​The leadership of the City of Johannesburg attended the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) meeting at Westbury Hall in Region B on 21 April 2021.

In attendance was the Executive Mayor, Cllr Geoffrey Makhubo, who was accompanied by the Speaker of Council, Cllr Nonceba Molwele, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Development Planning Cllr Thapelo Amad and the Regional Director Mohau Ntheli.

Region B is one of the most diverse places in the City and encompasses all races and religion. It is also characterised by the glaring difference in socio-economic conditions between the rich and the poor. This diversity makes the challenges faced in Region B to be widely varying.

“As the city we have to find a balance between dealing with poverty on one side and creating an environment for business to thrive in this region,” said Mayor Makhubo.

The challenge of fire management in residential areas was raised by several members of the communities. “There are no fire hydrants in flats in Westbury and Riverlea, even if there is a small fire it can become a serious problem very quickly,” said John Abrahams, who has been a resident of Westbury for over 35 years.

Another resident, George Hendrik, raised the issue of the poor state of City buildings and the lack of grass cutting. “Some of the material used to maintain flats is of poor quality. One strong wind and the roofs will collapse.”

Some of the other issues raised by community members is the lack of recreational facilities in the township in Region B. “Riverlea does not have enough recreational facilities and the existing facilities are in poor condition,” said Ricardo Samuels.

Residents in informal settlements were requesting that the city electrify them and provide taps and better ablution facilities.

Mayor Makhubo thanked the community for voicing out their challenges and assured them that the City is gearing towards being more efficient and practical in how their deal with community issues.

Some of the current projects that the City is doing in Region B are the renewal of water and sewer pipeline infrastructure. The rehabilitation of Braamfontein Spruit and social housing project are also on the cards.