thought you're from ComDev.

01:27:33Okay, apology accepted, Madam Speaker. No, thank you very much, uh Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, before I close uh on this item, Madam Speaker, let me just take this opportunity to thank the members of the committee, Madam Speaker, for their participation in this public uh participation uh sessions. We hope that the department will uh will note the submissions made by the committee for JMPD to have a specific unit that will specifically deal with the adherence to this by-law in its

01:28:04implementation phase, Madam Speaker. In conclusion, Madam Speaker, let me also congratulate Johannesburg Fresh Produce, that is Johannesburg Market, for receiving a clean audit and the City of Johannesburg, Madam Speaker, for hosting a successful G20 under the leadership of the Executive Mayor. Madam Speaker, because this is the last, I think this is the last um council meeting that we are sitting this year, I want to also extend

01:28:34my gratitude to my secretariat or the secretariat of the committee for doing a splendid job and the member and the directors from the Department of the Economic Development by organizing such a successful public participation and also appeal to all ward councillors specifically to make sure that if there are public participation, they must encourage the residents to attend these sessions because they are very important. And thus, Madam Speaker, thank you so much.

01:29:05Thank you so much, member in charge. Recommendations once again, page 76.4 and is the item agreed to?

01:29:12Agreed.

01:29:13Thank you, colleagues. We have agreed to the item. STC.

Item 54: Oversight report on Waste Management By-law public participation

01:29:17Uh we're now on item 54, which is an oversight report on the public participation regarding the draft Waste Management By-laws from 21st August to the 23rd September 2025.

01:29:37We only have one speaker and it is Councillor P. Magwaza. Member in charge. We only have a member in charge. There are no speakers on this item. So, member in charge.

01:29:56Thank you, Speaker. I rise to table item 54.

01:30:00[inaudible] to be considered by the council. Thank you.

01:30:06Thank you, colleagues. There are no speakers. Um the the the recommendations are on page 54.2. Is the item agreed to? Thank you so much. STC?

Item 57: 2025 Joburg City Safety Strategy and Implementation Plan

01:30:26Item 57 uh is uh 2025 Joburg City Safety Strategy and Implementation Plan.

01:30:35ACDP, Councillor Rohlssen.

01:30:40Thank you very much uh Madam Speaker. Good morning to you, Madam Speaker and greetings to uh the colleagues and all protocols observed. The ACDP notes this report. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. God bless you all.

01:30:54Thank you, Councillor Rohlssen. ActionSA, Councillor G Durand.

01:31:03Good morning, Speaker and fellow councillors. All protocol observed. I rise on item 57. Today, we will table we table an evidence-based assessment of the City of Johannesburg safety strategy. Let me state from the outset, this is a strong well-designed strategy. It aligns with global best practice, it's conceptually sound, and it reflects a deep understanding of what a safe resilient city should look like.

01:31:30But we must also confront an uncomfortable truth that the City of Johannesburg does not currently have the funding, structure, capacity, or interdepartment cooperation required to implement the strategy in full. It In its current state, the JCSS overextends the city. Based on the institutional realities we have assessed, only 30 to 40% of the proposed interventions are realistically achievable.claim

01:32:00This does not mean strategy is flawed, it means the system is not yet ready to be executed. Structural instability, no dedicated funding. Quite simply, the strategy is unfunded and therefore, cannot be implemented at scale. Accountability gaps, weak data and technology systems. We lack a unified safety intelligence platform.

01:32:29Data remains fragmented and unreliable across SAPS, JMPD, crime and the IIOC. As a result, monitoring and evidence-based planning are severely weakened. When the data is poor, safety planning becomes poorer. Poor multi-agency coordination. Cooperation with SAPS, the NPA, Provincial Safety, Home Affairs remains inconsistent and informal. Mandates overlap, roles remain unclear, and joint cooperations lack in lack formal structure.

01:33:01Local government cannot deliver city safety alone. These partnerships must be formalized if we expect meaningful results. Communication failures. There is no communication strategy to support the JCSS internally, awareness is low. In communities, understanding is even weaker. A strategy that is not understood cannot be implemented. Speaker, the conclusion is unavoidable.

01:33:30The JCSS looks great on paper, however, it can only embedded with better financial governance and accountability. The city is overambitious given its current governance weaknesses. Budget limitations, lack of accountability mechanisms, outdated technology systems, weak intergovernmental sorry, weak intergovernmental collaboration, and widespread operational backlogs.

01:33:59If we want the JCSS to succeed, the city must take the following corrective steps. Reposition the JCSS under the Office of the COO or the Office of the City Manager to ensure transversal authority. Create a ring-fenced safety budget that cannot be diluted or repurposed. Include safety-related KPIs in all relevant departmental scorecards, not only JMPD.

01:34:29Develop a unified crime and safety intelligence system shared across departments. Sign a binding MOU with SAPS, NPA, Provincial Safety, and Home Affairs to formalize multi-agency cooperation. Stabilize political and administrative leadership for at least 3 to 5 years, ensuring continuity of implementation. ActionSA grants conditional approval of the JCSS 2025.

01:35:03Implementation must proceed only after the critical structural, financial, and accountability reforms have been put in place. This approach is realistic and aligned with our duty to ensure that any safety strategy in the city adopts one we can actually implement. Johannesburg deserves a city that is safe, well-governed, and able to execute its plans. The JCSS can take us there, but only if we fix the system first. Thank you.

01:35:33Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Maila, DA.

01:35:56Um Madam Speaker, the honorable the Leader of the Official Opposition, the honorable the Whip of Council, esteemed members of council, the City Manager and the executive management team, the people of Johannesburg, greetings and salutations.

01:36:26On 17 February 1995, on the occasion of the opening of Parliament, the founding father of our constitutional democracy, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, said the following about the scourge of serious and violent crime in our country, and I quote: "The situation cannot be tolerated in which our country continues to be engulfed by the crime wave,claim

01:37:00which includes murder, crimes against women and children, drug trafficking, armed robbery, fraud and theft. We must take the war to the criminals and no longer allow the situation in which we are mere sitting ducks of those in our society who, for whatever reason, are bent on engaging in criminal and antisocial activities." Close quote. Today, Madam Speaker, more than 30 years later,claim

01:37:31the situation to which President Mandela referred continues without abating, as if we have not had a government whose first and highest obligation was supposed to have been the safety and security of those among us who call South Africa their home. The DA's crime prevention and criminal justice policy observes that high levels of crime, particularly violent crime, and sometimes committed by police officers themselves,

01:38:04has severely diminished public trust in law enforcement and other criminal justice institutions. On average, Madam Speaker, approximately one death per day in our country is as a result of police misconduct. Police are not the first port of call when people are in distress, and often, they are not a port of call at all, as many crimes go unreported.

01:38:34We have had so many crime prevention strategies before, from the 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy, developed under the leadership of the first Minister of Police, Dr. Sydney Mufamadi, to the White Paper on Safety and Security developed in 1998, which laid government's groundwork for the establishment of community safety forums as a mechanism for local crime prevention, information sharing, and coordinated efforts within the criminal justice system.claim

01:39:06Whilst these strategies may well have been successful in certain respects, it is important to remind you that the that a strategy is essentially just a roadmap for the achievement of long-term goals. On its own, a crime prevention strategy will not prevent crime. The recipe for a successful and effective crime prevention strategy must have two main ingredients:claim

01:39:36a costed and fully funded plan, and the political will to implement such a plan. This crime prevention strategy has not been fully funded, and there is absolutely no political will to ensure that the people of Johannesburg are and feel safe. But we are not surprised, Madam Speaker. It was the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who told us on 16 June 1858,claim

01:40:07that a house divided against itself cannot stand. This is a coalition at war with itself. We have seen members of this coalition government yesterday bringing motions of no confidence against each other. Such is the chaos that governs the City of Johannesburg right now. The DA believes that the people of Johannesburg deserve much better than what was wrinkled together to form this coalition of chaos.claim

01:40:39That's why our party appointed Helen Zille as the Joburg Mayoral candidate for the 2026 local government elections. The truth, Madam Speaker, is right now as we speak, Helen remains the only person in our country who has served both as the Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town and as Premier of the Western Cape for two full terms.claim

01:41:08There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that the DA will get things done for the people of Johannesburg when we take over next year, just like we have done for the people of Midvaal, where we have we have the only municipality in our province with 11 consecutive clean audit opinions from the Auditor-General of the Republic. Let's get registered on the IEC website in order to rescue Joburg togetherclaim

01:41:41in the 2026 local government elections. I thank you.claim

01:41:48Uh Khayelitsha.

01:41:49Thank you, Councillor Maila.

01:41:51Khayelitsha.

01:41:52Um Nenemba, Councillor Nenemba from the EFF.

01:41:59Uh thank you very much, Speaker. All protocol observed. The Economic Freedom Fighters approves the report together with its recommendations. Thank you very much, Speaker.

01:42:10Thank you, Councillor Nenemba. Councillor Mmota.

01:42:18Greetings to you, Speaker. Greetings to executive. Greetings to councillors. Greetings to residents of the City of Joburg.

01:42:27SepediEh re le mokgahlo o mogolo wa African National Congress, re nota report Item 57. Ga gona nku ko o tlo tlang mo City of Joburg. Thank you, Speaker.

01:42:41Thank you so much. Um MMC Tshwaku.

01:42:52Thank you very much, uh Speaker. Good morning to my colleagues, um to the battalion of the EFF, the councillors that is here today, everyone. Let me first take this opportunity to as the EFF, we welcome, we did not formally welcome Dr. Floyd Brink as the CM uh in this council. Uh we we are welcoming you, doctor.

01:43:24Please uh may you work very well and work with everyone. We wish you well in your new duties. Let me take also this opportunity to wish uh the treasurer of a subregion I'm coming from, Ramatsobane, Councillor Ramatsobane, happy birthday. She's a good she's a jolly good fellow. Okay, enjoy your birthday. That's a treasurer of subregion A, by the way.

01:43:59And uh at her class as well is the chairperson of the subregion A. He's going to take you toe-to-toe, nina. So happy birthday, Councillor. We wish you well. And also on a serious note, let me take this opportunity to pass my condolences to my friend, my strategic advisor uh that has passed on. We buried him on Saturday, uh Chief, the former Chief, former MMC, David Tembe,claim

01:44:32isiZuluuh the the champion of Buya Mthetho, the chom the champion of Noma Kanjani, and the champion of Noma Kanjani Manje Namhlanje.claim

01:44:44Uh condolences to the family. Uh rest well, Chief. Uh you've run the race. We're actually going to miss you. By the way, you're all invited to the festive season uh launch that will be on Friday that will be dedicated to this great man. Councillor Durand, we note your comments. Um of course, uh we need more money.claim

01:45:12isiXhosaEh GCFO is there, uhleli nanku pha, makafake imali kuPublic Safety. We are really ready to work. Uvile ke GCFO, eh CM, kuthiwa the strategy is proper, kodwa akukho mali, there's no money. So fake imali uzobona.

01:45:30Uh we need that. Um data integration, I agree with you, it must be data-driven. It's one of the strategies that we want to do. Of course, we signed the memorandum of understanding uh between us and the other municipalities, even though, correctly so, that it's not being implemented 100% because we still arresting each other. So I know that the Premier said that they must just look at that framework in terms of how we are going to implement it because

01:46:00we signed, we must work together, we must share data. I know that the the the Chief of Police, he knows that I'm very passionate about data-driven things. In other words, we're even proposing that, councillors, we must have,

01:46:13isiXhosaCouncillor Maila, ungakoti eza sections zakho zininzi, heyi. Uthi I don't know them.

01:46:19MMC, just hold on. MMC, just hold on. We're stopping your time. There's someone on my left-hand side that the phone keeps on ringing. Can we can we please switch off our cell phones or put them on silent? Please. Thank you. MMC, you can carry on.

01:46:36Yes. What we wanted to really do, Councillor Maila, was to have what is called a crime analysis and a tracing team, because to trace all these uh um what you call these uh cases that are there, and also wanted to get the firsthand crime analysis that is happening in the city. By the way, there is a political will, uh colleagues. Uh we're working very well because remember, when we arrived in that department, we've launched the TRU, a crime-busting unit.

01:47:09isiXhosaLamajita abamba ngalama BM amhlophe. Eh uyabona eza bhari? Niyabazi banjani, they are no-nonsense takers.

01:47:17I mean, the the perception now moved from crime crime in Johannesburg, it moved now to bylaw enforcement, and we're really dealing with that. Of course, it's not going down. Look at the crime stats. Look at the look at the statistics. We are look at the statistics. At least there's a decline in crime.

01:47:3530 seconds, MMC.

01:47:36But the problem is that it's not it's not fast enough, but there is a decline in crime. There is. But now the problem is the bylaw enforcement. We've unleashed JMPD. You know we've hired uh a director for 10, he's dealing with the bylaw. So the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. We've started, we're going to finish it. Under this uh GNU government

01:47:5915 seconds, MMC.

01:48:01and under the the the MMC deployed by the Economic Freedom Fighters, we are going to ensure that the things are proper. I thank you.

01:48:09Thank you, MMC. Colleagues, recommendations are on page 57.8. Is the item agreed to? Is the item agreed to? Agreed.

01:48:34isiZuluNgiyazitha.

01:48:47MMC, can you please switch off your mic?

Item 58: Recovery and write-off of irregular, unauthorised and fruitless expenditure (November 2025)

01:48:54Councillors, Item 58 is a motivation that council recover and certify as irrecoverable and regularize unauthorized, irregular, and fruitless and wasteful expenditure for November 2025.

01:49:09Member in charge, Chair Raseruthe.

