Editorial
During the State of the Capital Address at UNISA on April 16, 2026, Executive Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya delivered a message of optimism, stating that Tshwane is stabilising, recovering, and entering a new phase of renewal. The atmosphere of the event was formal, orderly, and focused on the future. Dr Moya’s speech was rooted in data, reforms and a commitment to renewed fiscal discipline.
But beyond the auditorium, in communities such as Hammanskraal, Temba, Soshanguve, Mabopane, Ga-Rankuwa, Atteridgeville, Mamelodi and surrounding areas, renewal carries a far more practical meaning. It is not defined by balance sheets or investment pledges. It is defined by whether water runs from the tap, whether electricity remains stable, whether refuse is collected on time, whether billing is accurate and whether infrastructure works without constant crisis.
We do not suggest that the broader work of governing the capital city should pause because certain communities are struggling. A city as complex as Tshwane must operate on many fronts at once. Yet the true measure of renewal will not be found in applause inside the chamber, but in the lived experience of residents across the region.
The Mayor spoke of financial correction, including a funded budget, improved reserves, debt management and institutional reform. These are significant foundations. A city cannot deliver services sustainably without financial stability. If maintained, these reforms could create the conditions for long-term recovery.
But recovery on paper must become recovery in communities.
Nowhere is that test more visible than in Hammanskraal. In her address, the Mayor acknowledged the area as a key pressure point and referenced progress at the Klipdrift Water Treatment Plant, as well as broader interventions to stabilise supply. Those upgrades matter. They represent long-overdue investment.
Yet communities like Hammanskraal have learned that progress announced is not always progress sustained.
For more than a decade, residents endured inconsistent and, at times, unsafe water. The 2023 cholera outbreak remains a painful reminder of what prolonged infrastructure failure can cost. Tankers became routine. Buckets became fixtures in households. Schools and businesses adapted as best they could. Uncertainty became normal.
The City maintains that sections of Hammanskraal are seeing improvements, yet for many residents, trust has not fully returned. Trust grows through lived consistency, not reported milestones.
The recent disruption at Sebothoma Hall in Temba, following the Mayor’s absence at a scheduled community meeting on water shortages, illustrates how fragile that trust remains. Residents gathered, expecting direct engagement on a crisis shaping their daily lives. Some openly stated that they had come to the meeting without water for washing at home, while those sent to address them arrived from areas with a stable supply. Before frustration escalated, the community’s underlying message was clear that patience is thin, and dignity matters.
That anger was not merely about a missed appearance. It reflected accumulated fatigue, a community weary of assurances that feel distant from daily reality.
But Hammanskraal is not alone in measuring renewal through basic services.
In Soshanguve and Mabopane, electricity outages and ageing substations remain persistent concerns. In Ga-Rankuwa, Atteridgeville and Mamelodi, residents are watching whether announced upgrades translate into fewer disruptions. Across our townships, overloaded transformers, cable theft and recurring equipment failures continue to undermine confidence.
Within this broader electricity challenge, the recent intergovernmental intervention in Hammanskraal, led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, adds another dimension to the recovery conversation. Their six-to-seven-week stabilisation plan, centred on installing smart meters and formalising electricity connections ahead of winter, seeks to reduce load reduction by addressing infrastructure overloading at its source.
If implemented transparently and consistently, this approach could contribute meaningfully to network stability. Indigent households are expected to receive free basic electricity directly through the new system, and residents facing financial hardship are encouraged to engage with the formalisation process rather than remain outside it. Bringing households into a regulated system, if handled fairly and communicated clearly, may reduce transformer failures and repeated shutdowns.
However, implementation will be the true test. Installation alone will not resolve long-standing frustrations. Clear communication, consistent enforcement and measurable reductions in outages will determine whether this intervention builds confidence or deepens scepticism. As always, progress must be demonstrated in lived experience.
Housing presents another test. The issuance of title deeds, the formalisation of informal settlements and the expansion of rental housing strategies speak to dignity and long-term security. These are meaningful commitments. Yet they must unfold transparently and fairly, particularly where relocations are involved. Renewal must not create uncertainty for the vulnerable in the name of order.
On investment, the R86 billion in pledges announced at the Tshwane Investment Summit has the potential to drive economic momentum, especially through automotive expansion in Rosslyn and township-based entrepreneurship programmes. But communities will measure these pledges not in rand value, but in jobs created, SMMEs included, youth trained and contracts fairly awarded. Pledges are encouraging. Employment is transformative.
The same principle applies to expanded indigent support, food banks, apprenticeships and youth programmes. Social renewal cannot remain aspirational; it must reach households consistently and equitably.
Governance reform, improved audits, consequence management and oversight may be the least visible but most important foundation of all. Without it, service delivery collapses again. Yet reform is not proven by announcements of investigations; it is proven by concluded cases, recovered funds and sustained compliance.
The Mayor acknowledged that the City is not yet where it wants to be. Honesty is important. But the distance between intention and impact must narrow steadily.
As Moretele Times and our sister publications — Ga-Rankuwa Times, Mabopane Times, Soshanguve Times, Pheli Times, Mamelodi Times and Student Times, our role is consistent across the region. We are not adversaries of progress, nor are we uncritical amplifiers of power. We are observers on behalf of the communities we serve.
We will continue in Hammanskraal to test water reliability.
We will track electricity stabilisation across townships.
We will monitor whether investment pledges become construction sites and pay slips.
We will follow housing projects beyond groundbreaking ceremonies.
We will report when delivery improves, and when it does not.
Renewal is a powerful word. It suggests restoration, dignity and forward movement. But its meaning will remain incomplete until it is felt, not occasionally, not ceremonially, but permanently, in communities across Tshwane.
Because in the end, renewal is not proven in speeches.
It is proven in service delivery that works for all communities.
