1.1 Introduction
The local government elections on 5 December 2000 marked a turning point in the history of local governance in Johannesburg. It ended the long transitional process that included the 'pre-interim' and 'interim' phases of the local government transition process. It heralded the beginning of a metropolitan unicity, stretching from Midrand in the north to Orange Farm in the south, comprising some 2.8 million people. That important political 'moment' also witnessed the election of the city's first ever Executive Mayor. This City Development Plan (CDP) is thus an expression of the views, plans and aspirations of the new City of Johannesburg, led by the Executive Mayor, Councillor Amos Masondo.
1.2 Background
The establishment of the unicity immediately after the election was the culmination of a transformation process that began in the early nineties. Following the financial crisis of 1997, council embarked on a transformation process.
The city's transformation plan was aimed at enhanced and cost-effective service delivery through reduced fragmentation, the elimination of duplication, improved accountability, increased focus on human resource development and the provision of incentives for performance. From an organisational perspective it sought to put in place 'sensible' structures that could deliver services at greater levels of efficiency. These structures included the establishment of utilities, agencies and corporations, as well as the creation of a central unicity administration and eleven decentralised administrative regions.
The election of the Executive Mayor and a ten-person Mayoral Committee substantially improved the political governance arrangements for the city. Whereas the previous arrangement was characterised by extensive duplication, the new mayoral system is centred on strong and visionary political leadership over the affairs of the city.
The plan that was unveiled as iGoli 2002 at the beginning of 1999 has largely been implemented. A City Manager has been appointed along with executive directors for corporate services, urban planning, finance and contract management. The staff employed by the former municipal councils have been 'migrated' to positions within the new unicity administration. Significantly, the arm's length entities envisaged in the council's transformation plan have been established. These include the electricity, water and solid waste utilities, namely City Power, Johannesburg Water and Pikitup; the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Johannesburg Development Agency and City Parks; and Metrobus, the Johannesburg Zoo, the Civic Theatre, the Property Management Company and the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market. The financial management aspects that underpinned iGoli 2002 have, or are in the process of, being realised.
The council's new political leadership along with its senior management team are thus confronted with a new set of challenges. These challenges include the need to consolidate the new political and institutional arrangements, define a clear vision, priorities and strategy for the future and allocate resources in a way that maximises the developmental impact on the city. During the course of the first quarter of 2001, the Mayor has led an intensive internal process that seeks to define these challenges and set out a clear path for the way ahead. These are set out below.
1.3 Strategic overview
Firstly, the new political governance arrangements must be strengthened and consolidated. This entails a clear definition of the powers and responsibilities of the Executive Mayor and Members of the Mayoral Committee, to bring it in line with the 'cabinet model'. In the previous local government system, powers could not be delegated to individual councillors since powers could only be exercised by committee. The innovations that are being introduced in this regard include a new system of reporting, the establishment of mayoral committee sub-committees, and the creation of section 79 and 80 committees. This also requires a new interface between the political leadership and senior management.
In addition, the new model also entails the establishment of decentralised political structures in the form of ward committees. These committees will be established in each of the council's 109 wards which comprise the ward councillor as chairperson and members made up of civil society.
Secondly, the new institutional structures need to be finalised. While most executive directors and a few directors have been appointed to the central administration and the administrative regions, a number of other senior management appointments need to be finalised. The management core for the unicity administration needs to be in place to ensure efficient and effective service delivery.
Thirdly, the relationship between the council and its arm's length entities needs to be settled in terms of surpluses generated by the utilities and the medium-term funding requirements of the agencies and corporatised entities; the nature of governance arrangements, i.e. the relationship between council's policy-making function and the entities' operational independence; the creation of reliable baseline data and information; and the determination of specific performance indicators and targets.
Fourthly, the Executive Mayor defined the six strategic priorities for the City of Johannesburg as follows:
- Economic development and job creation
- By-law enforcement and crime prevention
- Service delivery excellence
- Good governance/customer care/Batho Pele
- Inner City
- HIV/Aids
These priorities provide the foundation for the determination of the city's long-term strategy - the City Development Strategy (CDS). The CDS, which is to be completed by July 2001, will be a comprehensive agenda for change that encompasses economic development, human development and infrastructure and services. This will ensure that the operations of the city are determined by its priorities and long-term vision and strategy.
Fifthly, continuing the efforts to ensure robust financial management such as improved revenue collection, tighter expenditure controls, increased capital spending and sustainable operating budgets. Moreover, good financial planning practices have been introduced such as tariff determination in line with inflation, indicative allocations (how much resources are dedicated to a particular function, given its relative importance to the city's overall priorities) in terms of a medium-term budget framework (MTBF) and adherence to targets set by the National Treasury.
Sixthly, to shift the focus from an internal council focus (which characterised iGoli 2002) to an outward, city-wide focus. This entails communicating and building partnerships with other spheres of government, business, trade unions, communities and non-governmental organisations. This will send the signal to residents, citizens, customers, investors and labour that Johannesburg is on the road to creating a safe, well run, clean, attractive, investor-friendly, culturally diverse and accountable city. In short, an "African World Class City".