The private sector is ready to go to work with the City of Joburg.
The business community once again pledged its support to the City in delivering sustained basic services to more than 5.8 million residents. The call was made during the Integrated Development Planning (IDP), Budget and Tariffs virtual consultation meeting with the business sector on Tuesday evening, 4 May 2021.
The City is holding IDPs across the seven regions, which are employing virtual, physical or hybrid approaches. This is due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, which have put limitation on the number of people allowed to gather.
At least more than 65 participants attended the meeting to give their inputs on the draft IDP. The business sector welcomed the City’s 120 Days Accelerated Service Delivery programme and called for it to be sustained. In the same breath, they decried the proposed high tariff increases for services as unfriendly to business.
Tembeka Mhlekwa, the Executive Director for Economic Development in the City of Joburg, assured businesses that the City has strategic focus areas to stimulate economic growth and recovery.
“The City is committed to strengthening the metropolitan core through the Inner City Transformation Roadmap and Inner City Housing Implementation Plan. This will build on the opportunities of the CBD as a dense economic core of the City; and tackling issues of fragmented developments, crime, bad buildings and lack of affordable housing.
“The strategy proposes consolidating the inner city through public space/street network and expanding it towards the southern industrial area and the Turffontein Corridor of Freedom,” explained Mhlekwa.
She said the public transport nodes development still remained the catalyst for economic growth and recovery for the City. This includes consolidating the growth and development opportunities around existing and future public transport nodes. This will also include a focus on transit oriented development nodes, including Gautrain, Rea Vaya (BRT) and PRASA stations.
According to Mhlekwa, the City was working hard to unlock Soweto as a district City and making it an economic hub. “The strategy is to develop Soweto into a series of self-sufficient mixed use nodes (starting around public stations and nodes) as drivers of economic growth and job creation, allowing Soweto to function as a liveable city district in its own right with access to jobs and full array of urban amenities,” added Mhlekwa.
She said the City was also looking to unlock opportunities and development on the old mining belt. The move which has been welcomed by the private sector.
“This presents significant opportunities for development and public open space that could integrate the north with the south of Johannesburg and improve cross-border linkages with Ekurhuleni and the West Rand. [This will be done] by identifying strategic interventions along the belt such as: road linkages, mixed use redevelopments, rehabilitation of degraded and damaged land,” she said.
Andrew Barker, a property developer, said the business sector welcomes the City’s decision to identify developments on and around the old mining belt and they want to be part of those developments.
“The spatial rating areas is key to unlocking the City’s opportunities. The private sector really wants to partner with the City to stimulate the economy. The Accelerated Service Delivery programme must be ongoing as opposed to as and when,” said Barker.
Paul Mokoatle, an entrepreneur in Ward 53, appealed to the City to make land accessible for agricultural purpose.
05/05/2021