01:49:20Thank you very much, Speaker. Madam Speaker, I rise to table the motivation by Section 79 Municipal Public Accounts Committee for council to recover or certify as irrecoverable and regularize irregular and unauthorized expenditures. According to Section 32(2) of the MFMA,

01:49:51a municipality must recover unauthorized, irregular, or fruitless and wasteful expenditure from the person liable for that expenditure, unless the expenditure, after investigation by a council committee, is certified by the council as irrecoverable and written off by the council. Further, according to Regulation

02:00:00expenditure on vehicle rentals all referred for disciplinary and criminal investigation. Development planning incurred just under 1.5 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. EPWP salaries paid outside financial controls on a project that produced no results. That is money that could have reduced planning backlogs of funding building inspectors. Group Corporate and Shared Services irregularly spent around 7.2 million

02:00:32due to procurement violations involving Neosolutions, a matter recommended for referral to the Disciplinary Board and SAPS. When Public Safety overspends by 514 million, crime gets worse. When Group Risk Assurance Services waste 336 million, stolen copper is not replaced and vandalised infrastructure remains exposed.

02:01:00When development planning mismanages EPWP funds, informal settlements wait longer for upgrades. While Joburg collapses, while lights stay off, pipes burst and roads crumble, this government of local unity poured its energy into the G20. And I ask, has the city incurred unauthorised expenditure to polish a global showcase while residents suffered?

02:01:28Because if there was, this council never saw a single MFMA section 29 report from the executive mayor, not one, no approval, no transparency and no legality. So if the audited annual report show they did, then they chose optics over accountability and residents paid the price. And this all happens while the city still fails to implement proper records management or safeguard critical documents.

02:01:55The consequences are real. A resident risks their life dodging potholes. A mother walks home in the dark because streetlights are off. A business closes because water and electricity outages destroys their stock. And a community lives with drunk vagrants, illegal occupation in our green belts and lawlessness because JMPD vehicles are out of service. Waste is not financial, it's human.

02:02:23The DA has always been clear about its principles. We stand for clean governance, real accountability and strict consequence management. We stand for the rule of law and proper procurement. We stand for professional non-racial public service that serves everyone. And above all, we stand for residents first. Not cadres, not cronies, not corrupt networks. The DA believes in Joburg.

02:02:53Where the DA governs with an outright majority, these principles are not slogans, they are practice. We hold our own accountable without fear or favour. Where residents tolerate wastage, the DA demands demands recovery. Where others excuse incompetence, the DA demands action. Action that's recommended in this report of recovery and accountability.

02:03:18It recommends recovery of 1.7 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure, over 7.2 million in irregular expenditure. It includes referrals to disciplinary boards and SAPS for suspected misconduct in public safety and GCSS. And it requires the accounting officer to submit standard operating procedures, MFMA section 29 controls, and budget rebasing procedures within 30 days.

02:03:48These amounts may be small compared to what's been lost, but the principle is critical. If you waste residents' money, you will be held accountable. And this must not be a once-off event, it must become the new normal. National Treasury confirmed debt prescription starts when council approves recovery, so it's pointless setting investigation results for years.

02:04:11And the Mbambisa and others versus Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality judgement delivered on the 8th of November 2024 allows recovery from past employees so thieves can run, but they cannot hide. The truth is just is that Johannesburg is not short of money. It's short of discipline, competence, and leadership that respects public funds. Departments must get the basics right,

02:04:39spend only what council approved, follow procurement law, monitor budget monthly, and enforce consequence management consistently. More than half a billion rand of this waste, 514 million in a single year happened under the ANC-led GLU. ANC, EFF, PA all claim clean governance in their policies.

02:05:0330 seconds left, councillor.

02:05:04But their actions break those promises. They waste and residents pay the price. The DA along with the residents are desperate for a competent, ethical government who has experience in turning service delivery around, getting clean audits and rooting out corruption. And the DA is ready to do that in the city of Johannesburg. The DA believes in Joburg. Thank you.

02:05:28Thank you, councillor. Councillor S. Nkonyeni from ActionSA. [00:05:37] [no speech]

02:05:45Councillor Shawe, switch off your mic, please. Councillor Shawe, please switch off your mic.

02:05:52isiZuluNgiyabonga, Speaker. Ngibingelele kuwena somlomo, ngibuye ngibingelele amakhansela alomkhandlu, nezakhamuzi zalelidolobha lethu kwandonga ziyaduma kwanyama ayipheli kuphela amazinyo endoda. Speaker, bengithanda ukusho nje ukuthi siyayibonga i-G20.

Disorder and speaking-time rulings during ActionSA contribution

02:06:18isiZuluUkube bekungeyona i-G20, bebengeke bayihluphe nge De Villiers. Baqala baqala bethethiswa wafika umengameli wezwe waqala wabathithisa khona la kwi-chamber. Wabuya futhi wababiza futhi kuyimbizo bebaningi. Wabuya wabathethisa futhi ethi abathathe umzekelo

02:06:46isiZuluwase ethi abathathe umzekelo ngala kulaba ba

02:06:51Councillors,

02:06:52Please protect me, Speaker.

02:06:53Councillors. Councillors. Councillor Mazibuko, your hand is up? Councillors.

02:07:05AfrikaansKan ons asseblief aandag skenk aan die persoon wat besig is om te praat?

02:07:10Thank you.

02:07:14isiZuluNgiyabonga

02:07:15Speaker, can I can I be protected, please? People are

02:07:17I have protected you.

02:07:19isiZuluNgiyabonga, Speaker. So, eh, Speaker,

02:07:24Councillors, please. Councillor Mazibuko, is your hand up now? Thank you. Councillor, can you sit down and switch off your mic, please?

02:07:43No, on a point of order, Speaker. Can the councillor on the platform please speak to the item?

02:07:53Councillor. Councillor Nkonyeni, can you just be seated for a while? Earlier on, I had to ask Councillor or MMC Kunene to stick to the item and speak to his speech. So your time is running out. You have already wasted one and a half minutes. I'm not sure, colleagues, no, no, no. No, no, no. I'm not certain of whatever you have said

02:08:23and we are working on getting interpretation. As soon as this system is working when you're going to get your training in January, we could possibly also have interpretation. So I cannot interpret what you are saying. I have asked MMC to stick to his speech and I'm asking you as well to stick to what you are standing up. You have wasted one and a half minutes without me knowing what you are saying. So you have three and a half minutes left.

02:08:54Thank you.

02:08:57isiZuluKulungile, Speaker, ayikho inkinga.

02:08:59Councillor Christians, hold on. Hold on. We are keeping your three and a half minutes. Councillor Christians, apologies, man. I normally see you here. Now you are there. Apologies. I think you can be seated as you speak. I'm going to allow that for Councillor Christians. I'm allowing him to be seated while he speaks. Thank you, Councillor Christians.

02:09:20Thank you very much, Speaker. Speaker, I rise while I'm seated in terms of rule 72A, I will be taking uh the ruling that you just made because you've now contradicted yourself. You told Councillor Kunene to say what he wants to say. Now you telling the new the councillor on the podium that he must stick to the the item. Thank you.

02:09:44It's fine, councillor. I've asked him to say what he's supposed to say to his speech. Councillor Nkonyeni, can you [00:09:51] [no speech]

02:09:56Councillor Nkonyeni, can you carry on? You have three and a half minutes.

02:10:01Yeah, Speaker

02:10:02Councillor Christians, switch off your phone, your your mic.

02:10:07isiZuluNgiyabonga, Speaker.

02:10:08Speaker, the centre is not holding.

02:10:11isiZuluUyabona, Speaker, i- i-monkey i-monkey ngale uphithiphithi nje uyabo, ende ngapha nenkomfa ingathi ibabambe ngamawashingi. Kodwa ake ngiqhubeke, Speaker. Washo uKhansela Aphane ukuthi wabuza izolo ukuthi bangenaphi, aba-

02:10:39isiZuluaba-focus [00:10:40] [no speech]

ActionSA on UIFW controls; MPAC report agreed

02:10:45Madam Speaker, Madam Speaker, non-delegates. Madam Speaker, ActionSA ActionSA urges Council to demand quarterly reporting from the accounting officer on all UIFW controls, not annual reporting. Implement strict contract management enforcement. Departments must not wait until the last month of a contract to act. Strengthen real-time budget monitoring to prevent unauthorised expenditure before it occurs.

02:11:16Ensure that referrals to SAPS and disciplinary processes are tracked, reported and concluded. Ensure that recoverable UIFW is actually recovered, not simply noted. Speaker, while we acknowledge MPAC's diligent work and commend their willingness to enforce consequence management, we must confront the undeniable truth. Johannesburg continues to bleed money through preventable and repeated financial mismanagement. The amounts before us today are not just figures.

02:11:47They are lost opportunities for service delivery and public trust. ActionSA raises its concerns firmly and critically, and while we support the need to comply with MFMA processes, we insist that the city moves from reaction to prevention, from write-off to accountability, and from excuses to real reform.

02:12:10isiZuluNgiyabonga, Speaker. [00:12:12] [no speech]

02:12:15Thank you, councillor. Um, member in charge, Raseruthe.

02:12:23Thank you very much, Speaker. Uh, all contributions have been noted, Speaker. And, uh, once again, let me extend my gratitude to members of the committee and the support staff. Uh, Speaker, I think this committee did very well, uh, and they deserve a round of applause from councillors. [00:12:51] [no speech]

02:12:56Thank you very much, Speaker. And let me take this opportunity once again and thank all political parties for sending those soldiers to go and represent their parties in that committee, all of them. Uh, if if if it was very important, I was going to to do the name-dropping, but it's not necessary. Thank you very much. We are we are requesting Council to to approve the recommendations. Thank you very much, Speaker.

02:13:23Thank you, Councillor Raseruthe, member in charge. Councillors, the recommendations are on page 58.3 to 58.4. Is the item agreed to?

02:13:34Agreed.

02:13:36Thank you. Councillor Raseruthe, can you switch off your mic, please?

Item 35: Section 79 Petition Standing Committee fourth-quarter report

02:13:45Councillors, we're now back to item 35, and that's the fourth, uh, sorry, the fourth quarter report on the oversight activities of the Section 79 Petition Standing Committee for the period April to June 2025. [00:14:00] [no speech]

02:14:04In charge, Chair Mabuke.

02:14:09Uh, Madam Speaker, our Executive Mayor and his cabinet, Chief Whip of Council, Chair of Chairs, all the Chairs of Section 79, fellow councillors. Madam Speaker, I rise to table item 35, fourth quarter report on the oversight activity of the Section 79

02:14:39Petition Standing Committee for the period April to June 2025. [00:14:46] [no speech]

02:14:49Thank you, Chair. Councillor Rakosa from ActionSA. Not here? [00:15:01] [no speech]

02:15:07Greetings to you, Speaker, councillors, most importantly, the fabulous 44 and its leader, Councillor कोरias. As ActionSA, we note the report.

02:15:28Thank you, councillor. Councillor Mphefo from the DA. [00:15:35] [no speech]

02:15:41Thank you, Speaker. Um, good day to all councillors, um, our visitors in the gallery. Um, coun-, um, Speaker, you want to judge performance of the city um, by looking at, uh, the performance, uh, you want to judge the performance of the city by looking no further, but at the Section 79 Petitions Committee. Um, I've said this before

02:16:10and I'm going to mention this again, and if I don't sound like a broken record, um, soon to sound like one. Um, this is the most ignored committee, and yet this committee is a committee that touches on all other Section 79 committees. And by saying this is, um, you look at the reports that we get or the petitions that we get in this committee, um, JRA, your

02:16:39street calming measures, you know, City Power, where people don't have power and they've been without power or water for a month or so. Um, City Parks and Zoos, every committee, every department, entity in the city is touched, you know, um, by this, uh, committee. And this is the committee where residents look to when all else fails, and they think that putting a petition together will help them.

02:17:08And unfortunately, um, this does not, um, assist them in any way. And I think what is most disappointing is that, um, this committee or the unit itself um fails to make slap chips in a spaza shop, fails at small admin, um, requirements, copy and paste, and it gives us a lot of work as, uh, councillors, instead of now looking at the reports

02:17:38that are submitted by the departments, we need to also be looking at, um, what has been discussed in the committee, what should have been recorded, what should have been upgraded, which is not, um, been done so. And yeah, I think in the last section I did say that, you know what, um, this soon will call for a motion of no confidence against our own chairperson as well. The unit itself is what is failing more than the departments who should be

02:18:09submitting reports, because some of the reports that they do submit as well in the last, um, section, we actually realized that they don't make their way to us as the councillors, and why is that? Um, just small admin issues that they failing at doing, and if you going to fail at small, simple things, then when we get into budget matters and all those things, you know, the spending, uh, that is why, you know, the city is failing so much because we really

02:18:39failing at small, simple things, and hoping that, you know, everyone goes now, um, on holiday and they come back, um, fresh and better and they improve on this, because this really is not on, you know. They need to pull up their socks as the unit, and the chairperson needs to really make sure that this unit does get to perform and hand in reports and do the administrative work that they need to really be doing.

02:19:09Um, we looking forward, um, Chair, um, as the Democratic Alliance in 2026, because when you look at the Midvaal, uh, Municipality and our Western Cape, and you know, they can make all the noise that they want, but the facts are there. They prove themselves, and the clean audits, they prove themselves. It's not us. Evidence is there, out there, and it's for their people to, for people to just read on it. But what do you expect from people who even failing to read their own reports

02:19:40in the Section 79 committees? Um, thank you, Chair. We note the report.

02:19:46Thank you, councillor. Councillor Radebe from the EFF, N. Radebe. Is the councillor, okay.

02:19:59Uh, thank you, Speaker. The EFF notes the report.

02:20:02Thank you. Uh, the ANC, Councillor Nyembe.

02:20:09Um, greetings to you, Madam Speaker.

02:20:15Can you please speak into the mic, please, councillor?

02:20:18It's too long, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. Uh, Speaker, uh, let me greet, uh, the house at large, uh, our our residents who are watching us online. Uh, greetings to everyone. Speaker, as i-ANC,

02:20:43isiZuluangiyazi lento akhuluma ngayo ukuthi asikwazi ukufunda. Siyakwazi ukufunda. Uyasiphaphela nje, Speaker. Speaker, nalento yogaxekile abayilahlelayo la ku-ANC ayisiphathi kahle.

