BACK from a two-month break, Neil Fraser updates readers on changes in
his personal situation, and discusses the transport strike.
Neil Fraser
March 14, 2005
HELLO again from Citichat and all the best for 2005, however belatedly.
My idea of finishing all my CJP - related work by the end of December
2004 and then taking a two month 'sabbatical' before 'doing my own
thing' didn't work out - surprise, surprise. Do I detect a number of
knowing smiles? So, here I am already into March, still working, and
the sabbatical just didn't happen! As someone remarked to me,
sabbaticals are for academics, they don't fit the pattern of a business
lifestyle!
As I intimated late last year, I stepped down on the 28 February 2005
from the position of Executive Director of the Central Johannesburg
Partnership (CJP), a position I have held since its establishment and
for the last nearly thirteen years. I feel that it is time for a change
for both the CJP and me. So where to from here?
Well, I believe I can still make a meaningful contribution to the life
of the city and will be working through a consultancy practice "Neil
Fraser & Associates" (NFA) which will trade as "Urban Inc." I feel that
'Urban Inc' identifies the sphere I want to work in which cannot be
gleaned from a bland NFA moniker!
I will be seeking to undertake consultancy assignments for the public,
private and voluntary sectors including undertaking urban research and
catalyzing and implementing urban related projects. Where necessary or
appropriate I will link with other like-minded urban practitioners who
offer complementary skills. I think that the next five years are going
to be critical in the life of the city and that there will be many
opportunities for interesting and challenging work. I also particularly
want to get involved in poverty alleviation and job creation in the
city, in my opinion, two of the major obstacles to achieving overall
revitalization goals.
Citichat will however NOT be a vehicle for promoting or advertising
Urban Inc but will continue to try to keep you up to date with what's
really happening in Jozi and other cities around the nation and the
globe. In fact I did spend the last week of February in Wales as a guest
of the Welsh Development Agency and Wales Trade International, so will
shortly give you the low-down on the huge amount of exciting work in
urban regeneration in that country and particularly in the cities I
visited - Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.
Apart from the fact that it was unbelievably C-C-C-COLD it was really
interesting to see how these cities have joined the scores of cities
worldwide that are focusing on regeneration. I recently read that a
sample of 45 cities in the USA reflected an increase of 10.6% in
households living downtown over the period 1990 to 2000. In this regard,
the author of the article comments "The appeal of traditional downtowns
- and the defining characteristic that sets those that are successful
apart from their suburban competitors - is largely based on what can be
summarized as walkable urbanity. "
For those who have visited it, the Main Street redevelopment stretching
from the Anglo American precinct at its western end to Gandhi Square at
its eastern end is a great example of walkable urbanity. There is no
doubt that pedestrians experience an interesting and safe streetscape
with plenty of people to watch along the way. The fact that two pavement
coffee shops have opened on the route and are extremely well patronised
(with another two or three to follow) is proof that Joziburgers of all
colours enjoy the experience that an enhanced public environment offers.
Tragic therefore that last week's striking transport drivers ripped out
planting and vandalised the new work in Main Street causing tens of
thousands of rands damage! We rejoice in the freedom to strike
particularly for worthwhile causes (I for one couldn't believe the low
level of remuneration that truckers earn) but they certainly don't
promote their own cause with the behaviour that they exhibited.
It again raises the question as to the commitment of the authorities in
allowing these mass demonstrations to take place within a city centre
struggling to resurrect itself. The media had a field day in front page
pictures of police firing rubber bullets at the strikers but what a
message to send to investors! Why weren't the strikers allowed to mass
in Newtown or more appropriate sites than Beyers Naude Gardens where the
continuous noise, at levels beyond what are legally acceptable, impacts
negatively on quite densely grouped adjacent businesses?
After the first day of riotous behaviour, why were the strikers granted
more opportunities to continue to wreak havoc? I wonder if the official
who authorized the event understands or even cares about the potential
cost to the city? I wonder if the Gauteng Provincial Government is going
to allow similar events when it has finished spending millions on
refurbishing and extending the Beyers Naude Gardens as part of their
planned precinct .
Of course, the city has a long-standing, unhappy relationship with
transport drivers. The demands of the expanding mining industry from
1886 to the early 1890s provided employment opportunities for thousands
who were drawn to the burgeoning mining town. Machinery and coal to
drive the machinery, equipment, food for workers and all the items
needed to sustain a mushrooming mining camp had to be brought from the
coast.
The transport industry grew to number several thousand drivers and
diverse wagons and carts but this growth, in turn, attracted the
attention of the government of the day who viewed it as an opportunity
to raise income through imposing a road tax or toll on every wagonload
that used the main roads of the Republic.
More critical threats to the industry followed. The 'Rand Tram' which
ran from Boksburg along the reef started operating in 1890 and provided
a far more efficient distribution system than ox-wagons or horse and
cart. Then by 1893 a rail line had been completed between the city and
Cape Town, two years later Delagoa Bay and Durban were also linked to
the city by rail.
The transport riders reacted by placing rocks on railway lines, they
blew up or burnt down the toll booths and assaulted the toll staff. A
hundred years passes and their modern equivalents behave no better.
There is nothing new under the sun!
But it is still great to be back, cheers, Neil
