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.
“In a meeting…the Gauteng government and Gauteng Mayors briefed [the] Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola on the province’s G20 Summit preparations,” the Premier revealed.
Work done to revitalise the province’s infrastructure ahead of the summit includes:
- Pothole repairs: 1523 potholes have been repaired with the project now 97% complete.
- Road markings: Work is 40% complete on the 456 road markings scheduled for refresh.
- Grass cutting and litter picking: This initiative, which includes herbicide application across 481 km, is 70% finished.
- Fencing: Installation of 11.21 km of new fencing is in its early stages with 4.4% complete.
- Light rehabilitation: Rehabilitation work on 23 052 m² of lighting is nearing completion, currently 88.7% finished.
- Guardrail replacement: The project to replace 77.6 km of guardrail is 38% complete.
- Stormwater drain maintenance: Maintenance on 443 stormwater drains is almost finished, with 88.4% complete.
- Traffic signal repairs: Repairs on 64 traffic signals are halfway complete at 50%.
- Streetlight repairs: Repairs for 21 274 streetlights are well underway, with 74% of the work completed.
Gautrain and the taxi industry
The Premier announced that the province has reached the final stages of selecting the preferred bidder for the Gautrain expansion.
“The province has reached the final stages of appointment…and the current concessionaire expires in March 2026 and this R45 billion asset be transferred to the people of Gauteng. EXCO [Executive Committee] will appoint the preferred bidder soon.
“The expansion will include Soweto, Mamelodi, Fourways and Roodepoort. We are also finalising [a] feasibility study to explore [how] to connect Gautrain to Smart City in Lanseria and Sedibeng.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi
“Plans are advanced to integrate the provincial transport system, and we intend to use this asset as the anchor and one of the outcomes of this will be the remodelling of the taxi industry after consultations with stakeholders,” Lesufi said.
Expanding further on the taxi industry, Lesufi said the province welcomed the “timeous intervention” by MEC for Roads and Transport, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, which averted a strike in the sector.
“[The MEC] worked with taxi associations to avert a prolonged taxi strike while engagement continues to reconcile existing differences. We apologise to the commuters who were inconvenienced and left stranded by the withdrawal of services.
“We support the decision to use dialogue to resolve differences and the efforts to establish a cordial working relationship based on a rules-based system. This approach ensures industry compliance while building trust and enhancing stakeholder relations,” he said.
Furthermore, the province is working at resolving route-related challenges.
“The province commits to expediting route verifications and registrations, including the implementation of the Ziveze Programme within the next two weeks, to resolve the crisis in the Operating License regime. Special focus will be given to associations that are prone to conflicts.
“We want to thank the Ministers of Police, Firoz Cachalia, and Transport, Barbara Creecy, for their help in resolving the taxi strike,” Lesufi said.
Originally posted on SAnews.gov.za