02:20:57But anyway, Speaker, as African National Congress, I rise to note the report. Thank you very much.

02:21:04isiZuluYebo, yebo, hhayi.

02:21:06Acting LOEB.

02:21:12Thank you very much, Speaker.

02:21:13isiZuluNgicela bengaphaphelani.

02:21:15Uh, we we request, uh, Council to note the report. Thank you.

02:21:23Thank you, councillor, um, Acting LOEB. Um, member in charge, Councillor Mabuke.

02:21:37Thank you, Madam Speaker. I can assure you and the Council at large that Petition Committee is one of the most performing, the best performing committee in Council. Uh, one of the wise men once said, "Lies have short legs."

02:21:58isiZuluNgizogcina khona lapho.

02:22:01I therefore request Council to note the report.

02:22:06Councillors, the report is for noting. Can we note the report?

02:22:10Yes.

02:22:11Thank you. STC.

Items 36-45 tabled: EISD, City Power, Johannesburg Water and Pikitup performance reports

02:22:15Councillors, we're now on item 36, and that is the performance assessment report for the Environment and Infrastructure Services Department for the 2024/25 financial year for the period April to June 2025, read with item 37, that is the performance assessment report for the City Power Johannesburg for the 2024/25 financial year for the period April to June 2025, also read with item 38, which is the performance assessment report for the Johannesburg Water for the 2024/25 financial year

02:22:45for the period April to June 2025, also read with, uh, item 39, and that's the performance assessment report for Pikitup Johannesburg for the 2024/25 financial year for the period April to June 2025, also read with item 40, which is an oversight report of the Section 79 Environment and Infrastructure Services Committee on the 2023/2024 fourth quarter performance assessment report of the Environment and Infrastructure Services Department, Pikitup Johannesburg, Johannesburg Water and Johannesburg City Power

02:23:15for the period April to June 2025, also read with item 41, which is the performance assessment report for the Environment and Infrastructure Services Department for the 2024/2025, 26 financial year for the period July to September 2025, also read with item 42, which is the performance assessment report for the City Power Johannesburg for the 2025/26 financial year for the period July to September 2025, also read with item 43, which is the performance assessment report for Johannesburg Water

02:23:44for the 2025/26 financial year for the period July to September 2025, also read with item 44, which is also the performance assessment report for the Pikitup Johannesburg for the 2025/26 financial year for the period July to September 2025, also, lastly, read with item 45, which is an oversight report of the Section 79 Environment and Infrastructure Services Committee on the 2025/26 fourth quarter performance assessment report

02:24:13of the Environment and Infrastructure Services Department, Pikitup Johannesburg, Johannesburg Water and Johannesburg City Power for the period July to September 2025.

02:24:23Thank you so much. Um, acting member in charge, Councillor P. Magwaza. [00:24:31] [no speech]

02:24:37Thank you, Speaker. Uh, I rise to table the items from EISD Committee, item 36, item 37, item 38, item 39, item 40, item 41, item 42, item 43, item 44, as well as item 45 to be considered by the Council. Thank you, Speaker.

02:25:04Thank you, acting member in charge.

Debate on City Power finances: FF+, PA and ANC

02:25:07AfrikaansRaadslid Boer.

02:25:11Thank you, Madam Speaker. Time is very limited. I can only speak on item number 42 on City Power. Um, there's so much to say about City Power. If City Power was a private-owned company, the shareholders would have demanded the resignation of the board of directors of this company with immediate effect, because this company is run terribly at the moment. Um, we are in the first quarter of our turnaround strategy and our trading reforms, and we were really thinkingclaim

02:25:43that we're going to see a turnaround in City Power, but in fact, it is going from bad to worse. They managed to have a quarterly loss of 2 billion rand, so they drained out of the city's coffers 2 billion rand in one quarter. And all that we can see in the chairman's report and the CEO's report is a blaming game. They blaming the city for withholding 4 billion rand from their funds and so on. Um, they blaming everybody except for their own mismanagement.claim

02:26:14Um, Madam Speaker, this performance is shocking. The basic elementary things that are supposed to be done, um, are not done. The meter reading, uh, is going down to 65%. If you don't read your meters, you cannot expect to bill your residents. Um, even more shocking is that in Roodepoort, the meter reading is 86%. In Lenasia, it's standing at 26%. Madam Speaker, I'm asking you, how is it possible that in Lenasia we only read 26%

02:26:44of our meters and we expect to get money in? It's not possible. Our quarterly losses have gone up from 36% in the first quarter of last year to 42% in the first quarter of this year. So 42% of the electricity that we're buying from Eskom, we are losing. How can we make money? Um, and we see that in our revenue. The quarter one revenue was 6.6 billion, already under budget

02:27:15by 161 million for one quarter. Our bulk purchases was standing at 7.1 billion, over budget by 363 million. So just for one quarter, we are losing 524 million rand on our budget, and we paying 7.1% to Eskom and we collecting 6.6. So we paying more to Eskom than we collect from the city, and then we haven't even done any maintenance.

02:27:41Afrikaans30 sekondes.

02:27:43Madam Speaker, CEOs, ag, City Power has got a serious problem, and we, instead of looking for studies to buy Kelvin back, we must rather go and ask Eskom for Eskom to take City Power back, because City Power is a block to the city at the moment. We are losing money at a very, very big rate. Thank you, Madam Speaker.

02:28:03AfrikaansDankie, Raadslid Boer.

02:28:06PA Councillor Golden.

02:28:11Uh, thank you, Madam Speaker. Actually, there was a small error there. I am actually Councillor Pitso. Golden is my nickname in the streets, Madam Speaker. But thank you. Um, greetings to the almighty God, Jehovah, you're welcome in the city of Joburg. Greetings to you, Madam Speaker, to the City Manager, to the Executive Mayor, the Joburg 11, PA

02:28:42Caucus under the effective stewardship of our MMC Kenny Kunene, fellow councillors and residents, I greet you all. Spirit. Madam Speaker, I'm still tempted. I was ready to speak on these items and to respond on what the opposition has been raising since yesterday. Even today, I'm still tempted to respond, but due to I am a disciplined member of this Council and of our GLU,

02:29:14uh, today I'll just note these items. Thank you, Madam Speaker. Coloured lives matter.

02:29:21Thank you, councillor. Councillor Makamo from the ANC.

02:29:31Uh, greetings, Speaker. Greetings to the residents of the city of Johannesburg and all councillors. I rise to note item 36, item 37, item 38, item 39, and item 40. Thank you very much.

Koekemoer on speaking time for combined items; cupcake dispute

02:29:48Thank you, Councillor Makamo. Councillor Koekemoer from the DA.

02:29:59Thank you, Madam

02:30:00Madam Speaker, it's Councillor Koekemoer.

02:30:02Koekemoer, okay.

02:30:03Thank you.

02:30:05Madam Speaker, councillors, I would say all protocol observed, but it seems that we have lost half of our ANC caucus and half of our executive to a horrible illness. It's called regionalis diabolicus ANC conferences. It's quite serious.

02:30:30No, it's serious, colleagues. It's known and rumored to take more lives than the Madlanga commission.

02:30:34Councillor on my on my on my right, just hold on. Councillor Koekemoer, you cannot respond to councillors any which way. You speak through me. Can you stick to your speech, Councillor?

02:30:49Thank you, Madam Speaker. I didn't speak to anyone, but through you, Madam Speaker. I have about 2 minutes. I'm not going to do 10 items any justice in 2 minutes, Madam Speaker. I actually timed it. Here it is. It took Legal a minute and 23 seconds just to read the items into record. So I would like to use my 2 minutes, please, to appeal to your office again and to Council. We need to consider more speaking time for EIS, and the reason why I say this is we cannot expect councillors to do due diligence.

02:31:19Councillor, Councillor, you are taking your time.

02:31:22I am, Madam Speaker.

02:31:23You are now on 1 minute and 5 seconds.

02:31:26That's fine. It's my speech, Madam Speaker.

02:31:27Is that part of your speech? No, no, no. Colleagues, colleagues, hold on. Is that part of your speech, colleague? Thank you, Ma'am. Thank you, Councillor. Thank you so much. Okay.

02:31:39Thank you, Madam Speaker. Like I was saying, we cannot expect our most front-facing entities to have the same amount of time as

02:31:49Councillor, I'm holding your time, right?

02:31:51That's fine.

02:31:54Thank you, Speaker. I wanted to say the Councillor is more than welcome to join the African National Congress. Thank you very much.

02:31:59Haibo! Wait, wait. Councillor, carry on with your speech. That's not a point of order. Councillor.

02:32:06Thank you, Madam Speaker. We can't expect our front-facing entities, our customer-facing entities, to receive the same amount of time for 10 items as single-item sections in this report. We cannot do these items justice with this. And I understand that you have a precedent that you need to uphold, Madam Speaker. I understand that. But we need to accept that when a precedent, precedent being a set of norms, I'm not referring to showers and cupcakes, when a precedent no longer serves us, we need to recognize

02:32:3726 seconds, Councillor.

02:32:39that we need to let it go. And that is as true for our leaders in our country as it is for the norms we follow in this council, Madam Speaker.

02:32:4617 seconds left.

02:32:48So with that, I would like to please ask residents of Johannesburg to please vote for a party in 2026 that takes our oversight seriously.

02:32:558 seconds left.

02:32:59Believe in Joburg and vote Helen for Mayor. Thank you.

02:33:09Councillor, she was speaking to her speech. She spoke about a precedence. She spoke about a precedence. She she's Colleagues, colleagues, can I can I can can you listen to me? I listened carefully. She spoke about

02:33:40Can I ask you all to keep quiet? She spoke about a precedence. And then she said it's not cupcakes and whatever.

02:33:54Colleagues.

02:34:00Colleagues, cupcakes cupcakes are those things, muffins. The white Colleagues, colleagues, colleagues, we call we call cup Let me say Councillor Councillor MMC, we call cupcakes muffins. When you are a Model C, when you are Model C, you call them cupcakes. It's the same like when you in Model C, you call Thabo, "Thebo", and we call Thabo, "Thabo". So that is what it is.

02:34:40AfrikaansFinish en klaar.

02:34:41No offence. Now I'm not I'm not I'm not I'm ending it there. I'm calling the next speaker. Councillor Cook from from GOOD.

Cook's remarks on imported councillors and point of order

02:34:58Good morning, Madam Speaker.

02:35:00Colleagues, colleagues, the cupcakes are gone. We are now onto Councillor Cook. Councillor Cook, please.

02:35:08Thank you, Madam Speaker. I won't be cooking any cupcakes or anything of the sort today. To the Executive Mayor in absentia, to the Executive, to the Chief Whip, Chair of Chairs in absentia, all Section 79 chairpersons, and councillors from the City of Joburg, not the ones that are going to be imported from the City of Cape Town or those that have been imported. I greet the talent of Johannesburg in Johannesburg. And I hope that we have the talent in Johannesburg to run the city, because we don't need foreign people to come.

02:35:46isiZuluAbahambe!

02:35:50Councillor Cook, can you take your seat? Your minutes are stopped.

02:36:01Madam Speaker, Point of order.

02:36:02Colleagues, can I listen to the Councillor?

02:36:06I'd like to call a point of order on Councillor Cook. First of all, we know that he's singing for his supper, one. Two, he must point out who are those foreigners that are sitting in this house, who are imports. He must come to us and point them out. Who are those foreigners? Who are those foreigners he's talking about? We want to know. We want to know who are the foreigners.

02:36:25Councillor Belinda. Councillor Belinda. Haibo. Yes. I could not hear with the screaming. Councillor Cook, are you done?

02:36:44Councillor Mmbengwa.

02:36:46Thank you, Speaker. Thank you, Speaker. I don't need to sing for my supper, Speaker. My job is not at risk of somebody coming to take it. I'm here. I'm here. I note the report. Thank you, Speaker.

02:37:03Councillor Chairperson Magwentshu. Chairperson Magwentshu. Your 3 minutes is starting.

02:37:18I note the report, Speaker. Thank you.

Debate on items 36-45: DA, UDM, ActionSA and EFF

02:37:20Thank you so much. DA Steenkamp, you have 2 minutes.

02:37:32Okay.

02:37:34Colleagues, I fully understand it's the last meeting, but can we go through it nicely, please? Councillor Steenkamp, your 2 minutes have started.

02:37:45Thank you, Madam Speaker. City Power is in decline. Its own board admits the utility suffers from deep structural and financial weakness that threaten its future. That should frighten every resident who relies on electricity for work, safety, and daily life. In the first quarter of this year, financial year, City Power recorded 1.9 billion deficit and a 20 billion overdraft. That is failure. Worse still, 4.4 billion collected from residents has not been transferred to City Power by the City, crippling maintenance and stalling upgrades. We were told to celebrate because planned maintenance rose from 20% to 66%. That is not success; it's admission that neglect ruled for years. A city utility never operates in survival mode just to keep the lights flickering. Madam Speaker, where the DA governs, electricity works. In Cape Town, power is bought independently to reduce load shedding. In DA-run councils, budgets are controlled and audits are clean. In Johannesburg, debt rises, outages grow, and accountability disappears. Leadership matters. City Power today is deeply indebted, operationally unstable, and poorly governed. But most alarming, unaccountable. A utility with 20 billion overdraft would face national scrutiny anywhere else. A city board must account not only to council, but to Parliament oversight. Public money demands public accountability. The DA stands for clean governance, financial discipline, and electricity that works, not excuses, not bailouts, and not darkness. I thank you.claim

02:39:34Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Zigebe, you there?

02:39:38isiXhosaKhayelitsha yona. Khayelitsha.

02:39:43I'm going to switch off mics.

