Tshwane - City of Tshwane executive mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa took to social media platforms to interact with people for two hours on Friday.
From noon until 2pm, the communication lines between Ramokgopa and social media users on Twitter and Facebook were opened.
Participants asked Ramokgopa questions relating to service delivery, education, unemployment and housing, using the hashtag #AskRamokgopa.
The hashtag was trending in Pretoria on Twitter after that of the ANC Youth League congress.
While there were people who heaped praise on Ramokgopa for his leadership style, others complained about sluggish service delivery.
To those who complained about corruption, he suggested they called the city anti-corruption hotline 080 874 9263.
“We continue to take disciplinary action against those involved,” he said.
Facebook user Obuti Shanangu wrote: “I’m looking for a job as a tower crane operator, but the companies come with their operators.”
Ramokgopa replied: “We do not have opportunities for tower crane operators, but we are more than happy to facilitate opportunities with some of the big developers.
“Please send your details to [email protected].”
Dingiswayo Zulu asked Ramokgopa about the kind of support she could receive from the city for her company in Soshanguve. She had proposals for an information systems project and wanted her company to be aligned to the taxi industry and the free wi-fi.
“The company intends to develop systems and apps for the taxi industry which will be shared and be interacted with through the internet and other electronic means. Ultimately, we want to establish a centralised national database of all taxi associations and their respective mother bodies. By doing so, it shall be easy to establish a Tshwane taxi helpdesk,” she wrote.
Ramokgopa expressed appreciation for the innovative solutions to the many challenges faced by communities. He asked her to set up a meeting with his office.
Jozilondon NY, from Mshongo in Atteridgeville, said he had applied for a house in 2006 but was still waiting. Ramokgopa said there were already developments in areas like Atteridgeville, Pretoria West and Lotus Gardens to assist families from informal settlements.
“The first development is Atteridgeville Extension 19, where we are putting services in place to relocate 906 families,” he wrote.
Ronald Phiri wrote: “Can the City of Tshwane create more internship posts for students? They need this to graduate #AskRamokgopa”.
At the end of the chat, Ramokgopa tweeted: “Once more thank you for a fruitful session; most highly appreciated. Looking forward to our next session.”
But other social media users were not impressed. Ntiyiso Mnisi wrote: “But some of our questions were not answered.”
Harry UncleRush Maja said: “Fruitful jwang (how) while you didn’t answer our questions?”
Pretoria News Weekend