Media Releases

The Democratic Alliance in Johannesburg supports the constitutionally enshrined principles of freedom of speech and values a free and independent media. As the media is the first port of call for many people in their search for information, the DA regularly issues media releases and holds media conferences to report on events, situations and circumstances that affect the citizens of Johannesburg. On this page, you will find a comprehensive list of media statements issued by the party and its spokespeople that goes a long way in making sure that the people of Johannesburg, through the media, are kept informed and educated on the decisions and events that shape their future and the future of the city we live in.

"From the outset let us highlight the weakness of a system of cadre deployment. As an official it is unacceptable for Mr. Jabu Malobane to get involved in electioneering in favour of the ruling party especially where he has absolutely no idea as to what the Democratic Alliance Transport Policy entails." <click here to read more>

" INCOMING JOHANNESBURG MAYORAL COMMITTEE MUST ACT URGENTLY - For many years now, a potential catastrophe on the scale of the billings crisis has been festering in the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC). " <CLICK HERE TO READ MORE>

"While the Metro Bus strike continues into its second week, the many Johannesburg commuters left stranded by this action has had unintended consequences for some, who have received written warnings from unsympathetic employers for failing to attend work" <click here to read more>

Traffic Signal Outages: another headache for the City of Johannesburg
Statement by Councillor Nico de Jager- DA Spokesperson for Transportation in the City of Joburg
“Traffic signal outages have become another headache in the city of Johannesburg. Across the city signals are now on a daily basis being manned by Outsurance pointsmen and women.<click here to read more>

ANC arrogant - or lacks Vision?
Statement by Councillor Nico de Jager- DA Spokesperson for Transportation in the City of Joburg
With approximately three months to the 2011 Municipal Election it is evident that when it comes to the maintenance of Johannesburg’s road infrastructure, the ANC-led council is unable to deliver even the most rudimentary road network as this is deteriorating daily at an alarming rate.<click here to read more>

"Striking Bus Workers – Dismiss striking Metro Bus drivers
Media Statement by Cllr Nico de Jager- DA Spokesperson for Transport in the City of Joburg
Once again Johannesburg commuters who depend on the city’s bus service for transport from home to places of work, school, shopping and entertainment are forced to bear the brunt of trade union activity as SAMWU tackles Metro Bus over the issue of shift rescheduling." < click here to read more>

"In an urgency debate on the billings crisis in the city of Johannesburg requested by the Democratic Alliance at the 27th January Council meeting, the Mayoral Committee Member (MMC) for Finance, Councillor Parks Tau, admitted that the implementation of the R850-million Project Phakama SAP system had resulted in thousand of residents and businesses receiving incorrect accounts." <click here to read more>

"After receiving clean audit reports from the Auditor General in the 2008 and 2009 financial years, the City was looking forward to the same result for 2010; but this might not happen." <click here to read more>

"Four years ago Councillor Bittkau first raised concerns about the state of the Randburg Main Sewer crossing the Little Jukskei River near Olivedale." <click here to read more>

"Clrs Patrick Atkinson and John Mendelsohn sought leave from the Speaker of the Joburg City Council to introduce an urgent debate on the state of the City's billing system (Project Phakama.) The Speaker rejected the request, stating that the matter was not urgent. "This" say the Clrs, "is not the feeling of the many residents who are shocked by the huge and inaccurate bills which they are receiving for electricity and water."<click here to read more>

" The Democratic Alliance asked for an urgent debate, today, on the dysfunctional Johannesburg billing system, otherwise known as Project Phakama. The ANC refused to debate the issue saying it wasn't urgent enough." <click here to read more>

"The Democratic Alliance is calling for the City of Joburg to stop all electricity and water cut-offs forthwith. "Apart from this being an illegal act, as the constitutional court has decreed that water cut-offs in particular are unconstitutional, these cut-offs are based on flat out wrong billing," said Clr Patrick Atkinson, DA spokesman on Finance in Joburg. " <click here to read more>

"Joburg Mayor, Amos Masondo, is putting Joburg in a dangerous position. He is being kept in the dark on a number of issues by his colleagues and employees and as a result service delivery is slipping beyond control. " <click here to read more>

"MMC Christine Walters should be required to use her November salary to repair a broken pipe in Meadowlands Zone 11. "I went with the MMC and my colleague, Clr Toni Molefe on an oversight visit to Meadowlands Zone 11, on 8 November 2010. " <click here to read more>

