In his inaugural speech, the newly elected mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba stated that he will put a stop to the bicycle lane project in Sandton and honed-in on poverty.
He has elected to halt the construction of bicycle lanes around the city, which was allocated a budget of R70 million. “I intend putting a halt to this project. When every road in Johannesburg is tarred, maybe then, we will look at bicycle lanes again,” said Mashaba.
He added that none of us can rest while hundreds of thousands of families in Johannesburg suffer in abject poverty. “I have laid eight complaints with the South African Human Rights Commission over the past six months, which they have agreed to investigate. These include communities in Alexandra, Zandspruit, Kwa Mai-Mai and Princess.”
In his speech, he also said, “This DA-led administration will prioritise the upgrading of informal settlements. We will work tirelessly to provide decent services and help lift people out of poverty. One only has to look at the residents of Alex, standing today, in two feet of sewer water, to see the challenges we face.”
He said that they are now governing, and it is their responsibility to uplift these communities and restore their dignity.
Vincent Earp, Ward 103 councillor said, “There are existing bicycle lanes and the focus is that all the roads in Johannesburg need to be fixed before the bicycle lanes can continue.”
Werner Smit, Ward 109 councillor said, “The reality is that in Johannesburg there’s a lack of basic services and the conditions in which people live in Alexandra is frightening. I completely agree with the mayor that we can’t roll out these bicycle lanes if there are people living in such conditions.” He did add that he believed cities should, in future, become more pedestrian friendly.
