It is a huge mistake to think Johannesburg’s inner city has reached its full potential, mayor Amos Masondo said at the Inner-City Summit on Saturday, convened to address Johannesburg’s progress towards becoming a world-class African city.
”We have much to be proud of, but the challenges that remain are huge,” the mayor acknowledged.
The summit was a central part of an ongoing process that includes representatives from the government, business, civil society and individuals.
It was held to reflect on work completed over the past months through a series of stakeholder working groups that addressed economic development; social development; public spaces, arts, culture and heritage; urban management, safety and security; transportation; and residential development.
A draft inner-city charter that maps the city’s commitments to regeneration was presented on the day. Drawn up along the six areas of concern, the charter is ”a reflection of what we are saying are the issues”, said the city’s Graeme Gotz, who helped organise the summit. ”It is content that was generated jointly … It is our commitments as well as submissions made by individual stakeholders,” he said.
The draft charter outlines commitments made by the city as well as desired outcomes, with regards to the six key areas listed above.
But the city was not asking stakeholders to sign up to the charter on Saturday, Gotz said. It wanted to determine whether the commitments were suitable to stakeholders — and, if not, the city was open to amendments.
”We will use the draft charter as a basis for engagement. We want people to really own up to the process,” Masondo agreed.
Endorsement
”The charter remains a draft until it is endorsed by yourselves,” city manager Mavela Dlamini told participants before the summit split into commissions representing the six areas. Relevant stakeholders interacted with each other on the draft charter. They were able to make recommendations and amendments to the document, which were presented at the end of the day.
Some of these recommendations included:
- improving language and signage for migrants, such as at entry points to the country;
- making sure the provision of housing correlates with adequate schooling and social services;
- ensuring that developments do not increase homelessness;
- coordinating city departments so they don’t act like individual ”republics”;
- involving the youth;
- setting up community courts;
- fostering community partnerships;
- catering for people with disabilities;
- reducing broadband costs; and
- promoting local tourism expertise.
”The draft charter will be rewritten with input from the summit,” Dlamini said, emphasising that the public can add even more input before the charter is finalised in July.
However, ”As much as they say our input will be put in, I’m not sure,” said Shereza Sibanda, of the Inner-City Resource Centre, which assists the poor and unemployed in the city.
The centre is part of the People’s Summit Initiative (PSI), which held a rally last week to highlight the fact that it felt excluded by the summit process. On Saturday, it put forward its own submissions, which included the right to housing, basic services, and free and fair trade.
Sibanda felt the summit could have worked better. ”Something is missing,” she said with regards to the issue of residential development. ”More needs to be done there [to incorporate the poor]”.
She said the PSI had not been included in the process since its inception, and didn’t have a full understanding of all the issues. It was not given a chance to add to the charter prior to the summit.
”Quite a number of things are not in the charter; we have to bring those things up so our demands are met,” she said. ”It’s a very beautiful charter, but my worry is: Will everything in the charter be implemented? Even without our input, are they going to do what they say?”
But Masondo was positive about the overall process when he spoke to the M&G Online on Saturday. About the possible lack of consensus on certain issues, he said: ”I’m not saying the process is perfect, I’m not saying that all issues will be agreed on, but that is what democracy is about. But at some point there must be a decision.”
He added: ”I am confident that the time frames set are reasonable. The things we are committing to are, in fact, going to happen if all stakeholders buy in and commit in a meaningful way.”
”For us, we have to push to make these things work,” Sibanda said. ”We have to make [the city] accountable to what they say to us, and they must include us in their plans.”
Commitments
Key commitments from the city are stipulated in the draft charter, under the six key areas. These include:
- under urban management, safety and security;
- setting up a regional urban management plan by mid-2007;
- better by-law education and enforcement;
- a R99-million injection into Pikitup for a new waste-management system;
- major anti-litter and recycling campaigns;
- increasing the number of metro police, on-street patrols and voluntary patrollers; and
- an effective communication platform between the various officers.
The city will more than double its network of closed-circuit television cameras to 216 by the end of 2007, and by 2008, the metro police and South African Police Service will negotiate with private security companies for guards to respond to recorded incidents.
The city will review by-laws to ensure an integrated approach to managing bad buildings, and there will be a database of these buildings that allows city officials to track possible decline. Measures will be set up to deal with problems as they emerge.
Under public spaces, arts, culture and heritage, the city will implement a plan to upgrade and maintain unmanaged open spaces; new public open spaces will be identified; and ”fanfest” spaces will be developed for the 2010 World Cup. There will be a public environment upgrade plan implemented fully by 2011, to include new paving, green spaces and trading management.
Business plans for the development of key iconic spaces will be in place by 2008. By the end this year, the city will review its policy of outdoor advertising to prevent visual clutter.
It will promote Johannesburg as the ”City of Culture” around the 2009 World Summit on Arts and Culture that it will host. A fund for special events will be set up, and the city will facilitate the development of 100 new start-up spaces for creative industries by 2010.
Looking at economic development, two linear markets for street traders will be completed by 2007 and a database of traders by 2008, and a new street trading policy will be developed by 2009, with stricter management and law enforcement.
There will be roll-out of a new broadband network for the city and an economic development programme by 2012. Incentives for inner-city redevelopment projects will be promoted and extended; and problems with street parking will be addressed by 2008.
Regarding social development, the city will establish a database of civil society organisations by 2007, which it will offer assistance such as work space, and social grants. It will support a shelter forum to assist vulnerable groups like street children; identify 100 NGOs to which it can provide ”measurable support”; run programmes to assist migrants and refugees; and improve emergency medical services and health access.
It plans to offer free computer literacy and career management at inner-city libraries; refurbish existing sport and recreation facilities; and, by December this year, sign an agreement with the University of the Witwatersrand enabling surrounding communities to make use of its facilities.
For transportation, this year will see the full planning of the BRT system that will be rolled out by January 2010. Work on the Park station precinct will begin in the 2007/08 financial year, with the entire project completed by 2012/13; the Doornfontein and Jeppe train stations will either be closed later this year or refurbished by 2010; a taxi redevelopment plan will be completed by mid-2008 to be rolled out by 2011; and visibility of traffic law enforcement will be increased in key areas.
Regarding residential development, at least 50 000 new housing units will be created in the city — 20 000 of these for the ”sub-market” and an inner-city housing action plan will be facilitated by this year.
At least 500 beds will be available as emergency accommodation by mid-2007 and another 5 000 by 2009; all bad buildings on the Better Buildings Programme will be dealt with by 2010, and at least 10 buildings will be developed as social housing schemes over the next three years.
Plans to upgrade hostels and manage and redevelop informal settlements will be finalised this year, to be completed by 2012.