02:39:50Madam Speaker, our residents don't read reports. They ask, are the lights on? Do the taps run? Is my family safe? And these items go directly to those questions. City Power has achieved 87.5% of its KPIs, meeting six out of seven of the service standards, improving communication on outages and fixing street lights faster. It has grown sales from 18.6 billion to 21.4 billion, and even generated 13.4 million in new revenue streams. There is progress, but financial strain is real: a 1.5 billion quarterly loss, an overdraft of 15.5 billion, and revenue at 6.4% lower than last year. If we don't fix losses, theft, and non-payment, the service improvements won't hold. Johannesburg Water is also showing improvement, collections up from 74.84% to 77.16%, meter reading accuracy up to 92.16%, water quality at 99.4%, and per capita consumption has dropped. With 1.118 billion in CAPEX spent, 122 SMMEs supported, and over 1,400 jobs created, the developmental impact is clear. But reliability remains a concern: pipe bursts at 311 per 100 kilometers, sewer blockages at 464 per 100 kilometers, and only 41% of bursts restored within 48 hours against a 90% target. Speaker, this is not failure; it is a dashboard. It shows movement, capacity, and green shoots, but also warns us where urgency is required. We must stabilize City Power's finances, demand sharper response times from Johannesburg Water, and align our infrastructure and human settlements planning so no community is left behind. If we do that, these numbers become more than statistics; they become steps toward a more reliable, inclusive, and dignified Johannesburg for all, where we are not importing ogogo to come and lead here. Thank you.claim

02:42:07Thank you, Councillor Zigebe. ActionSA, Councillor Modukanene.

02:42:22Thanks, your tried Speaker. Madam Speaker, the fabulous 44, fellow councillors, residents of our beloved city, guests in the gallery, ladies and gentlemen,

02:42:36Sesothodumelang.

02:42:37I rise to speak on items 36 to 45. Speaker, while this administration celebrates percentages and compliance checklists, the lived experiences of residents tells a different story. We are presented with reports showing EISD achieving 93 of its KPIs, Pikitup sitting at 85%, City Power at 67%, Johannesburg Water claiming stabilization at 32%. But Speaker, residents don't live in reports. They live in communities where illegal dumping is out of control, power and water outages strike with disturbing regularity across Selby, Marshalltown, South Hills, Robertsham, and many other areas around the city, and our streets remain filthy, unmanaged, and neglected. Speaker, Pikitup is operating at less than 50% capacity with 56% vacancies, spiraling overtime, collapsing landfill capacity, and illegal dumping that gets worse every month. Johannesburg Water has failed 68 of its KPIs and still cannot stabilize water provision in critical regions.claim

02:43:57City Power is in deep financial distress: a 20.1 billion overdraft, 40% non-revenue electricity, unpaid contractors, stalled infrastructure projects, and aging infrastructure collapsing under pressure. Speaker, these are not Speaker, these are not indicators of a city on the mend; they are the symptoms of a city in crisis. Speaker, let's address the R200 prepaid electricity surcharge. Residents were told that the surcharge would stabilize City Power. They were promised improvement, yet there is no visible benefit. Outages continue, infrastructure continues to collapse, and the poor continue to pay more for less. Speaker, it was claimed in this house yesterday that the poor are shielded from the surcharge through ESP. That claim is misleading, and it ignores the lived realities of thousands of vulnerable households. Yes, the city is running ESP awareness campaigns across the regions, and ActionSA welcomes that, but awareness does not equal access. Many residents still cannot register because of travel costs, long queues, missing documentation, system delays, and shared meters in backyards and informal settlements. And let's speak honestly: the working poor, domestic workers, security guards, cleaners, earn too little to survive, but too much to qualify for ESP. These are the people being punished by this surcharge. Speaker, this surcharge is punitive in nature. Why implement a surcharge first and then only afterwards try to fix the ESP database? This is governance in reverse.claim

02:46:03Yesterday, a motion to rescind this surcharge came before Council. It was an opportunity to correct an injustice, but the motion failed because the GNU voted against it, and for that, history will judge them harshly. Residents must continue to reject them in the upcoming local government elections. Speaker, as we approach the festive season, let us remember: residents, especially in Marshalltown and the inner city, cannot spend Christmas and New Year in the darkness and without water again like last year, when some only had electricity for 6 days in the entire month of December. The city must act now before another festive season becomes another crisis season.claim

02:46:4935 seconds left. 29 seconds.claim

02:46:59ActionSA will continue to hold this administration accountable and champion real solutions that prioritize communities, not political convenience. Thank you.claim

02:47:12Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Bittkau, DA.

02:47:23Madam Speaker, I'll be speaking to item 38 and 43. And all lives matter. After months of radio silence, we are finally speaking to what should be deemed to be the most important issues in this city, namely delivery of basic services to the residents. We are so far behind that we are actually addressing two quarterly reports at the same time. That is half a year's report. But it's not surprising, because the reports are painting a picture of total failure on every level, not only by the entity, but also by the Executive. However, to talk about this in 120 seconds is impossible. The major features are as such: 70% of performance targets not met, a total lack of service delivery over weekends, a lack of quality of workmanship, a lack of care for residents as shown by failure to backfill driveways to allow for access, a failure to reduce non-revenue water, which is still at 48.6%, especially technical losses, which are still at 28%, and you all know that the maximum allowed in the world is 18%, failure to pay contractors, thereby delaying projects affecting millions of residents.claim

02:48:4540 seconds.claim

02:48:47All this points to senior management and the city's Executive being totally inept and needing replacement. And we are still waiting for the details of what happened to the 4 billion that were swept by the Executive. But at least help is on the way.

02:49:0420 seconds left, Councillor Bittkau.

02:49:06Thank you. Helen is coming to clean up this mess. Thank you.

02:49:13Thank you, Councillor Bittkau. Next speaker is Councillor Gwamanda from Al Jama-ah. He's not here.

02:49:21Clean Khayelitsha first. Clean Khayelitsha, pele.

02:49:25And then we have Councillor Sekhu from the DA. You also have 2 minutes.

02:49:35Thank you, Speaker. Greetings to the councillors, the residents of the City of Johannesburg. Speaker, generally, Pikitup is doing well, but you know, there are some few KPIs that are very, very concerning. I just want to speak to one of those. One of them is capital budget failure expenditure, you know, we are failing to spend on capital projects. This is one of the most alarming issues in this report. This indicates chronic delays in infrastructure development, including construction and expansion of the landfill sites. We know that we are running out of landfill sites. So when we are not spending money on our capital projects, which means our waste management future is in jeopardy. And then the failure to pay service providers: only 27% of the valid invoices were paid within 30 days against target of 100%. The explanation we are getting is cash flow problems. Speaker, this is not only unique to Pikitup, you know, it's all the entities across the city where service providers are not being paid. And if you don't pay service providers, they will put their tools down, and we are not getting any services if they put their tools down. So Speaker, we need clear and immediate answers on these issues that are not being attended to, especially when it comes to paying service providers. So I will end there, Speaker.claim

02:51:0820 seconds left.claim

02:51:11The report has been noted by the Democratic Alliance. Thank you, Speaker.

02:51:14Thank you so much. Councillor Mkasi from the EFF.

02:51:26Thank you very much, Speaker. Greetings to the EFF Caucus Leader, Dr. Tshwaku, Chief Whip, Fighter Thabisa Mogapi, all protocols observed. Speaker, we are presented with quarterly reports that, on the surface, appear to show progress, but when you look deeper, this report exposes a city running on fragile systems, overloaded entities, collapsing infrastructure, weak enforcement, and dangerous levels of non-compliance. This council must not applaud superficial improvement while the foundation of service delivery is crumbling. Let me begin with EISD. Yes, it achieved 93% of the KPIs, but those numbers hide a dangerous truth: the department is functioning with a 50% overall vacancy rate; half the positions needed for optimal service delivery are unfunded. This is not a performance report; it is a warning signal. Added to that, zero capital expenditure, procurement delays, and invoices unpaid for two months. We cannot claim success when the very machinery intended to drive environmental compliance is starved of capacity and resources. On Joburg Water, the crisis is even more alarming. Wastewater treatment works like Northern Works are sitting at 50% compliance, releasing inadequately treated wastewater into our rivers. That is not just a non-compliance; it is a public health threat.claim

02:53:02Spillages still average almost one per facility per day, and only 41% of pipe bursts are repaired within 48 hours. Those failures are the result of aging infrastructure, delayed procurement, underfunded maintenance, and weak project implementation. Our rivers, like Jukskei and the Klip, are effectively functioning as open sewers. On City Power, meanwhile, continues to operate in financial distress. It recorded another 1.9 billion deficit and continues to overspend on bulk purchases. Only 67% of KPIs were achieved. Persistent faults across the townships, slow maintenance cycles, vandalism, and inability to read meters accurately undermine the reliability of our electricity grid. Worse, street lights remain a daily complaint, either permanently off or permanently on. Both signal systematic inefficiency. On Pikitup, despite achieving many KPIs, still cannot maintain a clean city. Illegal dumping continues to overwhelm communities. Cleanliness levels stubbornly remain at level 3, despite millions spent annually. Landfill airspace is rapidly depleting, compliance is weak, leachate dams are failing, and weighbridges at landfill sites are non-functional. Speaker, the city cannot continue applauding quarterly achievements that are achieved on paper while service delivery collapses on the ground. As the Economic Freedom Fighters, we would like to make five recommendations. Number one:claim

02:54:4540 seconds.claim

02:54:46declare infrastructure emergency intervention on failing wastewater treatment. Number two: implement a dedicated cross-entity procurement war room. Fund and fill all critical technical and compliance positions in the EISD municipal entity. Number four: strengthen enforcement and accountability for illegal dumping and landfill non-compliance. Number five: introduce city-wide predictive maintenance model for water, electricity, and waste infrastructure. Speaker, as the EFF, we will never normalize underperformance, delayed procurement, collapsing infrastructure, environmental degradation, and financial deficit. The time for defensive approaches

ANC and Executive response; items 36-45 agreed

02:55:32Councillor L. Zondo from the ANC. Councillor Mkasi, switch off your mic.

02:55:41Speaker, can I forward my greetings to you, the Honorable Mayor, Sello Dada Morero, in absentia, the Chair of Chairs. Speaker, let us speak to the item in concern. I'm here and rising towards to note item 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45. Speaker, while entities in Joburg, they are in financial distress, we therefore as a committee requested and invite the MMC of Finance and the Committee of Finance to a bilateral meeting with the Committee of EISD, Speaker. As I sit down, Speaker, I would want to ask Councillor Cook to say, as the Madam, she's coming to Joburg, when is he taking retirement, Speaker? Thanks.

02:56:33Oh, that's not Okay. Acting EISD MMC, MMC Mgcina.

02:56:47I've cooled off, and I was ready to respond to Councillor Koekemoer. Greetings, Speaker. Greetings, councillors in the house. We have noted all the concerns raised on the report by different councillors. A whole number of them, I think we will be able to raise them with the member in charge, I mean, the MMC responsible for EISD. But I will definitely not take the one that I think it's Councillor Golden, oh no, sorry, not Golden, Councillor Steenkamp, who indicated that something about the DA, so I don't think that one is relevant. We won't be taking it to the MMC. But also, just to clarify, Speaker, when Councillor Koekemoer was talking about a presidency or a precedence and a president, which we all agree that these are two different things, she then made reference to cupcakes. No one I think everyone knows, besides you, Speaker, I've actually realized that everyone knows that our President, the President of the country, is referred to as "Cupcake". And she was referring to that, exactly. Hence we wanted to call order. And I'm doing this because I share a birthday with the President. So he is very close to my heart. So you touch the President, Councillor Koekemoer, you touch the twin of the President, please! Thank you very much.

02:58:42Thank you, thank you, MMC. And you are quite right. I was not I did not know. I was told by others here. I thought it was the cupcake and the and and whatever, so and the muffin. I didn't know. Member in charge.

02:59:09Thank you, Speaker. As a committee, we'd like

02:59:14Councillor Belinda, please. Member in charge, acting member in charge.

02:59:17Thank you, Speaker. As a committee, we'd like to thank the council for considering the report and its recommendations. Thank you, Speaker.

02:59:26Thank you, colleagues. The recommendations are on page 36.5, 37.21, 38.3, 39.11, 40.66 to 40.67, 41.4, 42.17, 43.3, 44.11, 45.70 to 45.71. Are these items agreed to?

02:59:59Thank you so much.

03:00:00much colleagues. We are going to push the agenda to finish and then we will go for lunch and then we will go home. So, can we push?

03:00:13Thank you, councillors. STC

Quorum query, movement in the chamber and comfort breaks

03:00:16Councillor Schrader.

03:00:20Thank you, Madam Speaker. Just given the um request earlier for people to leave at 12:00, 1:00 and the likes of, could we please just do a roll call and check that we have quorum still?

03:00:31There There are people that has asked to leave at 2:00 that has not left. At 1:00 that has not, at 12:00. It's only Councillor Harris over there that has left. Um

03:00:46they actually multiplied here. But we can They multiplied, I'm really right because Councillor was not here.

03:01:00MMC Mgcina just arrived. So, so, so, we we Yeah, they can count whilst uh they are sitting, but I think we are still intact.

03:01:13Can we

03:01:16No, colleagues, we we are going to go through our items and then leave.

03:01:25Can we quickly count, but be seated.

03:01:32No, no, no, we are counting you.

03:01:34Can we quickly count? I'm sure we are quorating.

03:01:42We are going to We are going to carry on. They'll be counting you cuz they can stand here and count. We are going to proceed.

03:01:51Please don't leave the chamber. Please don't leave the chamber. Please don't walk in, please. Walk in. Walk in.

03:02:07Speaker, there's a hand.

03:02:09Where's the hand?

03:02:12It's a short hand. Yes, Nkonyeni.

03:02:18No, thank you, Speaker. Just the concern that we may have councillors outside, so should we not be ringing the bells so that everybody comes in?

03:02:27They are walking in.

03:02:31If they are outside, we will not count them.

03:02:36We will not count them because we should not be leaving the chamber while we are while we are in session. We should not.

03:02:46Just now we had a rush of DA from the leader of the DA walking in. We had a rush on this side walking in. Look at that. And and and the people that are most Colleagues, from where I'm sitting, the people that are most disruptive and most moving out is ActionSA. And I'm not picking on you.

03:03:12I'm not picking on you.