"The pollution problems experienced at Bruma Lake will not be resolved if the root causes are not addressed. The extensive plan for cleaning Bruma Lake, which will cost up to R30 million to implement, is only geared at treating the symptoms of the problem even though the causes have been identified," says DA Cllr Laurette van Zijl, a member of the City’s Section 79 Environment Committee. " <click here to read more>

"Democratic Alliance Councillor Michael Sun, a member of the Joburg Section 79 Safety Committee, went on an oversight tour at one of the JMPD road side checks, on Friday 12 November 2010." <click here to read more>

"Johannesburg DA Councillor Michael Sun was elected as the inaugural President of the World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce Junior Chapter (WTCCJC) in Taipei in October 2010." <click here to read more>

"It has become apparent that the approved Pensioners rebates on municipal rates and taxes are no longer reflected on some pensioner’s municipal accounts” says Councillor Sharon Sabbagh, DA spokesperson on Rates Issues in Joburg. Councillor Sabbagh " <click here to read more>

"Measures have been agreed to that will make traffic intersections safer in the event of power cuts that have plagued the city in recent years as the Johannesburg City Council yesterday unanimously agreed on a plan to deal with the problem. " <click here to read more>

"Swimming instructors are urgently sought for the Learn to Swim programme being launched at the Windsor Public Pool. " <click here to read more>

"Councillors John Mendelsohn and Patrick Atkinson of the DA introduced a motion for debate at the Johannesburg City Council meeting in July, 2010, in which they requested the backlog of applications for Rates Clearance Certificates to be addressed as a matter of urgency, and for a report to be submitted to Council as soon as possible. "<click here to read more>

"ESP is a Johannesburg Municipal programme that gives some relief in the form of reduced rates and additional free electricity and water for resident who have an income of R3660 per month or less. In August this year it was announced that the 50KW free electricity that all residential account holders receive was to be withdrawn and only be given to people who are registered for ESP. " <click here to read more>

"The City of Johannesburg has embarked on developing a Water Conservation and Demand Management Strategy, a draft of which came before Council on Thursday the 22nd of September having only served before the Environmental task team." <click here to read more>

"A recent Supply Chain Management Deviation report to council and it’s portfolio committees has at last revealed the City’s “secret” expenditure of R9,2 million on World Cup tickets,” said DA councillor, Victor Penning." <click here to read more>

"After visiting various community facilities in Region B, the Democratic Alliance has discovered that this region isn't a civil service, it is a civil circus and it appears the clowns are in charge. " <click here to read more>

"The BRT specialist studies for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on Oxford road were to be released by April 2010. Due to the initial public outcry and the complexity of the project (because of implementation constraints along Oxford Road), the decision to postpone this BRT link was made." <click here to read more>

"DA Cllr. Annette Deppe, along with stakeholders in the community, successfully got approval for a new secondary High School in Midrand." <click here to read more>

"The Democratic Alliance in Johannesburg has discovered that the City’s Health Department is no longer receiving the grant from Gauteng Province to provide for treatment of HIV including the provision of ARVs. "This leads to the question: What's the purpose of making people with HIV sicker?" <click here to read more>

"Over a year down the line, when residents of Houghton and Killarney were told that it would take three weeks to complete the new water pressure release valve installation in West Street, Houghton, it remains a barricaded and uncompleted job. " <click here to read more>

"At yesterday's Johannesburg City Council monthly meeting, the Scorecard highlighting the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which guide the Mayor and Mayoral committee on who among the senior City officials deserves a bonus or not..." <click here to read more>

"The ANC in the City of Joburg will not be meeting targets they set themselves. "The ANC agreed to implement a scorecard system for the directors and officials in the various MOEs of the City during the last budget process. " <click here to read more>

"The Democratic Alliance walked out of the City of Joburg's Finance Committee meeting on 17 August 2010, in protest against yet another failure by City officials to provide a report on the City's billings and collections." <click here to read more>

"The Democratic Alliance has accused Johannesburg Metro Police Department of only worrying about traffic enforcement and becoming glorified fine collectors. " <click here to read more>

"Two men were arrested and charged with loitering and solicitation outside their homes in Lenasia. According to Clr Sodah Griffin, the Democratic Alliance's caretaker councillor in the area, the two men were carefully combing the quad of Southfork Flats in Lenasia ext. 9 where one of them had dropped their wallet, when they were arrested. " <click here to read more>

