Ramaphosa recalls disappointment of driving through 'a dark city' on his way to Chiawelo

JOHANNESBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa has detailed harrowing accounts of poor service delivery in his hometown of Soweto, south of Johannesburg.

He recalled his recent visit to Chiawelo where he was shocked by the lack of working street lights on the route linking the city centre to the township.

He told this story during his meeting with Johannesburg's leaders on Friday, where he continued expressing disappointment in the poor state of the city.

The president said that it was disheartening that Johannesburg residents have had to contend with poor service delivery.

"It was the other day that when I was going to Chiawelo in Soweto and I drove through the city and into the township and it was like driving through a dark city and I longed to see the beautiful contours of my city through street lights but there were none."

Last week, Ramaphosa made a surprise visit to the Johannesburg CBD, inspecting JMPD operations in the area.

He said that while he was impressed with the JMPD's overnight operations, he wasn't pleased with the decay of the city centre.