City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
Encyclopedia
The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality
that manages the local governance of Johannesburg
, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city.
Johannesburg is a divided city: the poor mostly live in the southern suburbs or on the peripheries of the far north, and the middle class live largely in the suburbs of the central and north. Around 20% of the city lives in abject poverty in informal settlements that lack proper roads, electricity, or any other kind of direct municipal service. Another 40% live in inadequate housing with insufficient municipal housing.
. The white authorities were 90% self-sufficient from property tax
and other local taxes, and spent Rand
600 (USD $93) per person, while the black authorities were only ten percent self-sufficient, spending Rand 100 (USD $15) per person.
The first post-apartheid City Council was created in 1995. The council adopted the slogan "One City, One Taxpayer" in order to highlight its primary goal of addressing inequal tax revenue distribution. To this end, revenue from wealthy, traditionally white areas would help pay for services needed in poorer, black areas. The City Council was divided into four regions, each with a substantially autonomous local regional authority that was to be overseen by a central metropolitan council. Furthermore, the municipal boundaries were expanded to include wealthy satellite towns like Sandton and Randburg, poorer neighbouring townships such as Soweto
and Alexandra, and informal settlements like Orange Farm. The four councils or Metropolitan Local Councils (MLCs) were the Northern MLCl, Southern MLC, Eastern MLC and Western MLC (sometimes referred to as Metropolitan Substructures), under a central metropolitan council. This arrangement ended in 2000.
In 1999, Johannesburg appointed a city manager in order to reshape the city's ailing financial situation. The manager, together with the Municipal Council, drew up a blueprint called "Igoli 2002". This was a three-year plan that called upon the government to sell non-core assets, restructure certain utilities, and required that all others become self-sufficient. The plan took the city from near insolvency
to an operating surplus
of Rand 153 million (USD 23.6 million).
The plan was fiercely contested by trade union
s, who argued that it would result in job losses and tariff increases. The core of Igoli 2002 was to restructure Metro Gas, Rand Airport
, and some sports stadiums as stand-alone corporate entitites. The city bus service, the Johannesburg Zoo
, the Civic Theatre, the Fresh Produce Market, and the city's property holdings were turned into corporations with the city as the single shareholder
. Each was run as a business, with management hired on performance contracts.
The city's call centre also experienced a crisis at the same time, with staff refusing to work.
determines the structure of local government in its region. Gauteng province, run by the African National Congress
, has opted for an executive mayor system. The new Johannesburg system is more efficient than before, with clearer lines of responsibility and less duplication of functions.
The newly unified city is ruled by Johannesburg's first executive mayor
, as previously the mayor was a largely ceremonial position. Amos Mosondo, the current mayor, was chosen to be the mayor by the ANC's national executive office. The mayor takes ultimate responsibility for the city and leads a 10-person City Council.
The city management team implements decisions taken by the City Council and monitors the performance of the various branches of the city government. The group's head office is the Metro Centre Complex in Braamfontein
, which is responsible for overall administration, financial control, supply of services, and collection of revenues. The fire department
and ambulance
s, the metropolitan police
and traffic control, museums, art galleries, and heritage sites are all controlled by separate departments within the central administration.
Some of the key city service functions are supplied by separate, self-contained entities, each run on business lines with its own CEO, each entering into service contracts with the administrative core. They are:
There are 10 utilities, including electricity which is run by City Power Johannesburg , water and sanitation which is run by Johannesburg Water, and solid waste management, also known as Pikitup. Utilities are registered companies, run on business lines. They must be self-funding, receiving no annual grants from the city. They provide billable services direct to individual households.
Agencies include Johannesburg Roads, City Parks
and Johannesburg Development Agency. Each of these performs a service to the public at large – there are no direct charges to individual consumers. These are also structured as separate companies, but they are reliant on the council for funding.
The zoo, Civic Theatre, bus service, fresh produce market and property company each compete in the open market to "sell" their wares to individual consumers who choose to pay for their services. These departments have been "corporatised" into separate businesses, run by new managements on performance contracts, and tasked to cut their subsidy levels by R100-million in the next five years.
, sports and recreation
, libraries
, social development, and other local community-based services.
Metropolitan municipality (South Africa)
In South Africa, a metropolitan municipality or Category A municipality is a municipality which executes all the functions of local government for a city or conurbation...
that manages the local governance of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city.
Johannesburg is a divided city: the poor mostly live in the southern suburbs or on the peripheries of the far north, and the middle class live largely in the suburbs of the central and north. Around 20% of the city lives in abject poverty in informal settlements that lack proper roads, electricity, or any other kind of direct municipal service. Another 40% live in inadequate housing with insufficient municipal housing.
History
During the apartheid era, Johannesburg was divided into 11 local authorities, seven of which were white and four black or colouredColoured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
. The white authorities were 90% self-sufficient from property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
and other local taxes, and spent Rand
South African rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa. It takes its name from the Witwatersrand , the ridge upon which Johannesburg is built and where most of South Africa's gold deposits were found. The rand has the symbol "R" and is subdivided into 100 cents, symbol "c"...
600 (USD $93) per person, while the black authorities were only ten percent self-sufficient, spending Rand 100 (USD $15) per person.
