The Office of the Executive Mayor is addressing the issues facing the residents of Eldorado Park, with crime and its socio-economic drivers being central to a memorandum that we were made aware of through various channels. 

My heartfelt condolences go out to the families and the community at large, who have lost too many lives, many of them young, to crime. Across the City, these incidents are becoming common place and it pains me that our communities must contend with this reality daily. The Mayoral Priority of a safe and secure City, and our ongoing collaboration with the SAPS, to finalise the Joburg Safer City Strategy, will ensure that we have better policing power in communities. Further to this, we must bring on other Departments and Entities to address the socio-economic issues that birth criminality. 

Once I was made aware of the surge in shootings and criminal activities, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, Cllr David Tembe, was deployed to engage with the community, and a decision was made to dispatch additional Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) resources, including Officers and Specialised Units. 

On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, I further delegated Officials from my Office who met with the community leaders to further engage on the issues tabled by the residents, and to ascertain what resources are required. Further to this, the Offices of the Acting City Manager and Chief Operations Officer have been tasked with urgently assisting in compiling a response to issues that fall within the City’s mandate. 

We assure the community that there is work being done. It is my intention to convene a meeting with the community to outline how we can work together to improve on what is being done, and to repair and rebuild Eldorado Park. 

There are many other issues that fall outside the City’s local government authority. Indeed, the call for an integrated approach has not gone unheard. I have written letters to the Premier and the President’s respective Office’s requesting their assistance in addressing the myriad of issues that plague Eldorado Park and other communities. 

We have also been in contact with SAPS, who have indicated that there is an integrated plan that has been developed. 

Repairing and rebuilding Joburg requires us to work together as we are a government that believes that the solutions must emanate from the community. To this end, the Multi-Party- Government in the City of Johannesburg, is ready and willing to constructively engage communities in fixing Joburg.