Johannesburg: Spanners and spades are out in Johannesburg as the city gears up to host the historic G20 Leaders’ Summit this November. The summit – to be held under the theme: Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability – will be the first to be held on African soil. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi outlined the province’s preparations in a media briefing held on Wednesday.
According to South African Government News Agency, the Premier revealed that in a meeting, the Gauteng government and Gauteng Mayors briefed Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola on the province’s G20 Summit preparations. Work done to revitalize the province’s infrastructure ahead of the summit includes pothole repairs, road markings, grass cutting, litter picking, fencing, light rehabilitation, guardrail replacement, stormwater drain maintenance, traffic signal repairs, and streetlight repairs. Specifically, 1,523 potholes have been repaired, road marking work is 40% complete, and grass cutting and litter picking are 70% finished. Additionally, 11.21 km of new fencing installation is in its early stages, light rehabilitation work on 23,052 m² of lighting is 88.7% finished, and 77.6 km of guardrail replacement is 38% complete. Maintenance on 443 stormwater drains is 88.4% complete, repairs on 64 traffic signals are 50% done, and streetlight repairs for 21,274 streetlights are 74% completed.
The Premier also announced that the province has reached the final stages of selecting the preferred bidder for the Gautrain expansion. The expansion will include Soweto, Mamelodi, Fourways, and Roodepoort, while a feasibility study is being finalized to explore connecting Gautrain to Smart City in Lanseria and Sedibeng. Plans are advanced to integrate the provincial transport system, using Gautrain as the anchor. This will involve remodelling the taxi industry after consultations with stakeholders.
Expanding further on the taxi industry, Lesufi stated that the province welcomed the intervention by MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, which averted a strike in the sector. The MEC worked with taxi associations to prevent a prolonged taxi strike while engagement continues to reconcile existing differences. The province is committed to expediting route verifications, registrations, and implementing the Ziveze Programme within the next two weeks to resolve the crisis in the Operating License regime, giving special focus to associations prone to conflicts.
Lesufi expressed gratitude to the Ministers of Police, Firoz Cachalia, and Transport, Barbara Creecy, for their assistance in resolving the taxi strike.