Officials check on charter progress

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News and media releases: 2009

22 July 2009

Reclaiming the inner city for its residents

THE inner city is surely reclaiming its position as the social and economic hub of Johannesburg, with various development projects already completed and others on the go.

On Friday, 17 July, the City manager, Mavela Dlamini, got first-hand experience of what has been happening in the area since the Inner City Regeneration Charter, which guides development and all projects undertaken in the area, was launched by Executive Mayor Amos Masondo in 2007.

Together with several City officials, Dlamini was taken through Hillbrow, Doornfontein, the Joburg CBD and Newtown on a marathon tour by the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the body responsible for revamping the region.

Before setting off, Phillip Harrison, the executive director of development planning and urban management, took the officials through the programme of the day, saying the tour was meant to "check the inner city's performance in terms of the charter".

Good and bad

Linear markets for informal traders

It was very difficult to assess what had been undertaken in the inner city without a first-hand view of what was happening on the ground. "The inner city is a huge and complex place and it's really impossible to look at everything. So what we trying to do is give you a taste of the good and bad."

Several projects were being undertaken in Hillbrow, including building linear markets and sanitary lanes. "Quartz Street linear markets in Hillbrow are nearing completion ... The tour of the linear markets will make people understand what they are all about."

The deadline for the Quartz Street markets was the end of July.

Sanitary lanes, said Harrison, were "notorious places" in the inner city. They were developed during the bucket system and today were used as dumping grounds by flat dwellers. "They were supposed to be sanitary lanes but they are insanitary lanes. The JDA was tasked to initiate a programme to try to upgrade [them]."

He gave a brief description of a transitional housing project at the MBV building on Claim and Hancock streets. It consisted of two phases and would yield more than 600 rooms.

"Transitional housing is one of the most critical interventions in the inner city because we cannot regenerate the inner city unless we have such facilities. The project will be completed in October 2009."

Hillbrow

A revamped Doornfontein Transport Square

And then it was off to Quartz Street, where Dlamini chatted to some of the market vendors. Xolani Nxumalo, the deputy director of informal trading in the economic development department, said the linear market project looked at ease of management.

"The design of the linear markets also made sure they did not block entrances to businesses in the area. When complete, [they] will accommodate 240 traders."

However, Dlamini noted that they did not have ablution or storage facilities; Nxumalo responded that these would be built at a later stage. "Currently, traders store privately in buildings around the area."

A lot had happened since 2007; streets had been paved, trees planted and new street lights put up, said Lael Bethlehem, the chief executive of the JDA. On Claim Street, a once derelict piece of land had been turned into a beautiful park and recreation area.

"This was once a horrible piece of land but it has been converted into a place were children can play," she said.

The park includes a five-a-side soccer field with artificial grass and a children's play area. It would be jointly managed by City Parks and the city improvement district in the area, Bethlehem added.

Sanitary lanes

A few blocks away from this beautiful haven, the City has also turned smelly and dirty lanes into clean lanes by paving and putting up street lights.

Lael said there were 77 lanes in the inner city that had been earmarked for upgrading. So far, the JDA had revamped 12 of them. To give the officials a sense of what had been accomplished, Bethlehem took the officials a few metres away to a lane a block away from the newly upgraded BG Alexander building.

It was dirty, with huge rats feasting on garbage dumped by residents of a nearby flat. A steady stream of murky water ran through it. "This is what most of the lanes we have upgraded looked like. This is problem that is rife in Hillbrow and Berea."

Workers were seen busily revamping the MBV building. When complete, it will accommodate about 1 600 people.

A stone's throw from Ellis Park Stadium in Doornfontein, is Doornfontein Transport Square. Once an informal butchery, it has been turned into a clean taxi facility with six taxi washing bays. The most attractive features are spectacular artworks of cows, which symbolise its history.

End Street Park

Yet another attractive development is the End Street Park, which consists of two five-a-side football fields, a skate board area and a children's play area. The park, manned by two permanent guards, also has 16 CCTV cameras.

Soon to be opened to the public, it will mainly serve residents of 120 End Street, a tall building in downtown Johannesburg. It is also being upgraded and will yield 5 000 flats.

Across town, in the west is Newtown, Turbine Hall has been turned into a classy office block occupied by mining company AngloGold Ashanti, among others. Once derelict and home to hundreds of squatters, Turbine Hall is now prime office space and has become an important link between the CBD and Newtown.

Taking the officials on a walkabout down Bree Street, the Region F director, Nathi Mthethwa, pointed to an attractive building at the corner of Bree and Harrison streets, saying this was once a slum.

By-law enforcement

"The building has been turned into a shopping mall and all the trader stalls that once littered the street have been removed to create more space for pedestrians. The only challenge ... now is that if we ... have by-law enforcement on a daily basis we won't have a problem."

In terms of bad buildings, Mthethwa said there were only a few buildings left in the block that needed to be tackled. "We are now working with City Parks to put in plants, but our main worry is that this needs to be sustained."

Wrapping up the tour, Dlamini said it was important for the City to grow a culture of visiting its "work stations" such as the inner city.

"It is important to reflect on how we can build a better Johannesburg in the current economic environment. There are lots of challenges but we will change the city one step at a time."

The tour had been an eye opener and there were plenty of things to reflect on; however, he said more participation and interest from business owners in the area were required.

"This is our collective city," he said.

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The Johannesburg Development Agency, set up as a limited liability company, is an agency of the City of Johannesburg that stimulates and supports area-based economic development initiatives throughout the metropolitan area.

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