3. Overview of politics
The DA-run Western Cape continues to set the pace in good governance. Nationally, however, the cabinet and chairperson shuffle has seen the axing of many Western and Eastern Cape (read Xhosa) leaders in favour of many KZN and Gauteng (read Zulu and ANCYL) leaders. This appears to me to be an attempt by the President to shore up his waning support ahead of the conference to choose a President for the ANC (2012) and a Presidential Candidate (2014). The replacement of the North West Premier is seen as a desperate attempt to head off growing DA support in that badly-run province – a back handed compliment to us, reinforcing the importance of next year’s elections...

The new ward boundaries for next year’s election have been finalised.  Parktown North and Rosebank, which currently form part of Ward 90, will be joined with Parkhurst, Saxonwald, parts of Greenside and Blairgowrie to form a new Ward 117. This forms part of the process in the City to reduce the size of Wards (currently the size of old Constituencies pre- 1994). Details here.   Pipe Bursts Residents will have experienced water outages and poor water pressure recently, as the water grid in Parktown North, Craighall Park and Parkhurst experienced a high number of pipe bursts.

Joburg Water was unable to make the initial repairs as it lacked a welding maching and a welder! More Eish! Residents will further note in horror that Joburg Water currently loses about 40% of water it purchases from Rand Water due to leaks and pipe bursts, caused by lack of maintenance.
 
Street Light Blitz
Driving through the area you may notice entire streets where lights are not functioning. Street light infrastructure is extremely old and prone to failure and residents are urged to report outages on the dreaded 011 375 5555. Or www.joburg.org.za (e-Services tab)
 
Ward Wins
We have had hugely successful year, with JRA upgrading William Nicol between Hyde Park and Sandhurst, the widening of Matie/Sandton Drive intersection, upgrading of Empire Place – Sandhurst, Streetlights for Parkmore. We took part in the launch of “Celebrate Life Park” on the Braamfontein Spruit, the launch of phase 1 of the Make Over of Hyde Park Corner, and  the launch of the ‘Lets Fix It Campaign’
 
Joburg Pride 2010
Joburg Pride was again held in Ward 90 and the DA again hosted a stall at the event. We signed up many books full of new members and obtaining over 800 signatures for our petitions against the ANC’s Information Bill.
 
Ward 90 Newsletter & Council Reports
Residents wishing to receive my quarterly Ward Newsletter can subscribe by emailing Gordon, quoting “Newsletter” in the subject line: gordon.mackay81@gmail.com /  sms Gordon via 083 255 7461.
 

The Branch of Ward 102 has adopted a guerilla style approach in the run up to the election for Local Government that will take place in 2011. They distribute leaflets at Robots , walk through shopping centre’s wearing DA T-Shirts ( the “Blue Wave”), and have arranged public meetings.   The profile of the party has further been enhanced by the recent campaign to widen the Conrad Bridge in Randburg.   At a public meeting on the 18th of Nov at the Community Church in Fontainebleau Randburg, Mr. Ian Ollis MP and Dr Gavin Lewis MPL gave feedback on recent developments in government, while Cllr Alison van der Molen reported on issues relating to the city council. The Branch is also getting in involved in the development of various public spaces including the Ferndale Recreation Centre in Randburg.

Contact Cllr. Alison Van Der Molen on 0834419324 or email on alisonvdm@joburg.org.za or alisonvdm@gmail.com
 
6. Registration Drive – Elections are coming!

Are you registered to vote, and are you registered in the correct place?   The DA is running a campaign to get everyone registered for the elections next year. You will need to vote in the ward where you are registered – postal votes and votes outside your ward  are not allowed!   Check if you are registered: SMS your ID number to 32810. You will get a reply indicating where you are registered.   You will be able to re-register on 5th and 6th of February 2011.   If you would like a DA reminder to register please email your ID number, full name, physical address and your contact details to your local councillor or to our Operations Manager  Mr. Shadrack Mkhonto on shadrack@region.da.org.za You details will be treated as confidential.

