Residents of Region F in wards 58, 59, 60, 61, and 123 converged on the Brixton Multipurpose Centre for a Community-Based Planning (CBP) workshop on Saturday, 08 October 2022. The workshop helps the municipality to understand the community issues and service delivery backlogs.
This year, the City of Johannesburg is using a combined approach for effective participation by applying the Asset-Based Community-Driven Development (ABCD) methodology, CBP and various planning tools.
The ABCD recognises that people and communities have their own assets, aspirations and capabilities. The community can look at what is good and strong in their ward, use asset mapping, mobilise and put assets to work to build their community.
The city started using the ABCD approach in 2019, but that was halted by Covid-19. It then undertook online participation. When Covid-19 regulations were relaxed in February 2022, the city had hybrid meetings. This month, the ABCD approach has been restarted fully with face to face sessions.
The proceedings started with a plenary session chaired by Councillor Alex Christians, who is the Chairperson of the Housing Sub-Mayoral Committee in the City of Joburg. Following the plenary session, wards were separated into commissions to deliberate on issues in their communities. Each ward session was chaired by a facilitator from the city’s Community Participation Unit assisted by Citizen Relationship and Urban Management (CRUM) and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).
Kureish Isaacs, the Deputy Director Public Participation in the City of Joburg, who was one of the facilitators, said: “These sessions are different from the normal CBPs as they allow the residents to identity priority projects using different approaches such as identifying opportunities, strengths and other methods. The city has planned 39 sessions over eight Saturdays in October and November 2022.”
“Communities are able to lead and manage their own development and will do so when they are given the opportunity,” Isaacs concluded.
Zahida Osman, a resident in Crosby’s Ward 58, said the session was highly informative and interactive. She was glad to see that the city now allows a ward to choose three capex projects. Osman said she hopes the three Capex priorities will be looked at by the city and actioned.
Another resident said the session was more targeted, and the groups were able to drill down into what is needed to start fixing the ward. He said that previously they had an infinite list of requests, which the city could not address. Now they have three projects affecting the ward, which we can motivate for the city to pay attention to. Residents presented great ideas on what they can do with minimal assistance from the city. These include food gardens and block watchers to secure city infrastructure. Concerns were raised regarding city buildings in Mayfair, which have become slums, parks need to be upgraded and secured, some city buildings have become white elephants and old age homes need maintenance.
Each ward identified three priority capex projects; quick turnaround projects communities can do with minimal assistance from the city and private sector or business; and community-driven project programmes communities and wards can do for themselves. The three priority projects will be submitted for inclusion in the 2023/24 financial year.
Written by Dudu Lushaba
09/10/ 2022