Maspala finally gets more zaka

THE City of Joburg council has finally approved the loan request with the French Development Agency (FDA) for R2,5 billion.

The loan is for the 2023/2024 financial year.

After several attempts, the extraordinary council meeting was called on Thursday, 25 July, specifically to bring the motion back to council for a vote.

MMC for Finance, Dada Morero failed to convince council to pass the vote for a third time on 9 July when the EFF, which is part of the leading Government of Local Unity (GLU), together with the ANC, Patriotic Alliance and minority parties, voted against it.

Morero said council's failure to pass the loan in the last two meetings was mere party politics.

"As councillors, the city and the executive are going to embark on an aggressive revenue collection process in an attempt to increase our collection rate, move from 86% to the 90% target, which will then ensure the city is able to fund its projects and be able to support its expenditure," he said.

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A majority of parties voted in favour of the loan, including ActionSA and the EFF, while Freedom Front Plus (FF+) voted against it.

ActionSA announced on Monday, 22 July that it would vote with the ANC in exchange for the speaker position.

Morero added: "We're therefore making a call to the residents of Joburg to also play their part in ensuring they pay for the services that are consumed on a daily basis."

The loan will be repaid over 15 years. It's for capital expenditure and related security, legal and financial costs.

DA's Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said they voted in favour of the loan after more details were made available to councillors to make an informed decision.

"It's however concerning that this information is only made available when some parties are negotiating for positions in exchange for support for the loan, as has been widely reported," she said.