The Joburg mayor, city manager, some MMCs and a host of municipal CEOs and managers got their hands dirty when they did an oversight visit at Randburg CBD.
A crowd of private security, metro police officers, and staff accompanied the group, which looked at homelessness in the area, the Civic Centre still out of action since its fire in July, dirty and unsafe working conditions at the improvised revenue services location (they work in a kitchen), street lights that did not work, and hijacked buildings and substations on October 3. They also looked at faded road markings that need repainting, recyclers using land owned by the City to burn plastic, swathes of pollution around the Randburg Taxi Rank, informal traders not having permits, and further land owned by the city that is not being made use of.
This comes after many complaints made by residents that were channelled through Ward 102 councillor Lucinda Harman and her predecessor David Potter.
“Randburg used to be the hub of the area and a thriving business centre in Joburg but now things are falling apart. Even as we speak there is a hijacked building behind us and we can smell the urine,” Harman addressed the group before they set off.
“I care about Joburg and the lives of South Africans. We have been asking for help for some time. There is still no answer about the civic centre three months after the fire, how much damage occurred and what the permanent solution is. People ask their councillors for help and some even take them hostage. But we are powerless when the city does not act. I want to see tourism and businesses thrive. Not crime, drugs, prostitution and pollution.”
Also read: Fire ravages COJ’s customer service centre in Randburg
Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda said his intention was not to make a commitment but rather a collaboration between departments, residents and the ward councillor to see issues resolved.
“Councillors in Joburg are under siege – understandably – because residents are frustrated with the services they receive,” he said.
“The City of Johannesburg has struggled with senior management that need to be held accountable. Individuals are here today and gone tomorrow. We want to appoint senior managers on a permanent basis.”
He said they had the oversight visit because managers needed to go to ground to see what residents are faced with, and take action. “We need to ensure it does not need the highest level of intervention to see basic services delivered. Today we cannot correct everything that is wrong but we will get an idea, and understand what we face. We are here to demonstrate the councillor does not have to ensure service delivery. It is supposed to be there for everyone.”
He concluded that the city’s managers are there to help and were ‘already wearing gloves’ so to speak, and getting their own hands dirty in fixing problems.
The way forward
When the group investigated each issue one at a time – walking in a loop around the CBD – city manager Floyd Brink was intentional about finding and directing the next steps departments would need to take to tackle a problem. In every case, these were replete with time frames for action.
For instance, the homeless sleeping outside the Civic Centre would be offered shelter that night and by the end of the week have their mattresses moved off the pavement. The homeless sleeping in a nearby substation would see their belongings removed that same day as it is illegal and a safety hazard. A lock placed on the substation gates before metro police start conducting patrols nearby in the coming days.
The matter of the Civic Centre is still with insurance and while this was needed to be expedited, Brink said, a new location for revenue service staff needed to be found within a week or two, alternatively, they needed to be told they only had a month or so left to work in the nearby kitchen.
Informal traders would also need to be given permits by the end of the week. Recyclers using city-owned land next to the taxi rank would also be asked to move their belongings so more holding room can be made for taxis in the coming weeks.
Some faded road markings were repainted on the same day, and a broken water valve was also fixed. The mayor himself helped with these.
The departments that were present included: Citizen Relationship and Urban Management (Crum), Johannesburg Roads Agency, Joburg Water, Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo, Pikitup, City Power, Social Development, Public Safety (including EMS), Johannesburg Metro Police Department, Licence and Testing, Motor Vehicle Registering Authority, Revenue, Community Development, Health, Human Settlements, Joburg Property Company, Johannesburg Social Housing Company, Development Planning, Transport, Economic Development, Environment and Infrastructure Services, Joburg Development Agency, and Ward Governance.
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