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The Gauteng government has been accused of being so inept in service delivery that it even failed to plant trees it committed to planting in the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year. The provincial department of agriculture and rural development planted only 16 053 of the 30 000 trees it was supposed to plant during this period to mitigate the climate challenge risks.
Jade Miller, the DA's spokesperson on agriculture in the province, this week lamented that this was happening while Gauteng residents were experiencing severe changes in the weather patterns, posing health and safety risks.
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Miller said the department was not doing enough to mitigate the effects of the climate challenge.
She said:
Miller said the party would submit questions in the legislature soon to determine exactly what the budget was for planting trees and why there were insufficient funds to meet the target.
Andile Gumede, the department's spokesperson, said the total cost for purchasing and delivering the 30 000 trees was more than R5 million. An additional R 4.3 million was required to plant the trees, Gumede said.
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He said the trees were supposed to be planted in brown areas, which he said were predominantly in the townships, informal settlements and hostels.
Explaining the reason for the delay in planting the trees, Gumede said:
As part of its drive to green the townships, through the Bontle Ke Botho campaign, the provincial government announced on Arbor Day last year that it aimed to plant at least 1 million trees by the end of this year.
According to southafrica.net, Johannesburg has more than 10 million trees in its city, gardens, 600 parks, open spaces and suburbs, making it the world's largest urban jungle.