03:03:15Look at them walking in.

03:03:17You are provoking us, Speaker.

03:03:25Um there's two things I'm going to ask Rules before I give you a chance, Councillor. There's two things I'm going to ask Rules, Councillor Christians. There's two things I'm going to ask Rules. It's one of the things that we are walking up and down. And secondly, how our ladies dress coming to council.

03:03:51Remember, there's dressing that's parliamentary and there's dressing that's unparliamentary.

03:03:59And we are going to have that discussion. No, no, no, don't worry. I I I've noted who and where.

03:04:08Councillor I'm only going to take one ActionSA. Yes, Councillor over here, I'm taking you.

03:04:16Zwane.

03:04:17Thank you, Speaker.

03:04:18You'll go next. I want you to close it.

03:04:20Eh Speaker, I would like to call order on you eh because eh for some time now

03:04:29Councillors, please. Please.

03:04:32We had all the councillors that were coming in, only two were from ActionSA and the rest was from the EFF.

03:04:38Councillors, Councillors, he's talking to me, please.

03:04:43It's not the first time Speaker that you I'm not sure if you the image that you portraying to the South African eh or citizens of the City of Johannesburg is that ActionSA councillors are are ill-disciplined. Every now and then you pointing to ActionSA while there's other councillors that from other parties that are not disciplined. Please, eh Speaker, can you be fair on your on your comments. Thank you.

03:05:06Thank you. Councillor Councillor from where I'm sitting

03:05:13Councillor

03:05:14From where I'm sitting, I can see movement from the back, I can see movement from the back there. As I said earlier on, I had a rush from the DA coming in led by the DA leader of of of the DA. They all came in and she even apologized. She showed and she apologized.

03:05:39What about EFF?

03:05:41From that

03:05:43From that side

03:05:44Leave EFF alone!

03:05:46From that side, I could see Action come in. I dealt with EFF as well.

03:05:53I dealt with ANC as well. You are all and I'm saying this because it is the way it is. Councillor Belinda, can we close so we go to the next item?

03:06:04Madam Speaker, I just want to raise an issue. I want to just say, you know some of us have watches that tells us at this point in time you must take a comfort break because some of us are diabetic and all sorts of things, and we need to move. And I've got a concern that sometimes you are not considering those comfort breaks, and when we ask, then you are giving us evil eye.

03:06:27You must ask for a comfort break.

03:06:28So I'm just asking, can you work it into your program as regularly please so we stop going in and out. Thank you.

03:06:33Okay, we'll do that. We'll do that. Okay, we'll do that. How far are we with counting?

03:06:44Colleagues, we are still on 181. Can we go to the next item? Thank you.

Items 46-49 tabled: Public Safety; FF+ and DA critiques

03:06:51Uh Item Item 46 is the performance assessment report uh for the Public Safety Department for the 2024/25 financial year for the period April to June 2025, also read with Item 47, which is an oversight report of the Section 79 Public Safety uh Committee on the 2024/25 fourth quarter performance report of the Department of Public Safety for the period April to June 2025. Also read with Item 48, which is the performance assessment report for the Public Safety Department for the 2024 sorry, 2025/26 financial year for the period July to September 2025. And lastly read with Item 49, which is an oversight report for the Section 79 Public Safety Committee on the 2025/26 first quarter performance report of the Department of Public Safety for the period July to September 2025.

03:07:44The MEC is one the MMC is one of those that has an early apology, Councillor Nkonyeni. Um Member in charge, Councillor Makhuba. Chairperson.

03:07:58Thank you, Speaker. Greetings to the Executive Mayor in absentia, members of the Mayoral Committee, Chairpersons of committees, all councillors. All protocol observed.

03:08:16I rise to table Item 46, Item 47, Item 48 and Item 49 for Council's um um consideration. Thank you.

03:08:34Thank you, um member in charge, Chair Makhuba. Councillor Pelzer from the Freedom Front Plus.

03:08:46Thank you, Madam Speaker. All protocols observed. Today I want to start by giving the department a pat on the back. In the first quarter of the year, the Public Safety Department intensified their efforts to enforce bylaws and conducted a total of 2,506 interventions against the target of 2,500.claim

03:09:18So they made their target. Now this is praiseworthy because that is an area where the residents have lost hope and faith in the department. This is a step in the right direction.

03:09:33The KPI achievement still idles at 86% from quarter four through quarter one. Not down, but sadly not up.claim

03:09:46My broken record continues with the number of fraud and corruption cases received by Internal Affairs. 75 cases in the fourth quarter and 53 cases in the first quarter. Again, this is the Public Safety Department. How can the public feel safe with 128 fraud and corruption cases received by Internal Affairs in two quarters?claim

03:10:23Concerning finances, quarter four budget overspending by R238 million. Quarter one budget overspending by R273 million.

03:10:43Still sounds like a broken record. Same overspending quarter on quarter. The explanation from the department is staff allowances and the shift system.

03:10:58But still, it remains an overexpense on budget. It sounds like I'm copying and pasting my speech, but no, it is rinsing and repeating by the department. Thank you.

03:11:15Thank you, Councillor Pelzer. Councillor Maila from the DA.

03:11:38Madam Speaker, esteemed members of council, the people of Johannesburg. It is universally accepted by the entire democratic world that public safety is the first and highest obligation of any government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

03:12:05But this government does not agree with this view. It has demonstrated throughout these two quarters that it does not have the safety and security interests of the people of Johannesburg at heart.

03:12:22We know this, Madam Speaker, because of the inadequate police visibility and bylaw enforcement shortcomings which exacerbate urban decay and the collapse of city infrastructure in all 135 wards.claim

03:12:40We have the largest metropolitan police department with the largest police uh vehicle fleet of the country's eight metropolitan municipalities,claim

03:12:51but we hardly see JMPD vehicle patrols on our streets, especially at night. We do we what we do see, however, is the is the more than R500 million of unauthorized expenditure which the department spends annually in overtime payments to JMPD officers.claim

03:13:20What we see is a department that has allowed that has been allowed by this executive to operate without a full-time HOD for 3 years since the departure of Mr. Hlula Msimang in 2022.claim

03:13:36What we see, Madam Speaker, is an executive that has contracted private security companies to augment the almost non-existent security function to safeguard the city's assets, but is now failing to pay the very private security companies that are looking after the people's assets.claim

03:13:56What we see, Madam Speaker, is a city that has procured 15 fire engines for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 financial years,claim

03:14:10but fails to make payments to the service provider as these engines are delivered to the department, contrary to the provisions of Section 65(2)(e) of the Local Government Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003.claim

03:14:26What we see, Madam Speaker, is a recruitment process for more than 500 municipal police officers, which is riddled with allegations of corruption and nepotism.

03:14:40What we see, Madam Speaker, is incompetence and maladministration, which will come to an end when the DA takes over the City of Johannesburg in the upcoming 2026 local government elections. We believe in Joburg. I thank you.

Public Safety debate: PA, ATM, UDM, ActionSA and DA

03:15:03Thank you, Councillor Maila. Uh the next councillor is Councillor Steenkamp.

03:15:19There's a Steen Oh, okay. Sorry, sorry. I looked at No, no, no, you are right. You are right.

03:15:27Thank you, Madam Speaker. Uh today I want to greet you, Madam Speaker, the Executive Mayor in absentia, Caucus Leader of the Joburg 11, MMC Kunene, fellow councillors, and distinguished guests in the gallery. Today I just want to reaffirm that Coloured lives does matter. And as the Patriotic Alliance, we note the report. Thank you so much.

03:15:53Thank you, Councillor Steenkamp. Councillor Magwentshu, ATM. Chair Magwentshu.

03:16:03Speaker, I note the report. Thank you.

03:16:05Thank you, uh Chair Magwentshu. Chair Zigebe.

03:16:12Uh Speaker, um I rise to note the report, and this is not Ipi Ntombi closure and um content creation. We are governing here. Thank you.

03:16:29Thank you, Councillor Zigebe, Chair. Councillor Durand from ActionSA.

03:16:41Councillor Nkonyeni, you rose. Do you want to say something?

03:16:46Thank you. Councillor Durand.

03:16:48Greetings, Madam Speaker and fellow councillors once again. All protocols observed. Today we must confront the troubling state of the Public Safety Department. The recent performance of reports and financial statements reveal not just areas requiring improvement, but deep-rooted governance failures that demand urgent corrective action.

03:17:11The department has achieved only 88% of its key performance indicators. While some may argue this is a close target, we cannot afford to normalize mediocrity, least of all in a department tasked with ensuring safety and security of our residents. When it comes to the public safety, almost enough is simply not enough.claim

03:17:35Even more concerning are the financial deviations. This department has overspent 116% of its operational budget and an alarming 149% of its capital budget.claim

03:17:49Overspending at this scale compromises service delivery across the municipality and places a direct burden on our residents. We must also acknowledge the internal threats that continue to undermine stability. The department reports insufficient human capital, yet cannot provide basic human basic employment equity data, an unacceptable situation in 2025.claim

03:18:17The instability is further intensified by a wave of resignations and dismissals, creating an environment of uncertainty, low morale, and operational fragmentation. Instability is merely not an HR matter; it's a risk to public safety itself.

03:18:34Compounding this glaring inconsistency in disciplinary processes. We cannot claim to uphold integrity when one employee is fired for accepting a R10 bribe, while another has committed a criminal offense is merely demoted and still sits within the ranks of the department.

03:18:58This double standard not only erodes trust in the system, it sends the message that disciplinary outcomes depend not only on the rule of law, but on who the individual is or who protects them.

03:19:15Colleagues, we cannot lead a credible government when our own departments apply discipline selectively and inconsistently. Standardization and fairness in all disciplinary matters is non-negotiable. Accountability must apply equally, irrespective of rank, connection, or circumstance. Today I call on the executive and the City Manager to take the following urgent actions:

03:19:44Institute a forensic review of the budget overspend and implement strict financial controls. Stabilize the department by filling critical vacancies and implementing a targeted human capital. Produce complete and accurate employment equity data within the fixed timeframe.

03:20:06Standardize the disciplinary framework to ensure fairness, transparency, and alignment with labor legislation. Prioritize leadership stability. ActionSA's local government blueprint is grounded in modernization modernizing our infrastructure, enforcing real consequences for poor performance, and ensuring that procurement processes are transparent, fair, and corruption-free. We remain steadfast in our mission to build an ethical, capable, and responsive city.

03:20:41We cannot shy away from these issues. Our duty is not to protect comfort, but to protect communities. Let us act decisively, guided by integrity, transparency, and accountability. Our residents expect nothing less. Our mandate allows nothing less. ActionSA notes the report. Thank you.

03:21:00Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Da Rocha from the DA.

03:21:09Greetings to everyone in the chamber and to the citizens of Johannesburg. Dear Madam Speaker, please let me start by saying that this is not just a council speech. This is me as a ward councillor trying everything to highlight what myself and all my colleagues in this chamber are observing and going through. Ward councillors are committed people. They are committed to their constituents and they are committed to the areas they live in.

03:21:39My approach here is simple: let's try and fix Johannesburg. This administration might not feel like Johannesburg needs fixing, but the residents out there feel that it should be fixed, and they want it to be fixed.

03:21:54Now we all know that this city is falling apart by the seams, and still, there's not one soul in this administration that actually works towards fixing a broken system. Well, Madam Speaker, the DA's system is simple. Madam Speaker, what do we need in the city right now that could make a big change in the aesthetics of Johannesburg? We need a professional, no-nonsense Metro Police Department.

03:22:24Is our current Metro Police effective? No, they are not. Why I say this, because they do not enforce bylawlessness, they do not enforce bylaws. If they did, we would not have rubbish dumps lining up our pavements. We would not have illegal trading in just about everywhere.

03:22:46Heavy-duty trucks climbing on pavements, sleeping on the pavements, and destroying council infrastructure. If they did, we would not have restaurants operating in our pavements.

03:22:59Madam Speaker, we have industrial trucks dumping rubble on the sides of the road. You see, Madam Speaker, they do that because they can.

03:23:10They do that because our JMPD have no teeth. They have puppy teeth, and they don't even know how to bark, never mind enforce the law. Madam Speaker, you yourself as a councillor, you are a councillor, and you see exactly what I'm talking about.

03:23:27We don't go undercover to see what's out there out in the open. If this administration does not see what we all see, then they are all blind. They should get in touch of reality because I see what I see. Madam Speaker, I heard a comment that stated that Metro Police are traffic officers and they perceive themselves as such.

03:23:51They are not traffic officers, Madam Speaker. They are Metropolitan Police Officers. They ceased to be traffic officers when JMPD was formed, and now they are law enforcers, bylaw enforcers. So they cannot deviate from their mandates.

03:24:10The city didn't come up with the ways of getting JMPD to work. They started the JMPD 10; never worked. Now they call it ward-based policing. My understanding of ward-based policing is for police officers deployed in the wards to actually clean up the wards, not by sweeping with brooms, just by simply by enforcing bylaws. Madam Speaker, this ward-based policing, just like JMPD 10, only exists on paper. We have a reluctant police force that is not active; they are reactive.

03:24:5020 seconds. It's now 22.

03:24:56No, sorry, it's now 17, sorry. 16.

03:25:01They are reactive because we have to ask them to work in the wards ourselves. JMPD are turning councillors into service delivery agents. If we do not ask, we do not get. Now, Madam Speaker, yes

EFF and ANC on Public Safety performance

03:25:21Councillor Nenemba from the EFF.

03:25:28Councillor Nenemba from the EFF, are you here?

03:25:32AfrikaansAg, shame.

03:25:38Uh thank you very much once more, Speaker. Eh greetings to the leadership of the EFF and the councillors in the house.

03:25:48Firstly, Speaker, let it be known in this council that the Public Safety Department is performing.

03:25:57And it is performing under the political leadership of the EFF.

03:26:03Speaker, despite all despite budget constraints, despite inherited structural failures, despite provincial delays, the department has remained visible, disciplined, and impactful.

