August 18, 2005
By Anish Abraham
IT'S been almost a year in the planning, but the city's Urban Development Zone (UDZ) was finally launched today by Executive Mayor Councillor Amos Masondo.
This is expected to usher in a new era for inner city regeneration.
A three-day exposition is being held at the Parktonian Hotel in Braamfontein, to convince property owners to take up the UDZ tax incentive scheme and speed up inner city regeneration efforts.
"Inner city regeneration is one of the six mayoral priorities," said Parks Tau, the member of the mayoral committee in charge of finance, strategy and economic development.
Speaking to about 300 delegates, he outlined the zone's boundaries, adding that the City was extremely pleased that national Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel had included much of the inner city in the zone.
At 1 800 hectares, Johannesburg's UDZ is the largest such zone in the country.
This was necessary given Johannesburg's status as the biggest contributor to the South African economy, said Sol Cowan, the member of the mayoral committee responsible for the inner city.
"It is a fallacy to believe the inner city is not important anymore."
Contributing more than 200 000 jobs to the local economy meant the inner city provided more jobs than Sandton, Randburg and Midrand combined.
An Inner City Regeneration Project was started in 2001, with a successful 12-month pilot. As a result, turning the city centre around had been a huge focal point.
"Our vision was to raise and sustain private investment, address sinkholes, engage in better urban management, maintain and upgrade infrastructure, encourage ripple-pond investment and support economic sectors," Cowan said.
The UDZ was a catalyst to ensuring the inner city, worth R30-billion at current levels, realised its full economic value.
Cowan concluded by talking about the challenges in the region, putting the Carlton Centre forward as an example of how value was created, while also displaying slides of an inner city building that had deteriorated to such an extent there were shacks on its balconies and it had no access to basic services.
Masondo voiced his approval for the tax incentive scheme, saying it was a boost for the City's vision to turn Johannesburg into a world-class African city by 2030.
"The inner city remains a centre of importance," he said, referring to the various corporate giants still based there, the cultural significance of Newtown and the presence one of the country's premiere educational institutions, the University of the Witwatersrand.
He also spoke of developments around the inner city, such as Constitution Hill, the Newtown precinct, the Hillbrow health precinct and the Nelson Mandela Bridge.
"Government working in isolation cannot succeed and there is a need for strong public-private partnerships," he concluded.
Experts from the South African Revenue Service and a financial services company then addressed delegates at the conference, with the panel taking questions from the guests after their speeches.
Rory Roriston, the director of corporate advisory services at Standard Bank, commended the City for its work in the central business district, adding that his bank was committed to the revival of the inner city.
He said that some of the main reasons the bank decided to remain in the inner city included easy access, properly planned infrastructure for dense usage, extensive incentives and the political will to turn Johannesburg into "the gateway to Africa".
The conference continues until Saturday, 20 August. Various experts will give analyses and explanations of the tax incentive scheme. There will also be a "taxi-style" tour of the inner city with the mayor and other members of council.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
