November 14, 2006
By Tabisa Mntengwana
KEEN to exchange knowledge, as well as to tell its success stories, Johannesburg hosted more than 30 delegates from the Eastern Cape provincial government.
The delegation consisted of representatives from the Office of the Premier. The visit, on Friday, 10 November, started at 9am at the Joburg Innovation and Knowledge Exchange Visitors Centre, with a discussion over breakfast with Executive Mayor Amos Masondo and City officials.
City manager Mavela Dlamini gave an overview of the City's redesign project, the roles and responsibilities of the City manager and the relationship between the City and its utilities, agencies and corporatised entities.
He was followed by Julian Baskin, the director of the Alexandra Renewal Project, who reported on that project's progress. 'The project has been running smoothly so far and we hope to achieve the best results when we have completed [it].'
The Eastern Cape MEC for agriculture, Gugile Nkwinti, thanked the City officials for the warm welcome and their presentations; the group then left for a tour of Joburg's development and heritage areas. They visited Alexandra, Baragwanath Taxi Rank, Orlando Ekhaya, Orlando Stadium and the Hector Pieterson Memorial.
The first stop was the Baragwanath rank, where the City's deputy director of transport, planning and management, Alfred Sam, reported on the progress of the Baragwanath Taxi Rank Project.
Sibongile Mazibuko executive director for the 2010 Soccer World Cup addresses the delegation on the City's plans for the event
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
He explained that the development started in 2003 and was done in phases. 'More than 300 taxi bays, 30 bus bays and ablution facilities have been completed and we are in the final stages of the project … The last phase will be to install CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras, and we hope that by next year the rank will be complete.'
The second stop was Orlando Ekhaya, with Gugu Mazibuko, the managing director of the Johannesburg Property Company, telling the guests about what was planned for the site. 'The project will have housing facilities, retail and entertainment areas,' she said.
From there it was on to Orlando Stadium. The stadium has been demolished to make way for an improved arena for the Fifa Soccer World Cup in 2010. Sibongile Mazibuko, the City's executive director for that event, gave a brief overview of the project.
'The stadium is planned to be one of the training facilities for 2010, and it is hoped it will be completed by 2008,' she said.
Thanking Johannesburg for its hospitality, Noxolo Abrahams-Ntantiso, the Eastern Cape MEC for sport, arts and culture, said, 'We have learned a lot from the City of Johannesburg and we will go back home with vast knowledge.'
The visitors also toured the popular Hector Pieterson Memorial in Orlando and the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown. After lunch at Masakeng Pub in Mofolo, they met Baskin, who said that the Alexandra Renewal Project was aimed at giving township residents better housing and recreational facilities.
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