Mayor Dada Morero unveils 'bomb squad' that's out to fix Joburg

Joburg mayor Dada Morero has unveiled the “bomb squad” he believes will fix the city and bolster service delivery.

Led by ANC veteran Snuki Zikalala, the cohort consists of decorated former city managers, civil servants and current city officials.

He insisted that the task team was not formed to duplicate the functions of officials already working for the city, nor to interfere with the presidential intervention working group that descended on the city three months ago.

Morero says the bomb squad has a targeted responsibility to supplement the work that is being done and arrest the city’s decline on the service delivery front, while tackling systemic barriers that hamper services.

Despite not being paid, the squad would remain committed to their duties, Morero said. Only Zikalala will receive a stipend as he will man the task team full time.

“The Joburg Bomb Squad is our specialised unit that will assist the city to arrest crime and grime in the city, fight lawlessness, unlock service delivery bottlenecks and accelerate delivery.

“When the going gets tough they will apply the military definition to their work. And when hope is needed, the Springbok definition will be applied. A one-point win is victory for a nation,” he said.

The squad will be offered administrative support through the office of the chief operations officer. At the centre of operations will be “business intelligence gathering”, which he says will include meetings held with the relevant parties/authorities to isolate areas of potential land and/or building invasions and to propose proactive intervention.

“The work of the bomb squad will be informed by adopting a precinct approach throughout the city. An appropriate implementation will be developed to give expression to it. It will also be necessary for the bomb squad to developed appropriate interaction mechanisms with the city’s service delivery war room.

“The team will have the duty of activating rapid response teams in response to reported service delivery hotspots. They will be the eyes and ears of the mayor. They will activate rapid interventions to address lawlessness and execute a high-impact visibility programme,” he said.

This is expected to include the implementation of:

• a pothole-fixing programme;
• grass cutting;
• ensuring traffic lights work;
• eliminating illegal refuse dumps in all communities;
• addressing sewerage spillages in townships and informal settlements; and
• the formalisation of informal settlements.

Morero’s bomb squad:

• Dr Snuki Zikalala;
• Blake Mosley-Lefatole — former city manager and executive;
• Mavela Dlamini — former city manager and executive;
• Prof Trevor Fowler — former city manager and executive;
• Gerald Dumas — former COO;
• Philisiwe Twala-Tau, Salga representative;
• Vicky Shuping — adviser to the mayor and responsible for co-ordinating the work of the different workstreams that deal with service delivery and urban management;
• Reggie Boqo — former group CFO;
• Principal Busani Ngwani from the National School of Governance and member of the group performance audit committee;
• Dr Kwezi Mabassa, think-tank member of the department of trade, industry and competition;
• Dr Gumani Tshimomola; and
• Audrey Mothupi, CEO of the Systemic Logic Group.

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