03:26:20Speaker, the numbers speak for themselves. 4,777 enforcement operations were done in the City of Johannesburg.claim

03:26:32181,874 vehicles were stopped in the City of Johannesburg.

03:26:40268 stolen vehicles were recovered in the City of Johannesburg.

03:26:47Over 1.6 million speed infringements were recorded in the City of Johannesburg.

03:26:541,397 drug confiscations were conducted in the City of Johannesburg,

03:27:01and licensing revenue exceeding targets. These are not PowerPoint dreams; these are real results on the ground.

03:27:1186% of KPIs were achieved, including over-performance in inspections, revenue collection, and drug-related operations. Where the city is failing in other departments, the Public Safety is at least holding the line and in many areas pushing forward.

03:27:32Speaker, we acknowledge the challenges: vandalized CCTVs, shortage of fire engines, budget pressures, and intergovernmental delays.

03:27:43But unlike other portfolios that hide behind excuses, this department continues to deliver, continues to innovate, continues to respond to our communities.

03:27:54We also welcome the youth empowerment programs, the safety campaigns, and the work supporting dignified settlement, because a safer city is not built by police alone, but by dignity, order, and opportunity.

03:28:10Speaker, let it be on record: the EFF supports these items because the work is visible, measurable, and aligned with building a safer Johannesburg.

03:28:22Where there is performance, we acknowledge it. Where there are challenges, we confront them. And where the city needs political will, the EFF provides it. Speaker, we note and acknowledge this report. Thank you very much.

03:28:37Thank you, Councillor Nenemba.

03:28:40Councillor Mmota.

03:28:45Greetings once again, Speaker. Greetings to the executive, greetings to the councillors.

03:28:51Councillor, can you just be Councillor, can you just take your seat for a second?

03:29:02Thank you, Speaker. Eh I think in one of the meetings I've asked, the aircon, when it's cold outside, please eh can you maybe not switch it on or something? We actually freezing here at the back.

03:29:17We'll talk to the people that deals with the aircon. Thank you.

03:29:22Thank you.

03:29:23Councillor Mmota.

03:29:25SepediKe a leboga, Modulasetulo.

03:29:28Eh Speaker, I rise on Item 46, 48, which looks at the performance assessment reports for the Public Safety Department for the periods of April to June and July to September 2025.

03:29:46Let me begin by extending congratulations to the department on the successful raid of hijacked buildings in Houghton. The African National Congress acknowledges and appreciates the efforts of our

03:30:01Sorry,

03:30:03our public

03:30:04our public safety officials.

03:30:07Councillor can you move the mic slightly away from your mouth.

03:30:10Okay, thanks Speaker.

03:30:13Yes, like that.

03:30:15Yes.

03:30:17The African National Congress acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of our public safety officials, and we are proud of their dedication in keeping the City of Johannesburg safe. For the period of April, June the department achieved overall performance of 86

03:30:38percent. The department achieved the traffic enforcement, crime prevention and disaster management are particular noted and we commend their efforts and dedication to safety and security of City of Joburg. As ANC we noted the report.

03:31:02Thank you, thank you colleague.

03:31:07Moving to the report

03:31:10moving to the report for the period of July, September department achieved an overall performance.

03:31:17Colleagues, colleagues, colleagues please.

03:31:24He noted one report so he's carrying on.

03:31:27Okay, no.

03:31:28Thank you, thank you Councillor.

03:31:29SepediEh Speaker, ke bana ba Koko.

03:31:33The African National Congress

03:31:38noted the report. Eh Speaker eh MMC Tshwaku eh really you are a hard worker.

03:31:53You are a real doctor,

03:31:55Sepediba ile ba re tlisetsa dokotela mo ya feila mo,

03:31:58that is why

03:31:59Sepedige re bona bare tlisetxa ngono ba re latela Koko.

03:32:02We note the report Speaker, thanks very much.

Executive reply on Public Safety; items 46-49 agreed

03:32:06Thank you Councillor. Um

03:32:13is Councillor Tshwaku MMC Tshwaku here? If not can I have one of the MMCs respond. Acting LOEB.

03:32:24They start to behave now I'm about to take the podium.

03:32:29But I'm here yeah. Eh Speaker thank you very much. Um

03:32:34I will make sure that he emails his speech to Dr. Tshwaku so that he responds eh to his debate. Eh but Speaker we we acknowledge all the contributions that have been made by councillors. Um and we appreciate eh that eh some of the councillors have been able to acknowledge eh the work that's been done by the department. Um Speaker MMC Tshwaku has been very transparent in this house eh in acknowledging the challenges that the department is facing. Eh but over and above that, he has been able to present um the mitigations to all those challenges. Um that department um had not eh been able eh to appoint the Chief of Police, something that this administration has been able to do. Eh and earlier on today he spoke about eh stabilizing the department eh including appointing the director responsible for by-law enforcement. So he has been able he has been articulating all those in this house. Um and we appreciate the work that has been doing um in the department. Eh right here in the inner city is JMPD that has been able to assist us eh in dealing with the informal traders that are not operating in the demarcated areas, and that is part of by-law enforcement. Eh and it's the work that we acknowledge and appreciate as this executive. So we really request eh the house to note this report and also appreciate the work that the department is doing in dealing with crime in the city. Thank

03:34:12Thank you MMC. Member in charge N. Makhuba.

03:34:20Thank you Speaker.

03:34:21Can you just hold on um member in charge. Da Rocha Councillor Da Rocha.

03:34:29Thank you Madam Speaker, I have to note that the MMC is so transparent that he can't even be seen.

03:34:42Yeah Da Rocha please. Um uh can I is that a point of order on a point of order?

03:34:52Yes yes Speaker.

03:34:53Ah but we can't do this. It's unprocedural.

03:34:58We want to correct some things Speaker.

03:35:01Can you then get up and speak Councillor.

03:35:05No thank you very much Speaker, I wanted to correct Councillor Da Rocha. It's not sank you, it's thank you.

03:35:11AfrikaansAi tog,

03:35:12you are delaying your own process. MMC Chair Makhuba.

03:35:18Thank you thank you very much Speaker. We request council to note these reports eh item 46, 47, 48 and 49 as per recommendations, thank you.

03:35:33Thank you member in charge. The recommendations are on page 46 uh .19, 47.4, 48.18 and 49.4, are the items agreed to?

03:35:45Agreed.

03:35:47Thank you. Uh STC.

Items 50-52 tabled: Health and Social Development; early debate

03:35:49We are now on item 50, which is the performance assessment report uh for the Health Department for the 2025/26 financial year, for the period July to September 2025. Also read with item 51, which is the performance assessment report for the Social Development Department for the 2025/26 financial year, for the period July to September 2025. And both items are read together with item 52, which is an oversight report of the Health and Social Development Section 79 Committee on the 2025/26 first quarter budget and performance assessment report of the Health Department and Social Development Department for the period July to September 2025.

03:36:31Member in charge Chair um Amad.

03:36:39Thank you Speaker. Um I'd like to greet the leaders from all political parties. The Executive Mayor in his absentia.

03:36:47Chair please speak more into the mic, thank you.

03:36:50Thank you so much. Speaker I rise to table the items as read by Secretary to Council, thank you.

03:36:59Thank you Chair Amad. Um ACDP uh Councillor Mkhonza.

03:37:10Yes, shalom, shalom Madam Speaker. Um greetings to all the councillors. I greet you all in the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Eh Madam Speaker as the ACDP we note um the item, and we also appreciate that the awareness programs aligns with the ACDP's policy eh document which asserts that um the health of a nation through primary healthcare and education positively contributes um to the economic growth. We will however closely monitor the umclaim

03:37:59the capital budget, which was um very low 0.73 against the target of 25 uh 25% on the second quarter will closely monitor that. I thank you Madam Speaker, thank you.claim

03:38:14Thank you Councillor Mkhonza. Councillor C. Fourie-Shawe from the DA.

03:38:25Speaker, fellow councillors, Johannesburg is in serious trouble. We need to confront a crisis that can no longer be avoided. Our city's Health Department is not failing, it is being failed. Speaker this report confirms the city has stripped the Health Department of the very resources required to function. And the people paying the price are not sitting in this chamber. They are sitting in queues at our clinics, they are mothers with sick children, they are elderly residents who rely entirely on this city for basic healthcare, there are families who cannot afford to go anywhere else.

03:39:05The report itself states that without funding, clinics face potential loss of life due to inadequate and uncalibrated medical equipment, undermining the core goals of primary healthcare. Nurses may be unable to uphold their professional pledge and ethical code, leading to frustration among staff who cannot perform their duties properly. This could also expose the city to legal claims for negligence, malpractice or even deaths. A R90 million was removed through the previous rebasing, the budget rebasing, leaving 76 clinics and environmental health offices vulnerable. Speaker this is not an unfortunate coincidence, it's the direct result of financial mismanagement and political decisions taken by the in absentia executive.claim

03:39:54Yet despite these suffocating constraints, our frontline staff delivered a 76% performance rate. They achieved targets in TB treatment success, HIV treatment, antenatal bookings, food safety and school environment checks. They are doing their jobs, they are doing more than their jobs, but they cannot continue performing miracles with no tools, no support and no budget. Speaker officials report zero budget for essential equipment, zero operational capital for basic clinic needs, zero, nothing has been allocated. No maintenance contractors because the city failed to secure a panel before the start of the financial year, and major clinic upgrades have come to a halt because invoices were not paid. Immunization coverage for children under one has missed the target. This is a warning sign. Speaker this brings us to the question that this council must answer. Where has the money gone? The Health Department received CAPEX allocation this year, so why are construction sites closed? Why can't basic service level agreements be signed? Why are we now told that projects can only continue when budget is available?claim

03:41:09We call on the executive to urgently explain why service delivery departments like health are being cut to the bone. Speaker Joburg's residents do not deserve watching clinics collapse while funds vanish. The DA will continue to hold this executive accountable because community health is not optional. It is the foundation of a functioning city, and its collapse is a direct threat to every household in Johannesburg. Speaker Johannesburg's Health Department is not failing, it is being failed. And council has a duty to fix it, and council has a duty to fix it, thank you.

03:41:47Thank you Councillor. ATM Councillor Magwentshu.

03:41:59Eh thank you Speaker. As agreed I'm noting the report, thank you.

03:42:04Thank you Councillor Magwentshu. Councillor D. Reyners PA.

03:42:12Thank you Madam Speaker, it's Councillor D. Wilskut and not D. Reyners.

03:42:20On the thing it's D. Reyners. Apologies.

03:42:25Greetings Madam Speaker, Executive Mayor in your absentia, Joburg 11 councillors under the capable leadership of MMC Kenny Kunene, all councillors, distinguished guests and fellow citizens. Coloured lives matters. Speaker

03:42:46Speaker as the Patriotic Alliance we note this report.

03:42:50Thank you Councillor Wilskut. Um GOOD Councillor M. Cook.

Cook on 'all lives matter' and point of order

03:43:01Thank you very much Speaker. Speaker while speaking about Social Development, I just need to raise something with you and it's a very serious matter to myself. It's something that I as somebody who grew up in a predominantly white household struggled with, and over time I took the learnings and I listened to others around me. And I'm going to take this just a few minutes, just to say that I humbly request everybody in this house to be a little bit more sensitive to something that is highly problematic that is happening currently in this house. The injustices of the past, apartheid, racism has played a massive role in our country. And council has a responsibility to fight for the marginalized, the forgotten, targeted communities. When we stand up and fight for GBV, we do not respond men's lives matter, because the fight for GBV is important. The fight for marginalized communities who are being gunned down in their communities is a fight that this entire council sees. Speaker there is much literature that has been written on the response of all lives matter. It is inappropriate in this house to respond to coloured lives matter with all lives matter. And anybody that needs to go and do some reading on this Speaker, there's lots of reading on this. But it is there's serious notions of white supremacy and other things that come through with the response all lives matter. We cannot turn around when we fight GBV and say men's lives matter.

03:44:41Councillors, Councillors, Councillor Belinda your point of order. Ai Councillors. Councillor Sherman.

03:44:52Madam Speaker, Councillor Cook is out of order. First of all, all lives all lives do matter, including the people in Soweto who have not had electricity, including the people in Coronation who have not had water and who are being gunned down. So all

03:45:31I will say I will say I will say I will say to all of you, I will say to all of you, my life matters so I spoke out. Thank you Councillor.

03:45:57Councillor Belinda can you switch off your mic. Press and switch off.

03:46:08Thank you Speaker. I did start very humbly Speaker by saying that it took me a lot to acknowledge my privilege and to understand the deeper cause of this, and I was urging councillors to go and read up on it. Because it's easy to say things, but the meaning behind those things is important, and as this house we have a responsibility to fight for the marginalized, to be their voice.

03:46:33You have 57 seconds.

03:46:35I don't need the 57 seconds Speaker, thank you I note the report.

ANC and UDM on Health budget

03:46:39Thank you so much. Thank you Councillor GOOD. Councillor Hlatshwayo from the ANC.

03:47:01Councillor Hlatshwayo.

03:47:05Is Councillor Hlatshwayo here? Councillor um from GOOD Cook, can you just press your thing again. Okay there we go on, thank you.

03:47:19Speaker, greetings to you Speaker. Greetings to the Executive Mayor in his absence, Chief Whip, Chair of Chairs, councillors and residents of Johannesburg. I rise in item 50, concerning the report of the Social Development period of July 20 July to September 2025. Before I address the challenge I would like to first confirm the achievement of the Health Department for the quarterly July to September 2025. The department has achieved 75.6% and through its HIV and AIDS program, it reached over 2000 HIV positives patients. We appreciate the continued commitment of our health workers despite difficult conditions. However, it is important to highlight that the department has been operating without the operational budget for the past two years. This has placed strain on clinics and slow the completion of essential facilities eh that communities urgently needs.claim

03:48:46As the Section 79 Committee, our oversight is limited when departments lack the resources required to function effectively. This is clearly a financial capacity issue, not a lack of effort. We therefore urge the administration to prioritize restoring the department operational budget so that the service delivery can improve and ongoing project can be completed. Let us work together to build a city where development includes the strong well resourced health service that meets the needs of all our residents in the City of Johannesburg. Thank you Speaker I note the report.

