The City of Johannesburg hosted its second Community-Based Planning (CBP) session for Region F at the Braamfontein Recreation Centre on Saturday, 19 October 2024. The session focused on residents from wards 58, 59, 60, 123 and 124 (B).
Councillor Mnyameni presented an overview of the purpose and structure of the session, highlighting service delivery issues and projects across the five wards while outlining key community challenges.
The workshops are designed to help the municipality understand the community issues, address service delivery challenges and review ward priorities while gathering input for the upcoming Integrated Development Plan (IDP).
Ward 60 Councillor Sihle Nguse, raised concerns about the quality of the documents distributed to the residents, criticizing them for containing outdated, copied informationfrom previous years and excessive abbreviations, making them difficult to understand.He added that the document does not reflect the current reality in Ward 60.
“We expect administrative and operations staff from the relevant to be able to respond to residents’ questions,” said Cllr Nguse.
Key issues raised during the session included the urgent need for low-cost housing, the “unwanted” presence of illegal immigrants, the proliferation of illegal structures, vandalism of infrastructure leading to prolonged electricity outages, homelessness, the closure of the Joubert Park Clinic, the relocation of the MTN taxi rank, parks being taken over by homeless people, the lack of libraries (especially since the closure of the Johannesburg City Library), insufficient sporting facilities, and safety concerns such as street robberies and car hijackings.
Residents also expressed a desire for greater involvement in the ownership of local parks. They called on the city to establish homeless shelters, drug rehabilitation centres, and multipurpose centres to serve clusters of wards.
Region F Regional Director Mafune said: “Community-based planning is a significant process that engages and enables residents to take part in developing plans for their wards. It enhances participatory objectives of integrated development planning, giving an inductive approach legitimacy to municipal decision-making, while empowering communities and increasing local government accountability.”
Ward 59 resident Zinhle Mavuso voiced her frustration: “There have been no projects in our ward. Every year, we attend these meetings, the city makes promises, but nothing ever changes. It appears as if our councillor isn’t working, yet he is one of the hardest working councillors. Why are we overlooked, and why are our concerns being completely dismissed?”
“We plead with the city to implement a project that can benefit our young people, as the high unemployment rate is driving them toward crime,” Mavuso added.
All submissions were documented and will be included in the 2024/25 IDP process.
Written by Dudu Lushaba
21/10/2024
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