Dumelang, Molweni, Sanbonani, Goeie More, Good Morning,

Today, we are in Randburg to have a critical conversation about the future of Johannesburg.

It's evident that service delivery has collapsed in the last 6 years. Just look at how residents have been plagued with rubbish piling up, sewage overflows, rampant crime, sky-high rates, potholes, and a governing coalition that is more concerned with political jockeying than governing.

Since 2016, Johannesburg has had no less than nine mayors from parties such as the DA, ANC, and micro-parties such as Al-Jamah. None of these mayors left a lasting positive legacy, except for one. Only one mayor of Johannesburg promised a programme of action and delivered results – and that was Herman Mashaba.

This is precisely why ActionSA has launched this Mashaba Legacy Tour campaign. Rightfully depressed voters will tell you that politicians are all talk, and no action. But Herman Mashaba broke that mold because he was the one mayor of Johannesburg that took action to get this city working. He is the one mayor of Johannesburg who was getting the basics right.

Today we stand in front of the Roosevelt Park substation, one of many sites of electricity infrastructure that benefitted from Herman Mashaba's intervention.

The electricity network that mayor Herman Mashaba inherited was on the brink of imploding and prone to frequent outages, because the leaders who had come before Herman didn't invest in infrastructure.

27% of Johannesburg's transformer network had exceeded its useful lifespan just a year into Mashaba's term of office, and the R60 billion backlog in the electricity network resulted in over 170,000 power outages each year.

But Herman was not one to simply complain about the situation, and in  typical fashion he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Crucial budgetary changes were made to invest in infrastructure, with the percentage of the capital budget being spent on transport, water, housing, and crucially, electricity, rising from 58% in 2016/17 to 68% in 2018/19. Mashaba's administration launched an ambitious bulk infrastructure renewal programme, which included upgrading substations, upgrading high-voltage cables, and replacing copper cables with aluminium bundled conductors which were less prone to being stolen.

The Roosevelt Substation behind me was upgraded to the tune of R133 million, after being neglected for nearly 30 years. This included the installation of two new feeding lines, four transformers, a state-of-the-art control plant, a standby board, and three new feeder boards. Thanks to these upgrades, this substation could reliably start providing power to people in communities such as Fairlands, Berario, and Northcliff.

Mayor Mashaba also ensured record spends were invested in the construction and upgrades of substations in Heriotdale, Lehae, Nancefield, Wilropark, Mondeor, Mulbarton, Pennyville, Waterfall, Hopefield, and Eldorado Park.

The crowing achievement of Mashaba's infrastructure agenda, however, is the Sebenza Substation, built in South Africa in ten years. Importantly, it was completed R50 million under budget, ahead of schedule, and was built with 80% of its part being manufactured in South Africa.

Despite the state of infrastructure inherited and a period of peak load shedding, Herman Mashaba managed to reduce power outages from 6.1 to 5.8 per annum per household.

But electricity infrastructure was not the only area where Herman delivered for the people of Johannesburg.

The following stands as just some highlights of Mashaba’s record:

The highest levels of resident satisfaction (74%) in the history of the city.

Redirecting R2 billion from luxuries and wastage to service delivery infrastructure.

Reducing water leaks and bursts from 45 000 to 37 000 per annum.

Achieving R17 billion in facilitated investment in 2018/19.

Resurfacing 900km of bad roads (nearly a quarter all bad roads in the City).

Extending the operating hours of 26 clinics, saving more than 500 lives with after-hour care.

Starting 5 city-operated substance abuse facilities, the first in the city’s history.

Procuring 7 mobile clinics to provide primary healthcare to informal settlements.

Delivered 7000 RDP homes and 7500 title deeds and 3500 serviced stands.

The largest expansion of the JMPD with 1500 new officers recruited.

Establishing a specialized K9 Narcotics Unit.

An anti-corruption unit that investigated over 6000 cases of corruption totaling more than R35 billion in transactions under investigation and effecting more than 900 arrests.

Insourcing over 6000 security guards and cleaners and affording these workers the dignity of a proper wage and the city direct management of securing and cleaning its own infrastructure.

What makes this list of achievements more remarkable is that they arose out of a 7-way minority coalition government - something which had never been attempted before, and the success of which has not been replicated by coalition governments since.

ActionSA will continue highlighting Mashaba's legacy up until the Local Government Elections, to show residents that they do not have to accept the state of crippling service delivery failures, and excuses from elected leaders who have lost the appetite to serve.

This city was once on the right track, and with the mandate given to the right leader and right political party, it can start to make progress once more. ActionSA offers a pathway from the years of failure we've come to accept as a reality of living in Johannesburg. It does not have to be this way, and the legacy left by Herman Mashaba proves that.