03:49:31Thank you Councillor Hlatshwayo. Can we have Councillor Zigebe from the UDM. Chair.

03:49:42Thank you very much Speaker. Madam Speaker um Councillor Cook forgot to mention colonialism when he was speaking about the injustices of the past. It's important to note this and to reiterate it because an alleged colonial apologist is coming to the City of Johannesburg in the nameemotive

03:50:00isiXhosaof uGogo. So kufuneka sitsho lento into yokuba

03:50:03we are going back instead of going forward as this city. Instead we've got councillors from that party

03:50:11Councillors, Councillors, ai maan. You are standing in your own way to go home. Carry on Councillor Zigebe.

03:50:22Eh yeah no uh Speaker, Councillor Belinda can sit till tomorrow because um her job is on the line. Um the department has done very well. Eh the department is doing very well under immense pressure. Uh you should note that the department has uh limited resources and I would like us um when we are looking at the adjustment budget to make sure that we allocate more resources to the Department of Health and also the Department of Social Development. These are the people that are looking after our lives and are looking after the entire city's well-being. That uh includes people with disabilities, the LGBTQI+ community and young people of this and old people which in the next uh coming elections or after in the next term it would include uGogo Helen Zille. Thank you very much Speaker we note the report.

Speaker's dispute over order and removal threat

03:51:21Councillor Mposula from ActionSA, Mposula. Councillor Maila, Councillor Maila, Councillor Maila, can you Councillor Smouse, Councillor Smouse, Councillor Smouse, Councillor Avant-Smith, Councillor Avant-Smith, okay I'm going to remove Councillor Maila. I'm going to remove Councillor Maila. Can you please stop. Councillor Mposula can you carry on. No, no, no colleagues, colleagues I'm the one that makes decisions. No, no, no Councillor Belinda, Councillor Belinda I have asked Councillor Maila to stop. He keeps on calling someone with one seat, and when I call no, no, no Councillor, Councillor when I call no, no, no I'm not biased.

03:52:39EFF, EFF can you be quiet, all of you be quiet. Councillor Belinda I called on Councillor Maila about five times to say Councillor stop it because I've already called the councillor from the EFF to stand and he was ready to speak. I then called on you, I then called on the whip and nobody the whip actually turned and looked that way. I called him three times and I carried on with Councillor Maila. I was not being biased, I was asking for him to stop because I heard from here how he was screaming you with your one seat. So can we stop Councillor Smouse, uh-uh, uh-uh we don't do that. Councillor Mposula can you stand up and do your speech, thank you. I'm not taking hands. Can you keep quiet on this side. Can you keep quiet or you will be out, quiet.

ActionSA, DA and EFF on Health and Social Development

03:53:46Councillor Mposula it's your I apologize for keeping you. You can carry on.

03:53:53Greetings to you Madam Speaker, you are forgiven and it is actually not your fault um because we have got um councillors actually you know who are failing to keep the decorum of the house and it is so disappointing because the residents are watching the proceedings of the house and it is unacceptable. Madam Speaker eh I am rising to eh speak on item 50, 51 and 52 and in the interest of time Madam Speaker I'm not going to go through my speech, but there are few things that I want to point out um as far as uh Health Department eh is concerned and Social Development. Um the department is in crisis Madam Speaker um because of budget constraints. And it is unfortunate that it is our people on the ground that you know are affected by the inefficiencies that are happening eh in terms of shortage of um you know equipment, essential equipments like your BP monitors. Um we did an oversight visit at Siphumlile Clinic in Snake Park. It was so disappointing to find the condition eh of that clinic, it is neglected um the staff morale is low, there is high absenteeism rate um you know because people are lacking actually you know tools of trade and it is so disappointing. Um and there are number of factors that actually contribute to you know these inefficiencies. Number one, um we have got units that are not legislated eh Madam Speaker eh parallel structures were created. The limited resources that we are having you know in Health Department they are being used in units that are not even supposed to be in existence, and I'm going to point out the urban inspectors. Urban inspectors is a parallel structure, actually I liken them to the Amapanyaza of Health Department because they are not legislated. I don't know what is their role because we have got um you know the EHPs eh that actually you know um in crisis they need to be capacitated, we have got a shortage eh of environmental health practitioners, yet we have got the urban inspectors that are duplicating what is being done or that is supposed to be done by um EHPs. So those are the things that needs to be fixed Madam Speaker. Um and I just want to point out eh as we need to take stock um you know on the period 2016 and 2019 when Herman Mashaba was a mayor you know we can really you know learn from the achievement of that great man. Madam Speaker, Herman Mashaba during his tenure he managed you know to ensure that 37 clinics you know eh are getting extended operating hours you know and that is an achievement. So those are the things that we need to celebrate and those are the things that we need to learn from. Eh right now we have got clinics like the one that I've just quoted, there is a JoJo tank there as we know that we have got water interruptions from time to time. There is a JoJo tank there that is not connected to the um plumbing system. You find healthcare workers you know um getting the buckets you know eh for basic sanitation and patient care, that is unacceptable and it is an undignified situation that they find themselves in. So these failures really eh they need to be addressed. We cannot have an essential department like the Department of Health being under-budgeted for eh and it really need to be fixed. I urge you eh MMC, I like you very much eh but it is time that we need to have these conversations and ensure that you know eh resources are redirected to Department of Health and Social Development. ActionSA notes this report, thank you so much.claim

03:58:03Thank you Councillor. Councillor N. Mohamed from the DA.

03:58:18Honorable Speaker, fellow councillors, members of the public present in the gallery, I greet you all. I hereby rise to speak on behalf of the Democratic Alliance in item 51, the performance assessment report for the Social Development Department for the 2025/2026 financial year period. Skills development is one of the most crucial approaches to eliminate unemployment and poverty. The focus should be to create a workforce that is capacitated with skills. However, in this report the department key performance indicators indicate that the city did not reach its target as the number of beneficiaries enrolled for skills development program was less than targeted. This shows a gap in skills analysis and the lack of understanding of the objectives and significance of skills development and the lack of policy implementation. The department has been unable to optimize on their skills hub and integrate different community-based skills training programs. One of the big issue the department faces is the stakeholder relations and strategy, and this can be seen across all key performance indicators. The department faces lack of funding, insufficient stakeholder engagement and partnerships. Skills development must be approached holistically by seeking public-private partnerships as a way to foster economic growth. Social Development is a department that is mandated to ensure that socioeconomic

04:00:00rights are realized. Beneficiaries must always be a priority and that can only be achieved by ensuring that all key performance indicators are met. To alleviate poverty and unemployment, the department must consider doing a clear needs analysis while making use of the information accessible through research outputs available to the city, either quantitative or qualitative.

04:00:29This will ensure that the objectives are clearly defined. It is also important to consider the demand of the economy and to be future-forward and innovative when approaching skills development, and it must not be treated as a box-ticking exercise, but a measuring tool to achieve economic growth and activity. I thank you.

04:00:55Thank you, Councillor Mohamed. Councillor Ndou from the EFF. Councillor, can you press your Okay, just press it. Okay, there we go.

04:01:09Thank you, Speaker. Greetings to the leadership of the EFF, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku and Caucus leader Our caucus leader, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku and Chief Whip Councillor Tsabisa Mogapi, councillors of the EFF and all protocol observed. The committee have noted the additional information that highlights reasons for not achieving the targets

04:01:40and we will continue to monitor the performance as the financial year unfolds. The department have reported reasons for un-achievement of the quarterly targets such as budget constraint that resulted into not paying service providers, which delays mostly into the social development. Other than that, the department is doing well under the leadership of the EFF. Speaker, we note the reports. Thank you.

MMC Makhafola reply; items 50-52 agreed

04:02:09Thank you, Councillor. Councillor Nzimande from C. Nzimande from the ANC. Is Councillor Nzimande not here, or is Councillor Nzimande here? Okay, we move on. MMC Makhafola.

04:02:41Thank you very much, Speaker, and good afternoon to yourself and the house at large. Speaker, let me start by saying um words or sentences that were not even mentioned. Um the Department of Social Development achieved 95% at its quarter of uh ya quarter one, and 76% ke ya Health. I think that is where they were supposed to start, akere. You must give credit where it's due.claim

04:03:11Number one, Speaker, um I would like to appreciate the comments made by the councillors, and indeed, we are really having financial constraints in the department, both departments, Social and Health. Speaker, the department has achieved several notable accomplishments, which includes your service delivery network expansion. Um we have maintained a network of 75 fixed clinics, one satellite clinic, and also 10 mobile clinics to improve access to health services.claim

04:03:38Speaker, also note that we have um extended and opened Westbury Clinic as an MOU which is functional for 24 hours a day. Number two would be under environmental health um compliance. We have inspected 82% of formal premises, also 88% of public schools with high compliance with health legislature. We have embarked and increased our community health outreach and health promotion, and I'm glad that it was um noted by Councillor Mkhonza.claim

04:04:08Speaker, we have also made sure that with digital transformation, we put more of our work and focus there. The infrastructure development of the department, we have concluded phase one of Hikhensile Clinic project, um and it's also ongoing. We are planning for uh facilities like your Rabie Ridge, Freedom Park, and Elias Motsoaledi Clinic. But the issue, like all councillors have said, Speaker, is the financial constraints.claim

04:04:34In this period under review, the health service delivery performance was maintained meaningfully through service delivery efforts despite operational challenges that have been mentioned, um with a 76%, as I've said, and the performance indicator achieved in this first quarter. Overall, Speaker, the department's performance shows significant progress aligned with the city's priorities, but also it underscores areas requiring further intervention to fully attain the set objectives. And number one, which we all highlighted, was the budget constraints.claim

04:05:08Speaker, the City of Johannesburg's development strategy, particularly the 2024 Growth um and Development Strategy, and the city's 11 strategic priorities, the department contributes to the city's key uh goals, such as building a caring, safe cities and secure communities, promoting also public health, and ensuring equitable access to health services through its network of clinics, its mobile clinics, and also health uh initiatives. However, Speaker,

04:05:37the challenges impacting the Department of Health service delivery in 2025/2026 includes operational, financial, and also systemic issues. The key challenges include um the operational timing and accessibility, which is difficulties in reaching certain populations, especially in informal settlements and hard-to-reach areas, which affected our immunization. On the report, um it's stated there.

04:06:02What I want to dwell on, and which is the most difficult part for us, is the funding constraints and also the budget rebasing that the councillors spoke about. The department faces significant financial challenges, including reduced allocations for OPEX budget. The budget rebase has resulted in allocations that are insufficient to cover the increased cost of running these clinics in the city and the facilities, especially with the expansion of clinic infrastructure without corresponding the OPEX funding for repairs,

04:06:32maintenance, and also day-to-day operational costs. This affects the sustainability and also the quality of services. But even with all these challenges uh mentioned here, Speaker, we are continuing

04:06:51Sesothoha re fele moya,

04:06:52we are continuing without the money. Speaker, I would like to correct Councillor um Mposula. Councillor Mposula, the urban inspectors are not allocated or um found go Health, they are in CRUM. So they are not in our department, so I encourage you to read the report more so that next time when you come, at least you come with facts. So I'm going to speak, uh Speaker, on the issues um related to

04:07:2220 seconds, MMC.

04:07:24improving our department. Speaker, with all the challenges that I've mentioned, um the Department of Health and Social Development continues to offer the residents and the citizens of the City of Johannesburg with the utmost service delivery and respect that they deserve. Thank you so much.

04:07:40Thank you, Councillor. Member in charge, Chair Amad. Member in charge. Um MMC, can you press your Yeah, just press it.

04:08:04Press, press, MMC. Press off. Yeah. Okay, Amad is on. Thank you.

04:08:13Thank you, Speaker. Um I want to conclude by saying real families stick together and see through the mirage. So, as the committee, we have demonstrated that through the difficulties and challenges that we've had. Uh however, Speaker, I would like uh council to note this report. Thank you so much.emotive

04:08:39Thank you so much, Chair. Uh recommendations are on page 50.19, 51.5, and 52.16. Are the items agreed to?

04:08:50Agreed.

04:08:51Next item, STC.

Items 53, 55 and 56 read in without debate

04:08:53Item 53 are terms of reference for Section 79 Public Safety Committee.

04:08:59We don't have speakers, but can we have member in charge to read into record?

04:09:06Thank you, Speaker. I rise to table item 53, which is the terms of reference of the Section 79 Public Safety Committee, as amended during the strategic planning session held on the 14th and the 15th of August 2025, and adopted by the committee. The committee recommends that council approves the report. Thank you.

04:09:30Thank you, member in charge. The recommendation is on page 53.2. Is the item agreed to?

04:09:36Agreed.

04:09:37STC, next item.

04:09:39Item 55 is an oversight visit report of the Section 79 Finance Committee to Sandton Revenue Centre on the 7th of November 2025, also read together with item 56, which is an oversight visit report of the Section 79 Finance Committee to Johannesburg Water and City Power on the 13th of November 2025.

04:10:02We don't have speakers, so will the Chair of Finance read into record?

04:10:09Thank you very much, Speaker. I rise uh to read in item 55 and item 56, the Section 79 Finance Committee oversight visit reports to both the Sandton Revenue Centre and uh Johannesburg Water and City Power. Thank you.

04:10:28Thank you. The recommendations are on page 55.7 to 55.8, 56.5 to 56.6. Are the items agreed to?

04:10:40Agreed.

04:10:41Thank you. STC.

