The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Johannesburg notes with disdain the Former Mayor and current MMC of Community Development’s comments regarding the renaming of Sandton Drive to Leila Khaled Drive.
His arguments regarding twinning agreements makes no sense whatsoever, considering the fact that the City of Johannesburg has City-to-city arrangements (twinning) already in place with five sister cities – Addis Ababa; Windhoek; Birmingham; London, in the United Kingdom; and New York, in the United States. Is he telling the US consul along that route that the twinning agreement with New York City in the US is null & void? The Mayor must then publicly come out and say that to the people of Johannesburg and the US Consulate located on that route.
As previously done in 2018 when this frivolous motion was proposed, we reject it with the contempt it deserves. Not only is it an insult to the People of South Africa who have struggle heroes who fought for the freedom we currently enjoy, but an insult to residents who pay for services like roads to be maintained – which is not happening.
The ANC-ActionSA- EFF-PA-AL Jama-ah coalition is not even considering the cost implications for businesses, let alone the relationship with trade partners along that route. The DA has delivered over 5000 objections from residents across Johannesburg objecting to the manner in which the City is misusing their rates – renaming roads instead of focussing on service delivery.
We call on the Executive Mayor and the ANC-ActionSA-EFF-PA-AL Jama-Ah coalition to review its stance and rather use the funds to:
- Fix the Joburg library that has been closed for more than a year;
- Clean and maintain the swimming pools in Region C that are currently shut; and
- Fix the water crisis in Johannesburg, where some residents have been without water for 13 days.
We will always be on the side of residents who deserve basic service delivery, not vanity projects. A DA government will prioritise residents, their needs, and service delivery. Something the current administration knows very little about