City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup are one step closer to falling under the operational control of the Johannesburg municipality, Mayor Herman Mashaba said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
“On Thursday, Johannesburg City Council approved a report proposing the initiation of a process to reintegrate municipal-owned entities\u2026”<\/p>\n
Currently, said Mashaba, “the absurdity of this situation is that the City is the sole shareholder of these entities, but they operate under the Company\u2019s Act and are semi-autonomous of the City”.<\/p>\n
The managing directors and chief operating officers of these entities report, not to the municipality, but to a board of directors.<\/p>\n
“How can a City be responsible and accountable to its residents for fast-tracking service delivery when it does not have complete control over the entities that implement delivery?”<\/p>\n
The mayor said he hoped the entities – including City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup – would be reintegrated back into the City\u2019s structures within 18 months.<\/p>\n
He said the report, which was approved earlier this week, detailed the process which would be followed, including establishing task teams, conducting feasibility studies, and ensuring public consultation.<\/p>\n
Mashaba said there would be no job losses, as employees would be incorporated into the City\u2019s structures.<\/p>\n
He said the move would also save the City money, as the current salaries of non-executive board members for the entities cost R18m a year.<\/p>\n
“This is what we need to do to correct the sluggish and non-responsive nature of our service delivery in our City.”<\/p>\n
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