I was deeply humbled to be able to provide residents of Ivory Park with the dignity of owning their own homes today.

500 community members packed the Ivory Park North Hall today to witness 38 households receiving their long awaited title deeds.

Representatives from a number of political parties were warmly welcomed by the community and I reiterated my position that I am the mayor of all residents of our City no matter what political party you support.

It was a day of celebration for the community of Ivory Park and it was an honour to be able to share this moment of joy with them.

The new administration in our City has an enormous task ahead of us as we work tirelessly to deliver better services to our residents, especially the poor.

Ivory Park is a community that suffers from high unemployment, poverty and a lack of basic services. These are issues that I am dedicated to resolving to ensure that we create a fairer, more equal and integrated city for all our people.

Having title to your home is more than just possessing a piece of paper. It provides residents with an asset which they can pass on to their children and grandchildren. It is also a means to unlocking economic potential and empowers people to pull themselves out of poverty.

The Department of Housing is currently in the process of allocating more than 2000 title deeds to residents of Johannesburg. These are title deeds that will be provided to residents without any conditions of political support and once delivered no government will ever be able to threaten their right to own their homes.

I call on all residents to unite behind our new vision in Johannesburg, a vision centred on job creation, delivering better services and stopping corruption.

Together we can make Joburg a city of golden opportunities. Because if Johannesburg works, South Africa works.