Development Planning Dept’s Covid-19 triumphs

Covid-19 cannot and has not stopped the City’s spatial integration and social and economic inclusion plans and projects.

As the Covid-19 lockdown brought the lives and plans of billions of people across the world to a complete stop, the very same thing was experienced by the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Development Planning. According to former MMC Lawrence Khoza, this was due to the fact that a majority of the department’s projects were not deemed as an essential service resulting in a screeching halt or months-long suspension of the department’s activities and responsibilities.
The absence of an automated system caused by the virus had an impact on property development leading to low investment and frustrations to developers. Along with other challenges it presented to the office its biggest tests yet, but the former MMC believes the worst has passed.
He expressed, “It has been a tough year, considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent National Lockdown. It is comforting that during the lockdown, the City continued providing essential services, and in Stage 1, the City’s offerings are back to near-normal. With all the challenges this year, we are closing the year on a high.”

Going into 2020, the department had listed spatial integration and social and economic inclusion as their major areas of focus. Of the projects carried out by the unit, the adoption of the Nodal Review Policy was a highlight for development planning. Khoza explained, “It promotes inclusionary housing (30 per cent of all new developments to be dedicated towards low income and low-middle income households), and commercial interventions in all the City’s development nodes.”
In addition to this, the department also celebrated the recently approved 60 days of public participation for the Draft Green Buildings Policy, which aims at achieving low to net-zero carbon performance for all new buildings in Johannesburg by 2030 and 100 per cent for buildings by 2050. The Draft Development Contributions Policy, which brings certainty and fairness in contributions towards engineering services and opening of the major private development Jewel City in September are their successes for 2020.

Although Khoza is now the MMC of Economic Development and has been replaced by Thapelo Amad in mid-November, he shares the well wishes of the office. “Some of our fellow citizens have lost loved ones, and many have faced major economic challenges. I wish all of our citizens a peaceful and prosperous festive season. Let us extend love and solidarity to all, and may we enter 2021 with energy and optimism.”