DERELICT buildings in the city attracts vagrancy, drug dens and brothels and the municipality, together with stakeholders, has plans to clean up.
Today (Wednesday 27 November), eThekwini Municipality mayor, Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, hosts members of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, property developers and the business community to launch the City Means Business at the Greyville Convention Centre.
ALSO READ: City plans to bulldoze dozens of old Durban buildings
The City Means Business is a series of engagements developed by the City, in partnership with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, that aims to create a platform for interactive discourse with relevant businesses and stakeholders related to advancing employment, development and social inclusion in the City.
The first meeting of the series is the Inner-City Regeneration Programme with particular focus on the Mahathma Gandhi Precinct.
Within the Inner-City there are 80 bad buildings, 33 of which falls within this precinct.
ALSO READ: New unit created to tackle problem buildings around Durban
Bad buildings have been plaguing the City for many years and plans are being drawn up to keep the streets of Durban safe. Mayor Kaunda will unpack strategies to deal with these challenges and transform the inner-City into a space that is attractive to international and domestic investors and tourists and ensure that it is a place where residents can play, live and work safely.
“There is no doubt that the tipping point has arrived,” said Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.
“This will be a great inner city, one that will be unmatched in South Africa.
“The District Planning Model led by the Presidential Office is currently being piloted in eThekwini and supported by a range of partnerships from the public, private,
ALSO READ: DA pleased with city’s steps to deal with derelict buildings in eThekwini
NGO, academic and research sectors. This Inner-City will become a place of investment and innovation. It will demonstrate cultural heritage and tourism offerings that make it a must-visit city of the South including mixed-use and mixed-income living; supportive of those that are economically and socially marginalised.”
Palesa Phili, CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “The Durban Chamber is pleased the City has partnered with us as a representative of organised business to create this platform for public-private engagement and we look forward to the municipality presenting and unpacking its Inner-City Regeneration Programme.”
“We actively encourage our members and the business community to participate in the City Means Business series of engagements.”
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
