The City of Joburg has failed to live up to its promise to partially reopen the Joburg City Library by the end of February.

Initially, the mayor Dada Morero had assured the public during a site visit in January that the first phase of the library's reopening would commence in February, followed by a full reopening in June.

However, this has not happened with President Cyril Ramaphosa revealing that the mayor has made another commitment of only reopening the library later this month or early next month.

This comes as Ramaphosa expressed his concern over the closure and decay of public facilities, including the Johannesburg Library and Art Gallery.

"We are equally concerned about closure of public facilities like the Johannesburg Library, where I used to study but also where I used to go and borrow books as a young man. The Johannesburg Art Gallery and the Metro Centre are also in decline. But I also have some good news. The mayor told me that the Johannesburg Library should be opening later this month or earlier net month. That is good news," the President said.

During a media briefing held at the Johannesburg Library in January this year, Morero told the media that the first phase of the library would focus on the children’s site, while the second phase will be dedicated to the adults’ side of the building.

"The end of June should be the official opening of a fully functional library. But as a city, we have committed to ensuring that this library is reopened for its first phase by February,” he said.

Besides the continued closure of the library, Ramaphosa who this weekend visited the City of Johannesburg, expressed disappointment with the current state of Johannesburg as he urged both the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng provincial government to do their best to make sure it looks better ahead of the G-20 summit in November.

He called for the officials to invest in revitalising decaying infrastructure, including the speedy repair to Lilian Ngoyi Street.

Ramaphosa and his cabinet met with Morero and his mayoral committee to address issues leading to a lack of service delivery in the metro. The meeting came a day after Ramaphosa’s meeting with the Gauteng provincial government.

"Infrastructure projects, including Rea Vaya bus station and the refurbishment of Lillan Ngoyi Street must be prioritised. We also share the sentiment that there needs to be a collaborative focus on rejuvenating the inner city of Johannesburg and the city's townships.

"I reiterated earlier, and I will not repeat that how driving in the streets of Johannesburg made me become more and more disheartened by the state of the city. Through the Department of Cooperative Government, the National Treasury and Provincial Government, we are supporting the City of Johannesburg to stabilise its governance and financial affairs," he said.

Attempts to get comment from the mayor's office were unsuccessful at the time of going to print.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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Further delays in Joburg Library reopening