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City of Johannesburg turns down offer for help and opts to go solo

Kennedy Mudzuli

With the 2010 Fifa World Cup a mere six weeks away, common sense would dictate that all citizens join forces to bring Jozi and other host cities to world standards.
However, this is not the case if events of the past week, which culminated with the City of Johannesburg turning down an offer for assistance, are anything to write home about. It started with a meeting of a few wise heads at Caxton Johannesburg North Community Newspapers, publisher of the Sandton Chronicle.
Having roped in a globally-respected scribe as the face of the project, the agreement was unanimous that there was indeed a need to add some sparkle to the environment before football fans arrived next month.
Areas that needed attention were identified, and local businesses were to be approached to add financial muscle where required. All seemed set for a noble and exciting cause. But Sibongile Mazibuko, the executive director in the municipal 2010 project office, had other ideas. This is how Mazibuko responded to a request for an urgent meeting to discuss the campaign, ‘Kindly be advised that the beautification of Johannesburg is out on tender and we are in the process of appointing a service provider. As such we are unable to meet with you until the tender process has been finalised’.
There you have it; with just weeks left to the 11 June kick-off of the greatest sporting event on Earth, the city hosting the opening and closing ceremonies still has to issue a tender for the beautification of the environment. And it is not interested in discussing possible assistance from interested parties who would do the job at no cost to ratepayers and without any manpower from the municipality.
All we can do now is sit back and watch the show unfold as Mazibuko and company issue the tender and expect the service provider to clean up streets and pavements, among other things, within 40 days or so.
kennedym@caxton.co.za

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Kennedy Mudzuli