The first post-apartheid City Council was created in 1995. The council adopted the slogan "One City, One Taxpayer" in order to highlight its primary goal of addressing inequal tax revenue distribution. To this end, revenue from wealthy, traditionally white areas would help pay for services needed in poorer, black areas. The City Council was divided into four regions, each with a substantially autonomous local regional authority that was to be overseen by a central metropolitan council. Furthermore, the municipal boundaries were expanded to include wealthy satellite towns like Sandton and Randburg, poorer neighbouring townships such as Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and Alexandra, and informal settlements like Orange Farm. The four councils or Metropolitan Local Councils (MLCs) were the Northern MLCl, Southern MLC, Eastern MLC and Western MLC (sometimes referred to as Metropolitan Substructures), under a central metropolitan council. This arrangement ended in 2000.
In 1999, Johannesburg appointed a city manager in order to reshape the city's ailing financial situation. The manager, together with the Municipal Council, drew up a blueprint called "Igoli 2002". This was a three-year plan that called upon the government to sell non-core assets, restructure certain utilities, and required that all others become self-sufficient. The plan took the city from near insolvency
Insolvency
Insolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...
to an operating surplus
Economic surplus
In mainstream economics, economic surplus refers to two related quantities. Consumer surplus or consumers' surplus is the monetary gain obtained by consumers because they are able to purchase a product for a price that is less than the highest price that they would be willing to pay...
of Rand 153 million (USD 23.6 million).
The plan was fiercely contested by trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s, who argued that it would result in job losses and tariff increases. The core of Igoli 2002 was to restructure Metro Gas, Rand Airport
Rand Airport
Rand Airport is an airport in Germiston, South Africa. It was constructed in the 1920s as the main airport for Johannesburg, but the city outgrew it and replaced the airport firstly with Palmietfontein Airport in the late 1940s, then with the larger Jan Smuts International Airport in the...
, and some sports stadiums as stand-alone corporate entitites. The city bus service, the Johannesburg Zoo
Johannesburg Zoo
The Johannesburg Zoo is a zoo in Johannesburg, South Africa. Established in 1904, it has traditionally been owned and operated by the City of Johannesburg...
, the Civic Theatre, the Fresh Produce Market, and the city's property holdings were turned into corporations with the city as the single shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
. Each was run as a business, with management hired on performance contracts.
2010/11 billing and contact centre crises
The municipality faced a qualified audit from the Auditor-General following a large number of billing issues, as the result of the flawed implementation of a SAP system.The city's call centre also experienced a crisis at the same time, with staff refusing to work.
City structure
Each provinceProvinces of South Africa
South Africa is currently divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, also known as Bantustans, were reintegrated and the four existing provinces were divided into nine. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the constitution...
determines the structure of local government in its region. Gauteng province, run by the African National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
, has opted for an executive mayor system. The new Johannesburg system is more efficient than before, with clearer lines of responsibility and less duplication of functions.
The newly unified city is ruled by Johannesburg's first executive mayor
Mayor of Johannesburg
The Mayor of Johannesburg is the chief executive of the City Council and the highest elected position in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. The current mayor of the city is Parks Tau.- List of Mayors :* Parks Tau * Amos Masondo...
, as previously the mayor was a largely ceremonial position. Amos Mosondo, the current mayor, was chosen to be the mayor by the ANC's national executive office. The mayor takes ultimate responsibility for the city and leads a 10-person City Council.
The city management team implements decisions taken by the City Council and monitors the performance of the various branches of the city government. The group's head office is the Metro Centre Complex in Braamfontein
Braamfontein
Braamfontein is a central suburb of Johannesburg, in South Africa. It is well located, straddling Jan Smuts Avenue and Empire Road. The Nelson Mandela bridge is a landmark that connects Braamfontein to the city...
, which is responsible for overall administration, financial control, supply of services, and collection of revenues. The fire department
Fire department
A fire department or fire brigade is a public or private organization that provides fire protection for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district...
and ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s, the metropolitan police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
and traffic control, museums, art galleries, and heritage sites are all controlled by separate departments within the central administration.
Some of the key city service functions are supplied by separate, self-contained entities, each run on business lines with its own CEO, each entering into service contracts with the administrative core. They are:
There are 10 utilities, including electricity which is run by City Power Johannesburg , water and sanitation which is run by Johannesburg Water, and solid waste management, also known as Pikitup. Utilities are registered companies, run on business lines. They must be self-funding, receiving no annual grants from the city. They provide billable services direct to individual households.
Agencies include Johannesburg Roads, City Parks
Johannesburg City Parks
Johannesburg City Parks is a Not-for-Gain company established under Section 21 of the South African Companies Act and wholly owned by the City of Johannesburg.It is tasked with the maintenance of burial grounds, parks, green areas and trees around Johannesburg....
and Johannesburg Development Agency. Each of these performs a service to the public at large – there are no direct charges to individual consumers. These are also structured as separate companies, but they are reliant on the council for funding.
The zoo, Civic Theatre, bus service, fresh produce market and property company each compete in the open market to "sell" their wares to individual consumers who choose to pay for their services. These departments have been "corporatised" into separate businesses, run by new managements on performance contracts, and tasked to cut their subsidy levels by R100-million in the next five years.
Regions
The administration of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality was decentralised initially into 11 regions (that were not related to the 11 former apartheid administrations). These new regions were subsequently reduced in number to 7 regions in 2006. Each region is operationally responsible for the delivery of health care, housingHouse
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, sports and recreation
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, social development, and other local community-based services.