 

The JoburgWater project in Morningside is nearing completion. Old water pipes were replaced at a cost of approximately R17 million. We are still plagued by underground water problems and report them. We have successfully campaigned for the resurfacing of Edward Rubenstein Drive in Sandown and held a public meeting at Bryneven Primary School in September regarding mini cell masts in Bryanston.   City Power, together with the City of Johannesburg, signed a contract with MTN to attach mini masts to street lights, without consulting residents. MTN agreed to meet with the residents and address their concerns. A petition was signed and forwarded to the Petitions Committee in Council.

A set of traffic lights are being installed at the intersection of Kelvin Drive and Summit Road, Morningside to ease traffic. We are working with the Bryanston East Community Forum and the Riverside Shopping Centre to establish a park in the area. The DA held a successful AGM on the 22nd September. We strongly believe that together, the DA can win Johannesburg in the elections and  transform  service delivery.
 
JOIN UP AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Contact Vincent Earp on vearp@iafrica.com or 0798822652
 
  
8. Ward 109 and Cllr. Patrick Atkinson - DA Finance Spokesperson in Johannesburg.

Joburg is the most indebted city in S.A. with loans of R12 billion on the books, R2 billion in the pipeline, and the city looking to raise a further R1 billion from International Development Agencies! This is all on your tab! Last year we paid approximately R1,4 billion in interest( 6% of the overall budget). Paying these eye watering amounts of interest is unnecessary if government did its job and collected moneys owed to it - R8,4 billion ( yes, billion). If a significant portion of this is collected and applied to the City’s overall debt, another R700 million or so could be freed up for service delivery. One of the biggest problems for the City has been the exploding cost of Project Phakama, (electronic billing system for Johannesburg). Originally budgeted at R270 million, the bill to the City has just exceeded R800 million and the responsibilities  have been shifted to IBM for the completion of the project. The City picked up a bill of  R300 million in the subordinating of a loan to Pikitup as a result of gross mismanagement there .

Then it wasted another R105 million or more  on the hosting of the Miss World pageant. At present, the City Manager is fighting to keep the contract governing Miss World secret, since he is unable to produce any official authorization given for this amount ! Your DA will stop such looting of the coffers at taxpayers’ expense ! Register to VOTE !
 
The City’s call centre, which should have fielded and resolved billing problems, collapsed . The Mayor promised to fix it by October 2010 - which has of course not happened. The DA is pushing the ANC in Johannesburg to halt the ensuing illegal cutoffs forthwith. Call Cllr Patrick Atkinson on 083 445 2059 or email him on peegee@icon.co.za

9. DA helps victims of shack fires in Alex!

Shack fires have been an ongoing problem in Alexandra due to the lack of sufficient housing stock, the unabated influx of homeless people and criminal elements causing fires for various reasons. In two separate fires recently the DA  was on site ( unlike the ANC !) to lend a hand and to bear witness to the suffering of our people under an incompetent and corrupt government.
 
We rolled up our sleeves and got stuck in. We put our hands in our pockets to purchase building materials and erected shacks and shelters for the people who were left homeless, giving them a roof over their heads. In another case we purchased food for 17 families who were left destitute. Ayoba?
 
Apart from this, Cllrs Andrew Stewart, Alan Fuchs, Patrick Atkinson as well as our community worker  Mr. Reggie Mabasa and our ops manager,  Mr. Shadrack Mkhonto immediately chased up city officials in disaster management, the police, fire brigade and so on to ensure that fires were quelled, blankets were handed out and details collected. Well done to the DA team from the Sandton and Houghton constituency. You have been giving hope where there is none.
 
10. Ward 32 – Cllr Darren Bergman

The DA were instrumental in drafting the animal care by-laws. Our objective was to give JMPD and the Health Department powers to deal with chronic noise complaints and animal cruelty. The DA Safety spokesperson, Cllr Darren Bergman, released press statements warning the media not to sensationalize the issue as this legislation was needed. Bergman called on the Council to extend the payment-free period for licensing of pets.

Details:

1. If you live in a flat you can have up to 2 pets,  in a house or cluster you can have up to 4 pets and on a plot you can have 6 pets.
2. If you currently have more than that you can keep all your pets-  just register them at your nearest People Centre of the City of Johannesburg.
3. The aim is to target those people mistreating animals (overcrowding, illegal breeding)and pet owners that will not deal with problem pets, such as excessive barking disturbing neighbours. Normal responsible pet owners are not the target!

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