Scores of inner city stakeholders, residents, business owners, property owners and taxi owners’ representatives gathered at the Citizens Relationship and Urban Management (CRUM) Region F offices for the Lilian Ngoyi Street rehabilitation stakeholder engagement session on Friday, 16 February 2024. The objective of the session was to provide feedback on the street rehabilitation after the 19 July 2023 explosion and allow stakeholders to voice concerns and raise issues. Johannesburg Roads Agency’s Yonela Mdubeki, who is the Project Manager Infrastructure Development, presented a status report. The rehabilitation covers 1.8km from Ntemi Piliso to End streets, with an estimated project duration of 24 months. It is divided into two work packages each with a duration of 12 months.
Work package one focuses on a 450m segment, which involves reconstruction of underground services, reinforcing the concrete tunnel, reinstating stormwater, water and sewer pipes and construction of the road.
Work package two focuses on rejuvenating Lillian Ngoyi, with a phased approach of asphalt replacement with paving, and installing street furniture aligned with the City’s transit mall vision.
The project is expected to generate employment for about eighty local workers and six small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
During the session business owners expressed concerns about the loss of income, water and power outages, blocked stormwater drains, flooding, illegal taxi ranks and parking issues.
One property owner raised unhappiness at the shortage of water and the non-collection of refuse and that they have hired private waste removal companies to collect the waste, with tenants moving out in numbers citing the endless problems since the explosion.
Nyle Cooke, who runs three businesses on Eloff Street, said: “Our businesses have suffered a 70% loss of turnover and we have been forced to retrench 15 people including management in one of the shops as we cannot afford to pay salaries.”
He expressed frustration at the lack of information from authorities since the incident. “There are not many answers provided to our questions. What guarantee do we have that the city will complete the work in 24 months?”
Another business owner, Chinedu Chidozie, who owns a hair business, emphasized the financial strain faced by businesses. “During the first few months of the blast we survived with savings. Our savings are exhausted, and we cannot afford to pay our basic needs such as rent. We have tried to reach out to our landlords and proposed different means of trying to mitigate these problems such as rent reduction or pushing the rent forward and nothing has helped.”
He asked if the city would assist with some kind of compensation in terms of rates and rebates. He said businesses contribute to the growth of the economy in the city.
Irene Mafune, the Regional Director of CRUM Region F, assured stakeholders that the city understands the impact on peoples’ livelihoods and pledged to provide progress update on a quarterly basis.
“An economic impact survey is underway. The city will address the water and power issues and work closely with the contractors to adhere to timelines,” Mafune said.
Mafune stressed the city’s commitment to expediting the rehabilitation process and ensuring that Lilian Ngoyi Street is restored to its full functionality. She promised ongoing feedback sessions to address concerns and keep stakeholders informed about the progress.
Written by Dudu Lushaba
19/02/2024
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