Who the next batch of mayors will be or which parties they will represent is less predictable than in 2016, thanks to the five hung metro councils after the 2021 local government election.
As parties try to form coalitions in the metros without an outright majority – Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini and Nelson Mandela Bay – here is what former metro mayors promised would be completed in the new term of office.
Randall Williams (DA), City of Tshwane
• The construction of the Wonderboom Intermodal Facility with four bus rapid transit stations is another critical economic growth enabler. This facility will provide an integrated transport service with different modes of transport: Commuter rail by Prasa at Wonderboom Station, a minibus taxi facility, and a park-and-ride facility integrating with A Re Yeng facilities. Construction will be concluded by December 2021.
• … in the next three years … [from 15 April 2021] 72 880 households [will be] provided with formal and permanent stands.
• The City has now overcome the challenges delaying the upgrading of Refilwe Stadium since the inception of the project, which included a high level of community unrest and changes in the consulting team. The contractors are now on site and the project is going ahead as planned, and will be completed in 2023.
• … the new Wildebees Infeed Substation that will link to Eskom and the rest of the province is on track to be completed by 2024 in partnership with Eskom.
See all Williams’s promises here.
Mxolisi Kaunda (ANC), eThekwini
• In the next financial year [2021/22], the city will be implementing infrastructure projects to improve water supply [including the] immediate replacement of water mains for R8.2bn.
• In the next financial year [2021/22], the city will be implementing infrastructure projects to improve water supply [including] pump station upgrades of over R1bn …
• In the next two years [from 29 May 2020], the city will have recruited 800 new Metro Police members.
See more of Kaunda’s promises here.
Mzwandile Masina (ANC), Ekurhuleni
• We are planning to build a 20 000-capacity multipurpose seater in Kempton Park within the next three years. [The promise was made on 27 March 2019.]
• [The] Specialised Services Precinct in Boksburg … will have specialised units such as the Dog Unit, the Community Liaison Unit, Public Order Policing Unit, the K-9 Unit, the VIP Unit and the SWAT/Intervention Unit. This specialised precinct will be completed by 2021.
Click here to see all Masina’s promises in our database.
Mpho Moerane (ANC), City or Johannesburg
• We will be commissioning a water pump station near Crown Mines, which will give us [an] additional 2.2 mega litres [of water]. And [as] of January, we will be commissioning a reservoir in Lenasia, which will give us [an] additional nine mega litres. So those two can give us [a] continuous flow of water – clean water for that matter in the city.
Dan Plato (DA), City of Cape Town
• We will spend an estimated total capital expenditure in excess of R10 billion in the rolling out of Phase 2A of our Integrated Public Transport Plan. More than R1 billion will be spent in 2021/22, making this the largest mega project ever approved for Public Transport for the City of Cape Town.
• Another way we’re proactively aiming to address congestion is to, over the next three financial years [from July 2019], spend nearly R3 billion rand on extending the MyCiTi bus service, an integrated bus service.
• … over the next three years [from 29 September 2021], 50% of the City’s R25 billion capital expenditure plan will be invested in water and sanitation infrastructure to ensure sustainable development.
See all Plato’s promises.
Track My Mayor is a promise tracker aimed at increasing accountability at local government level. It was established with support from Code for Africa’s