President Cyril Ramaphosa
By Thabo Mosia
Ekurhuleni – President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated the crucial role of municipalities in driving South Africa’s economic growth and job creation, with a specific focus on the Ekurhuleni Municipality. Addressing the District Development Model (DDM) Presidential Imbizo at Tsakane Stadium in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, on Friday, the President highlighted the importance of efficient and strong municipalities as the “engine room” of national development.
The Presidential Imbizo served as a platform for direct interaction between communities and government leaders from all three spheres of government. It provided an opportunity for the executive to respond to service delivery challenges raised by the public and outline government strategies to address these issues.
In his address, President Ramaphosa underscored the importance of municipalities in achieving the government’s overarching goals of economic growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation. “We have said as the Government of National Unity, our key priority is to grow the economy, and to create jobs and fight poverty. But to do this, we need strong municipalities. It is municipalities that are the engine room of development because they provide the services to our people but they also are economic engine rooms.”
He also called on local councillors to actively engage with their communities and to be visible leaders. “To our councillors, we should not be continuously hearing that our people don’t even know their councillors. That must come to an end. Councillors have been elected to serve the people and they must show themselves in the community.”
Turning his attention to the City of Ekurhuleni, President Ramaphosa praised the municipality for its strategic importance as an economic hub in South Africa. “The Ekurhuleni Municipality is well positioned as an economic driver of job creation. Ekurhuleni is a major transportation hub. But apart from that… it is the manufacturing capital of our country. Ekurhuleni plays a very important role in the life of our province, and in the life of our country and our economy.”
He highlighted the city’s key infrastructure, including OR Tambo International Airport, Africa’s largest and busiest airport, and its significance as a centre for freight corridors. These attributes, according to Ramaphosa, make Ekurhuleni a substantial economic player, with manufacturing being one of the critical contributors to South Africa’s GDP.
However, the President acknowledged that service delivery in the area must be significantly improved. He assured the community gathered at the Imbizo that the government is aware of their concerns and is committed to addressing them. “We want to improve the services that are delivered to our people. We know that service delivery is one of the key challenges and particularly water and electricity. We are going to be giving more focus on water… building new reservoirs, increasing our bulk water delivery. We are also going to be focusing on housing. Housing shortage is one of the challenges many of our people face and we will address that.”
Another pressing issue raised by the community was crime, to which President Ramaphosa responded by emphasizing the government’s commitment to tackling crime in all its forms. He highlighted the role of Police Minister Senzo Mchunu in addressing critical issues such as extortion, the construction mafia, and gender-based violence (GBV). “Those men who play football with the women of our country must stop and we are going to be focusing on that. Gender-based violence is a pandemic and our people are working in a very focused manner on that.”
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