June 12, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
THERE'S an elevated spot in Yeoville from where one can see the inner city in all its glory. Johannesburg Stadium and its adjacent sporting facilities look majestic, buildings and vegetation mingle for as far as the eye can see and the highways and byways stand out in testimony to the city's progress.
The ground of the lookout point, though, shows a very different view, as Executive Mayor Amos Masondo, members of the mayoral committee and other officials discovered on a day-long tour of the inner city on Friday 9 June.
The informal lookout point was once a home. All that remains today is a grey cement floor and a flight of stairs holding up a cement slab. Pieces of glass and remnants of recently lit fires are scattered all over, knee-high grass covers an adjacent field, and a group of people are loitering there.
Pockets of areas across the inner city have suffered a similar or worse fate. Buildings have been abandoned and have become an eyesore through neglect, and many that were originally intended for office use have been taken over by slumlords.
They are being let out as residential accommodation even though ablution facilities are insufficient and health and safety regulations are ignored. Sewerage runs on to the street and household waste is dumped on to the pavements.
The City's officials got a first-hand view of the rundown conditions.
One of the mayor's six priorities for the current term in office is "a safe, clean and green city".
Referring to this particular key concern in his budget speech in May 2006 Masondo said: "The priority covers a city where life, property and lifestyles are safe and secure, that the external environment is free of pollution and promotes environmental sustainability."
A number of projects, the most prominent of which is the R7-million Clean and Green Campaign, have been launched as part of an inner city revival campaign.
This project combines law enforcement, waste management, repairs to infrastructure and water management. City agencies like Johannesburg Roads Agency, City Power, Pikitup, Johannesburg Water, the Metro Police Department and the Inner City Task Force are working together to clean up the inner city.
Clean-ups have already taken place in the CBD, New Doornfontein, the Ellis Park vicinity and Bellevue East.
The mayor and his entourage stopped at Lorentsvillle in Bertrams, where this clean-up was in full progress.
About 500 Red Ants were engaged in an intense clean-up of the area, picking up litter and construction rubble and removing alien vegetation, while Pikitup was loading the collected waste on to trucks and transporting it to landfill sites. The
Metro police officers were busy enforcing the City's bylaws by handing out fines to business owners who were obstructing walkways with their goods, and asking illegal traders to remove their stands.
"There is an instant improvement in the surroundings if people just get rid of their waste in a proper manner," said Masondo. "We are doing everything we can, but we are fighting a losing battle if we don't have the support of the people who live and work in the inner city."
At the Yeoville Recreation Centre, the mayor met with environmental health officers. Their task is to investigate the causes and solutions to environmental health issues, such as rodent infestation, and to inspect properties to ensure that they conform to standard health, safety and cleanliness regulations.
Much of the filth found in the inner city comes from businesses that dispose of their waste in street drains, pavements and open spaces, and the City has employed people to go from shop to shop, informing owners of health risks.
"Since the campaign started we have been to many shops giving people fines or notices and informing them of the risks of disposing their waste in an improper manner," says Nick van der Venter, head of the environmental health officers. "So far we have received tremendous support from businesses, and residents especially have expressed their thanks."
So far they have checked more than 160km² of properties, including the floors of buildings.
The mayoral team also stopped at the Doornfontein men's hostel, where a mountainous pile of rubbish that hadn't been collected for weeks greeted them at the entrance.
A few metres away, severed cows heads were displayed for sale on a table. A nearby stall on the premises sold see-through plastic bags filled with intestines and offal.
"This is unacceptable," said Masondo as he speedily arranged for Pikitup to have the rubbish removed and for environmental health officers to attend to the situation.
Things were more pleasant at Ellis Park Stadium, where the group was treated to lunch at Touch Down, the restaurant overlooking the lush playing field.
Executive Mayor Amos Masondo meets the City Year team - young people who put in a year of community service
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
Manager of Ellis Park, George Stanton, laid out his plans for the venue to be of an international standard in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup matches scheduled here.
The stadium, with its capacity of 60 000 will need added media facilities, sufficient parking space, and cleanliness and hospitality opportunities need to be addressed.
"In the history of the World Cup, no venue in the world has had two stadia in one city. For Johannesburg this is an incredible opportunity, but there is so much that needs to be done," said Stanton.
The final stop on the tour – Main Street in the CBD - revealed a shining example of what can be done. With its mosaic street paving, manicured miniature gardens, quaint coffee shops and impressive office blocks, the street was a stark contrast to many of the other places visited.
Here the mayor met the team of City Year, an organisation that unites young people of all backgrounds, aged 17 to 24, for a demanding year of community service and leadership. The 200 members are involved in clean-up campaigns in the City and are also trained to tutor mathematics and science to pupils from 15 primary schools in Johannesburg.
At 85 Marshall Street, Gustav Holtzhausen of Circlevest Properties had another heartening message, as he told the group about new residential opportunities in the inner city available to higher income groups. This particular property will consist of 128 units, complete with finishings, ranging from R350 000 to R850 000, that will be complete by January 2007.
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