"Programme Phakama commenced in 2005. It was intended to integrate and enhance all of the IT systems which existed before the creation of the Unicity in 2000 and to produce a fully integrated system capable of meeting all of the City’s administrative, statutory reporting, accounting, billing and query resolution needs." <click here to read more>

"We are 8 days into the new financial year and I was told by Joburg Social Services that there is no budget to provide a pauper's burial for a deceased person in my ward. 8 days and already there's no money! " <click here to read more>

"In a landmark judgment handed down by the Constitutional Court, the constitutional legal standing of the Spatial Planning Policies of the City of Johannesburg and town planning policies of city councils across the country have been secured. " <click here to read more>

"While the Transport arrangements has been going generally well, with especially many very happy customers around the Park ‘n Ride facilities, potential hiccups can be very damaging to the image of the city." <click here to read more>

"Following an election held by the caucus of the Democratic Alliance in the City of Johannesburg on the 8th June 2010, long serving Johannesburg City Councillor and DA stalwart Vasco da Gama was elected as the new leader to replace Cllr Victor Penning, who had resigned a few weeks earlier." <click here to read more>

"An undertaking was given to the Transport Oversight Committee responsible for the road infrastructure that no wayleaves will be granted and that no work on the roads will be allowed for the 6 weeks period leading up to the 2010 World Cup." <click here to read more>

"The DA representatives on the City’s Finance Committee are fully aware that the introduction of a new Information Technology system, namely Programme Phakama, at a cost of nearly R600 million to date with a further R180 million needed for completion, has failed to enhance the accuracy of Council’s bills to ratepayers and consumers. " <click here to read more>

"Ivory Park near Midrand, hasn't had water for four (4) days now. "Residents have phoned me very upset because they don't even have drinking water," said Clr Inneth Mbatha, DA councillor for the area." <click here to read more>

"Ordinarily I would say it wasn't necessary since my Ward is beautiful enough (although it needs maintenance) but in this case it is for a good cause." <click here to read more>

"Cllr Rehana Moosajee delivered the annual budget for the Transportation sector on Thursday, 20 May 2010. This included the budget for the roads agency, Metro Bus and Bus Rapid Transit. All political parties had the opportunity to debate the budget and make recommendations. "<click to read more>

"DA spokesperson on Safety, Clr Darren Bergman has warned the City of Johannesburg of being too focused on the world cup as the end point but rather the starting point. Bergman said that all too often couples spend too much money and effort on planning for the wedding and forget that there is still a life time called marriage which will require more funding and efforts. " <click here to read more>

"Joburg is in the process of changing the method it uses to bill residents - again! "This is about the fourth change in about as many years, and it not just a plain old tinkering, its a completely radical change," said DA Clr Denis Hunt." <click here to read more>

"Johannesburg residents face a barrage of huge increases in service and rates charges when the City Council considers the 2010/2011 budget after the mayor presents his budget speech on Wednesday, said Victor Penning, DA leader in the Johannesburg City Council." <click here to read more>

"Residents in Ward 23 have joined up with local businesses to pretty up the R82/Old Vereeniging Road in the Kibler Park area. Residents have collected funds and along with Ward Councillor Paul Smit will be erecting 32 flagpoles along the road, one for each team coming to play in the Soccer World Cup. " <click here to read more>

"Although both the JMPD and the Park Wardens had been to the park on my request and evicted the vagrants, they returned to once again burn their fires and sleep in the park." <click here to read more>

"The long-awaited Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) route along Oxford Road (Section 6: Parktown to Sandton) has been further delayed due to an "expanded" assessment required following the outcry that took place at the public meetings held last year." <click here to read more>

"The City of Joburg lost more than R5.6 million on an internet library project. It also cost the local youth and other library users the capacity to learn how to compete at a global level. " <click here to read more>

"The shooting at two Rea Vaya buses on Friday night ahead of the further roll out of the BRT feeder system and the re-introduction of the Inner City Circular routes was a clear demonstration of the unwillingness of elements within the taxi industry to cooperate with the City and its plans. " <click here to read more>

"When the City of Johannesburg introduced the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in 2006, it was seen as an opportunity to transport 2010 football fans successfully. Unfortunately, the very vital route along Oxford road to Sandton will now not be ready in time. The Department of Transport has yet to announce the alternative transport plan between Sandton and Park station along Oxford road." <click here to read more>