Items 65-70 tabled: Group Finance and GICT; FF+ and DA on finances

04:10:44Item 65 is a performance assessment report for the Group Finance Department for the 2024/25 financial year for the period April to June 2025, read with item 66, which is the performance assessment report for the Group Information Communication Technology Department for the 2024/25 financial year for the period April to June 2025, read also with item 67, which is an oversight report of the Section 79 Finance Committee on the 2024/25 fourth quarter performance assessment report

04:11:14of the Group Finance Department and Group Information Communication Technology Department for the period April to June 2025, also read with item 68, and that's the performance assessment report for the Group Finance Department for the 2025/26 financial year for the period July to September 2025, also read with item 69, which is the performance assessment report for the Group Information Communication Technology Department for the 2025/26 financial year for the period July to September 2025,

04:11:44and lastly read with item 70, which is the oversight report of the Section 79 Finance Committee on the 2025/26 first quarter performance assessment reports of the Group Finance Department and Group Information Communication Technology Department for the period July to September 2025.

04:12:04Thank you so much, STC. Member in charge, Councillor M. Cook, Chair.

04:12:13Thank you, Madam Speaker. Um I rise to table the reports for discussion, item 65, item 66, item 67, item 68, item 69, and item 70 on behalf of the Section 79 Finance Committee.

04:12:31Thank you, member in charge. Can we have Freedom Front Plus, Councillor Boer?

04:12:37AfrikaansDrie minute.

04:12:38Thank you, Madam Speaker. For the last time of this year, um I'm greeting you, I'm greeting all fellow councillors. I'm greeting the caucus leader of the Freedom Front, Councillor Franco De Lange, also the fabulous four from the Freedom Front, the only party in council that have the well-being of all the residents in the city at heart. Um I'm going to speak on item 68, the quarterly report for the first quarter of Group Finance. And Madam Speaker, I think it may be said that

04:13:09something that we really have to mention in this report is that international credit rating agencies has improved the rating of the City of Johannesburg from negative to stable. Uh it's only a one-liner in the report, but it's something really noteworthy. Having said that, that doesn't mean that the financial problems of the city are over. Um if we look at this report, our collection rate for the first quarter was 90%. It looks fabulous, but it was distorted. Umclaim

04:13:39we had other levies billed for 209 million and we collected there 600 million, and we couldn't get an adequate answer of what those other levies are and why we collecting 400 million more than we have billed. Um if you take that out of the equation, then the collection rate is down to 87.4%, which is still not bad, but it could be better. Um Madam Speaker, the city has two stumbling blocks. The one is the collection rate in Region D and Region G.claim

04:14:11Those are still huge, huge problems. Their collection rate is still standing at 45 to 50%. Of course, the other stumbling block is uh City Power that is losing 2 billion rand a quarter, which the city uh can use in many other instances. Madam Speaker, I'm closing off. Um yesterday I said that our long-term rating on debt is healthy,claim

04:14:35but our short-term debt is looking disastrous. Um from the report we see that our short-term debt, our trade payables are standing at 24.6 billion rand, while we only have 2.4 billion rand in the bank. Madam Speaker, 24 billion rand in outstanding payables. We collect 5 billion rand a month. It means if we do not spend any money on anything except to pay our trade payables, it will take us 5 monthsclaim

04:15:04to pay this debt, and this is a stumbling block to the city. All the reports are complaining about lack of funding, lack of budget. Um the budget is there.claim

04:15:14Afrikaans29 sekondes.claim

04:15:16The cash flow is not there, and we really have to put in huge efforts to improve the cash flow of the city. We cannot sit with 24 billion rand worth of trade payables. This is going to sink the city, and we really I urge the City Manager and the CFO to really uh address those issues because they are critical. Thank you very much.

04:15:36AfrikaansBaie dankie.

04:15:37Councillor Santana from the DA.

04:15:43Uh thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, before I commence, I just want to give uh my extra minutes to Councillor Suddaby, um if you don't mind. Uh she can have the 2 minutes out of my 4. Um so let me just proceed. I'm going to be speaking on item 68 myself as well. I have largely been covered by Councillor Boer, uh but just to note that it's unfortunate once again that the Group Finance literally only sat in the month of November, um and the last time we sat was in June of this year.

04:16:13So one of the critical uh committees always seems to be delayed or uh musical chairs being played with chairpersons, and we're one of the critical ones together with MPAC. So I'm appealing to council that we actually stabilize our oversight committees to do the work that needs to be done. Over and above that, Madam Speaker, what was also unfortunate was the fact that when we did go um to do our oversight, I am going to mention our oversight, to Joburg Water and City Power,claim

04:16:43uh we were promised in Group Finance that the regional offices would be capacitated with the relevant um Joburg Water and City Power officials to deal with residents' account queries. That is not the case on the ground. Um and that was obviously what we picked up at the Sandton Revenue Centre, which then I'm assuming is across the board. So I would like this council to address those issues, that any political issues that are interfering with trying to get

04:17:1545 seconds.

04:17:16um residents' issues resolved be put aside and we actually deal with this matter. Madam Speaker, um obviously the other issue we would like to be covered in our quarterly reports is the statement of financial position. We have requested that, and it's unfortunate that once again we also don't have the Section 71 reports for both September and October in this council sitting, which would have also assisted us in determining the position that the city finds itself. I thank you.

Finance and GICT debate: ANC, ActionSA and DA

04:17:41Thank you so much. Councillor Maswazi from the ANC, you have 2 and a half minutes. Is Councillor Maswazi here?

04:17:52Um Speaker, I will be speaking on behalf of Councillor Maswazi, Councillor Sindani, Councillor Modupi, and Councillor Nofemela.

04:18:08You are speaking on behalf of Councillor Modupi, which gives you another 2 and a half minutes. You're speaking on Councillor Sindani, which gives you another 2 and a half minutes, and then Councillor Maswazi's 2 and a half minutes. 2, 4, 6. So you have 7 and a half minutes.

04:18:28Thank you, Madam Speaker, and greetings to you.

04:18:31Oh, then your own, ne?

04:18:33Yes.

04:18:34Then your own 2 and a half. Okay, 10 minutes. Sorry, I didn't see your name at the bottom there. Thank you, Councillor.

04:18:41Um greetings to you, Madam Speaker, the Executive Mayor in absentia, ANC caucus, and fellow councillors. Uh Madam Speaker, as the ANC caucus, we are noting the report. Thank you.

04:18:55Ayi, Councillor Nofemela! You made me count so hard! Councillor Nkonyeni, ActionSA.

04:19:13isiZuluNgicela uhlale la.

04:19:16Okay. Greetings, Speaker, the fabulous 44, uh residents of City of Johannesburg, the handsome caucus leader, Marcel Coutriers. I was told I was given an instruction by my caucus leader. Um Madam Speaker, no, not Munyayi. Madam Speaker, across all four reports,

04:19:48we see progress in collections, ICT uptime, and smart city initiatives. These achievements deserve recognition, but systemic weaknesses persist: a 65.6 billion debtors book, infrastructure delays, repeated Wi-Fi rollout failures, and KPIs marked as unable to measure. ActionSA recognizes the minimal improvements,claim

04:20:16but remains firm in its critique. Improvement is too slow and financial risks remain high. Council must demand stronger financial controls, faster ICT implementation, and an aggressive approach to reducing the debt burden. Residents deserve a city that is financially disciplined, technologically modern, and capable of delivering services efficiently. Speaker, Dr Nasiphi Moya represents competence,

04:20:47integrity, and the rise of young black female leadership. Instead of celebrating that, those to my left target her because her leadership exposes their own failures. They preach black empowerment and women's rights, but they can't stand seeing a black woman succeed outside of their patronage network. Thank you, Speaker. [00:21:08] (no speech)

04:21:11Councillor Suddaby, you have um 6 minutes. You've been given 2 minutes by Santana.

04:21:27Thank you, Madam Speaker, plus the 10 from Councillor Nofemela? And a no? A big no? Thank you, thank you, Madam Speaker. All protocol observed. I rise to speak on items 66 and 69, the performance assessment reports for the GICT Department for the 24/25 quarter four and 25/26 quarter one.claim

04:21:56Madam Speaker, the ineptitude of this department renders one flabbergasted. From a quarter four closeout at a mediocre 71%, it follows a steady decline. This department has plummeted off the cliff to an underwhelming 33%. That's barely a matric pass grade and meaningless because the targets are hollow and unable to deliver on the department's stated mandate.claim

04:22:28There was an opportunity to revise the KPIs for the 25/26 financial year, but leadership chose instead to carry those meaningless KPIs forward into this financial year. Only three of only seven KPIs are measured quarterly, and two of the KPIs, two of those seven KPIs are dependent on the performance of MTC, which itself only achieved 63% of its ownclaim

04:22:57KPIs. And both of these KPIs that GICT depends on MTC for have contractual issues at MTC. And so the department blames MTC for the non-achievement of the KPI, the percentage of monthly users accessing the city's public Wi-Fi network, due to one of those contractual issues. And that KPI was sneakily changed from the number of Wi-Fi hotspots rolled out without a presentationclaim

04:23:31of a revised business plan. On the delivery of the Wi-Fi hotspots in quarter four, only 193 of the 300 hotspots were rolled out. But as there was no budget allocated to it last year, this meager rollout triggered unauthorized expenditure. The KPI number of desktops and laptops refreshed for COJ users,claim

04:24:00which is a bi-annual target, cannot get out of the starting blocks because there is no budget allocated to this KPI for this year. What's it doing on the scorecard? Operational budget is underspent in quarter one because the year-end processes prevented most of the processing in quarter one. In this digital age, there is no excuse for not implementing a 100% system accessibilityclaim

04:24:32alongside the consistent achievement of 97% of the KPI, the percentage of uptime of ICT systems. The only other ray of sunshine is that the smart city projects currently seem to be on track. Other methods of allocating an annual budget than Grade 10 level straight-line exist. There should be no budget allocation in quarter one for the procurement phase for the KPI number of data centers upgraded.claim

04:25:06Quarter one CAPEX budget should be loaded with the full amount of the Microsoft licenses, as these are consistently paid for annually in advance. The reporting on the mSCOA project misleads council by stating that the project began in 2023, when in fact it started in 2014. Phase two, which is that 15 business processes must be mSCOA compliant by December 2025,claim

04:25:38and phase one has yet to be implemented. Until GICT leadership is held accountable, until the KPIs deliver an innovative, state-of-the-art, agile service to benefit all our residents, until budget is linked to KPIs, and KPIs are self-contained within the department, residents will continue to pay for promises instead of progress.claim

04:26:08GICT must consider itself on notice. It has a year to shape up before Helen Zille is the mayor. Under a DA government with real commitment to a clean audit, as evidenced by Midvaal's 12th consecutive clean audit, such failure will not be condoned without consequence. The DA notes these reports with dismay and requests for consequence management to be applied for this dismal performance. I thank you. [00:26:45] (no speech)claim

EFF note, Executive reply and items 65-70 agreed

04:26:53Councillor Nethamba from the EFF. Is Councillor Nethamba here?

04:27:04Um he is here, Speaker. Um Councillor Zitha will speak. Uh greetings to you, greetings to the EFF party leaders, uh greetings to the MMC of Health and Social Development, uh Chairperson of MPAC, and welcome back, CM, officially coming from me.

04:27:33Uh Speaker, we as the EFF note this report. Thank you.

04:27:41Thank you, Councillor Zitha. Um can we have the member of the Executive that's standing in?

04:27:55Thank you very much, uh Madam Speaker. We note all the submissions from our councillors and the concerns, and I would really appreciate, Councillor Santana, if you can uh elaborate more perhaps after the meeting in terms of the issue in Region E, I think that you were referring to, so that I can be able to uh forward it to the MMC responsible. But otherwise, Madam Speaker, all inputs are noted. Thank you very much.

04:28:25Thank you so much, MMC. Member in charge, Councillor M. Cook.

04:28:33Thank you very much, uh Speaker. Before I close, I would like to thank the Finance Committee. Uh the last couple of months have been a little bit frustrating as a committee in general, with the backwards and forwards of dates which have been mentioned, and I think the committee knows uh I myself, the coordinator, and the researcher have tried desperately, but in the last couple of weeks, the committee really came together, and I just want to applaud uh the committee for their determination last week to complete a backlog of 39 items uh which had backed up since June. So um with that, uh I would like to close off on item 65 to 70. Thank you, Speaker.claim

04:29:14Thank you, Councillors. Recommendations on pages 65.4, 66.2, 67.12, 67.13, 68.3, 69.3, and 70.13. Are the items agreed to?

04:29:33Agreed.

04:29:35STC.

Item 73: changes in membership of Section 79 committees

04:29:39Uh council, our item, sorry, item 73 is changes in membership of various Section 79 committees.

04:29:47Councillor Mogapi.

04:29:53Thank you, Speaker. We note the changes.

04:29:59Chief Whip

04:30:00Good.

04:30:03Uh, thank you, Speaker. Uh, I rise on item 73. We note the report.

04:30:16Okay. The item is, it's on page 73.3, is the item agreed to? Thank you, colleagues.

Announcements, recess and close

04:30:34Uh, councillors, we're now on announcements. Thank you.

04:30:36Thank you, colleagues. Um, it's not announcements per se, but I want to say that, uh, when it comes to petitions, uh, entities receive petitions, but fail to pre- to provide the reports, or even make contact with the petitioners. Um, I also want to speak on the sword and the mayoral chain. Access will be granted to view, as we have nothing to hide. I also want to say that MMCs, as well as the Mayor, must realise

04:31:09that section 79 committees are not just a by the way. And it should be taken very seriously, um, as, as we, uh, go forward. But, I also want to say thank you so much, councillors, for your attendance and your contributions. Recess will only commence from the 11th of December to the 13th of January 2026. We wish you a rested festive. Councillor Schay,

04:31:41is it a point of order on me?

04:31:43Speaker, can we just add that the message that you pass on to the MMCs and Mayor also applies to council. Thank you.

04:31:49Pardon?

04:31:51Council is also not a by the way for the MMCs and Mayor.

04:31:54Thank you. So, you are on recess as from the 11th to the 13th of January. Be safe. Don't do all the things that you are not supposed to do.

04:32:06Schay, you hardly get tired of reprimanding. Schay,

04:32:10isiZuluhamba uyolala, hamba uyolala.

04:32:11It's festive.

04:32:18They must