February 8, 2005
By Anish Abraham
EXPLAINING to visiting dignitaries the vast social and economic changes that have been happening across the 11 diverse regions of Johannesburg is all in a day's work for Pascal Moloi, Johannesburg's City Manager.
And Tuesday, 8 February was no different, with Moloi outlining to visitors from the UK the actions being taken to turn Johannesburg into a world-class city by 2030, the date set in the City's planning framework.
This day he was hosting three CEOs of primary health care organisations who are in town as part of a study tour to South Africa - a testament to increasing co-operation between the City and international bodies.
The visitors are part of delegation of seven health sector CEOs brought to South Africa by the King's Fund, an independent charitable foundation. The aim of their visit, according to Pakiso Phalatse of the council's Joburg Innovation and Knowledge Exchange (JIKE) unit, is for the visitors to see how various levels of government as well as private institutions in South Africa have been able to bring about social change. JIKE is involved in arranging the visit to the council.
The group will also visit different suburbs around Johannesburg, stopping off at the CIDA City Campus as well as the townships of Kliptown and Alexandra, "to have a look at regeneration projects currently underway there".
Phalatse said the City has much to gain by sharing knowledge with such delegations and it increases the co-operation between the City of Johannesburg and others, such as London, with whom the City has a twinning agreement.
"They are experts in health services and as a City, we can learn a lot from what they have to say," Phalatse added.
While the other delegates toured Constitution Hill, Graeme Betts, CEO of Hillingdon PCT, Carolyn Clifton, CEO of Eastern Leicester NHS PCT, and Lise Llwellyn, CEO of Brent PCT met Moloi to get his view on social transformation within the city since the advent of democracy.
PCTs, or Primary Care Trusts, are UK bodies that work with local authorities and other agencies that provide health and social care to make sure that the local community's needs are being met.
They must also make sure all other health services are provided, including hospitals, dentists, opticians, and mental health services.
After short introduction, Moloi got down to giving a brief history of the council and pointed out the gains made in the area of financial stability since the integration of the then councils into a single city.
The City, said Moloi, has come a long way in improving previously disadvantaged areas, upgrading the underlying infrastructure in those areas. He pointed to the plan of having all roads in Soweto tarred by the end of 2005.
The visitors were particularly interested in how the City had sorted out its core functions from the non-core ones, leading to the creation of council-owned UACs (utilities, agencies and corporatised entities).
"These UACs have been running for the past two years and most are now very successful both in terms of their financial performance and in meeting the needs of the residents," Moloi said.
He demonstrated how investment and increased incentives in the UACs increases productivity, as well as employee confidence and pride in the companies they work for.
Moloi highlighted the challenges faced by the City, citing the need to upgrade infrastructure such as the power grid, ensuring that corporate headquarters (some 70 percent of South Africa's corporations have their headquarters in Johannesburg) remain in the city.
However, he sees the biggest challenge as ensuring improvement to the quality of life of ordinary residents. Responding to the presentation, Llwellyn said: "I have not seen people who want so much for something to work out." Regarding the City, she had only three words: "It's absolutely fantastic."
For more information contact Joburg Innovation and Knowledge Exchange on 011 407 6771
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