"VVM attorneys, the debt collecting arm of Joburg Billing should be put under investigation by National Treasury. "My latest brush with them is the last straw, and I believe that something need to be done by either the City or a higher body," said Clr Sodah Griffin, a DA councillor in Joburg and a spokesperson on Rates Issues for the party. " <click here to read more>

"While the Pet by laws seem to have caused quite a stir in Johannesburg for the wrong reasons, Councillor Darren Bergman, Democratic Alliance spokesperson on Safety in Johannesburg, says that we should not sensationalise ..." <click here to read more>

"Is Ward 23 going to have a bleak winter again electricity wise? "I am very worried that the current daily electricity outages will signal another bad year for us," said Clr Paul Smit, DA Councillor for Ward 23." <click here to read more>

"On the 10th March 2010 the Booysens CPF AGM was held. Attendees at the February and earlier meetings were advised of the AGM and the necessary notice appeared in the Southern Courier. The chairman had arranged with the chairman of the Johannesburg Cluster CPF Board... " <click here to read more>

"Residents of Johannesburg may comment on and/or object to the proposed new tariffs and rates for 2010/11 financial year until 5 May 2010. The proposed increases vary..." <click here to read more>

"Being raped is one of the worst forms of victimization, however, it becomes worse when you are too scared to report it to your superiors for fear of retribution." <click to read more>

"When you hear the word police in any form you immediately begin to think around the word discipline. Discipline comes with a whole host of responsibilities: a responsibility for oneself, for the people around them, for the environment or organisation they work for and of course a responsibility for society." <click to read more>

"MMC Rehana Moosajee said at the AGM of the Johannesburg Roads Agency that she was very worried about the quality of work delivered by JRA and well she should be. Roads, as everyone knows, are a total disaster. As one of my fellow councillors stated in a speech in council recently: “Mr. Mayor we are all for progress and when the ANC came to power in 1995 we drove on the left of the road, now we drive on what is left of the road. This is not the progress we were looking for.” <click here to read more>

''At the main Johannesburg Billing center in Jorissen street, Clr Sodah Griffin states that the revenue collections department is closed, and has been for the last two days. "I have brought residents here to help them register for Joburg Connect services, but no counters are open. People can't even pay their bills. " <click here to read more>

"The violent protests in Soweto and other areas are going to happen, even in the World Cup, unless the City starts responding to the needs of the residents. The ANC run municipality likes to pretend that service delivery is not a burning issue." <click here to read more>

"It sounds very nice when the Gauteng Provincial Government says they are going to get involved to teach kids how to swim to prevent drownings. However reality is very ugly when I say my local swimming pool in Rhodes Park, Kensington has been closed for the last 18 months solid". <click here to read more>

"I like that the Minister of Co-operative Governance is changing his tune with regard to ratepayers and their rates. At least now there is a meeting of minds. Whereas before the Minister seems to have forgotten exactly who it is that pays the money into government so that he can draw a salary every month." <click here to read more>

"The article about the seven arrested building hijackers in the Sowetan of 29 March 2010 refers. Let me say that this a good start to a serious problem in Joburg's Inner City. I look forward to more arrests". <click here to read more>

"The Mayors tables the annual 2010/2011 at the council meeting today which includes the proposed service and rates tariffs for the financial year commencing on the 1st July , 2010" . <click here to read more>

"Statement by Clr Nico de Jager – DA spokesman on Transport in Joburg. The Democratic Alliance strongly objects to the performance bonus paid to the CEO of the Johannesburg Roads Agency to an amount of R767 000. This performance bonus paid to the CEO, DUDU MASEKO, based on her performance in the 2008 – 2009 financial year ending July 2009". <click here to read more>

"I have been in a month long battle to find out who is responsible for the missing man-hole cover in Bellairs Drive at the corner of Klipriversberg Road in Glenvista," said Clr Paul Smit, the DA Ward Councillor for the area. "Seventeen cars have been damaged at this spot since the beginning of this year, three of them so badly their suspensions were shot." <click here to read more>

"The Financial Strategy report laid before the Johannesburg City Council in its February meeting paints a damning picture of mismanagement of the city’s finances, confirming exactly what the Democratic Alliance has been warning of for the past 18 months regarding a rapidly developing financial crisis while the ANC leadership repeatedly denied that any problems existed and deflected criticism by accusing the DA of misleading the public and seeking to sow panic". <click here to read more>

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