Africa-Press – South-Africa. ActionSA has rejected claims by environmental and infrastructure services (EISD) MMC Jack Sekwaila that homeless people are to blame for dirty streets and infrastructure theft in Johannesburg.
Sekwaila, the City authority tasked with ensuring streets remain clean and infrastructure is maintained, told News24 this week that he believed the homeless worsened litter and dirt issues by raiding dustbins for cans and other materials they could sell.
He made the comment after Anglican Archdiocese Bishop Stephen Moreo posted a video on Sunday in which he criticised recently elected Al Jama-ah Mayor Thapelo Amad and the government for the state of the area outside the Cathedral of St Mary the Virgin in the CBD.
In the video, Moreo could be heard saying: “I have never seen something like this and especially in a world-class city! Hosanna! Mr Mayor and your local government, I don’t think in your chambers you have something like this! Hosanna! Mr Mayor and previous mayors, you have come to this cathedral for prayer, yet today we have something like this. Hosanna! Save our Cathedral! Save our Cathedral!”
ActionSA’s EISD portfolio head, Khomotjo Mashala, said in a statement on Thursday that the ANC was to blame for poor policies and corruption that plagued the city and put it in the state it was in.
“Homeless individuals are forced to scavage for materials they can sell to survive because, in the 29 years the ANC has been in government, the ANC has been unable to create adequate jobs or improve the lives of our people.
“Instead, unemployment, poverty, and hunger have been on the rise with millions more now requiring state aid simply to feed their families, with thousands of people forced out of their homes and onto the streets.”
Amad, however, seemed to take the criticism in good stride in an interview with the SABC on Friday.
The mayor said he was still learning about the various dynamics in the City but acknowledged its deteriorating state and asked for more time to deal with the situation.
“Give us some time. Just be patient. The City itself is reshaping. Politics in the City of Johannesburg are re-emerging. The City is going to the right direction where we are right now. Remember, as the City of Johannesburg, we are a City that is accommodative of immigrants. We have a population of about six point something million people who are in the City as we speak.”
He claimed to have secured a R9.5-billion loan with an undisclosed stakeholder to tackle service delivery issues and install innovative technology.
Amad called on stakeholders, churches, and communities to help resuscitate the City and its economies to restore its pride.
He briefly referred to the Bishop’s video, saying the church had a “mandate” to clean and educate people about littering, which he labelled as a behavioural pattern that should be tackled.
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