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Inner City gets major boost As the City of Johannesburg is turned into a construction site artisan job opportunities for residents will be created. By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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ecently, the City of Johannesburg Council approved a resolution to make 71 City-owned properties available to create affordable social housing within the Inner City through public-private partnerships. This recent development is in addition to 13 other properties which were made available for the same purpose late last year. The announcement, made by Cllr Mayor Herman Mashaba (pictured), was in response to the City’s housing backlog. According to current estimates, approximately 30 000 housing units are across the City to meet the desperate demand for housing within the City. While bidding processes
are yet to resume, Mashaba highlighted oversight preconditions to ensure unscrupulous developers don’t benefit at the expense of the City and its residents. To mitigate this risk, buildings will be provided on a long-term lease basis to ensure that the buildings are developed and that rentals cater to low income households. “As part of the City’s approach to meeting the housing crisis head-on, is the willingness to alongside the private sector so as to turn the City of Johannesburg into a construction site which also generate artisan job opportunities for residents. “But it’s not only about building houses, the City also aims to build safe and connected communities across the City. Speaking about the need to root out crime to improve residents’ livelihoods, Mayor
Mashaba said the City is taking “all possible steps to determine the identity of the true owners of hijacked buildings in order to begin the process of reclaiming these spaces.” “Where owners cannot be identified, the City will look to expropriate these buildings so to utilize them for housing development. “We are also investing heavily in building a properly capacitated JMPD which can patrol our streets and assist in law enforcement efforts which keep our communities safe. “Already, 1500 JMPD officers are undergoing training for this purpose,” he added.
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Technology to enhance service delivery By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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he Johannesburg Metropolis is slowly becoming a Smart City, optimising the use of technology to improve municipal functions and drive economic growth while improving the general quality of life for its people. Through smart technology, there are now innovative ways of communicating and new economic opportunities for the City and its residents. Lawrence Boya, the Director of the Smart City Programme says the City will have to consolidate its investments in smart infrastructure in order to enhance its competitive edge as a sustainable smart city which uses smart technologies in delivering services. Boya says in future, the City will use digital platforms to provide a whole range of services to the communities such as primary healthcare services to the elderly, disabled, and chronically ill citizens, using the municipality’s extensive broadband network. Thanks to the digital revolution, the core infrastructure elements of a Smart City which is digital infrastructure, would enable the city to deliver basic services such as water and electricity supply, smart waste
management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, as well as e-services, and public safety. “The City has already laid out hundreds of kilometres of broadband, it’s now time to leverage on that network in our bid to grow into a fully-fledged smart city,” he says The overarching objective is to use smart technologies to advance sustainable service delivery, improve efficiency for residents and businesses, as well as visitors to the city. “The application of a Smart City is much broader than technology; we are also looking at how we can deliver government services smarter by improving business processes,” Boya adds. Going smart also means operating a paperless business environment because the City wants to be environmentally sustainable. “It is part of changing from the old ways of doing things which may be unsustainable and harmful to the environment, to making a meaningful contribution in building a better, sustainable city” he says. “As a Smart City, Joburg strives to deliver quality basic services to all residents cost effectively, faster, more efficiently and in a reliable way, using technology,” Boya ex-
City of Johannesburg officials monitor CCTV footage around the city
plains. Turning Joburg into a Smart City will result in improvements in information and data flow and capturing, increased opportunities for new skills and jobs and an improvement in business confidence in the municipality. The municipality will also be able to deal quicker and effectively with infrastructure upgrades, community complaints, and service delivery backlogs. Developing Johannesburg into a comprehensive Smart City will also improve the general quality of life, create employment, and provide the means to earn an income especially
to young people. This will lead to the municipality bridging the digital divide, becoming sustainable and inclusive. A smarter Johannesburg will be able to communicate better with residents through digital platforms, connect residents to free Wi-Fi and e-learning opportunities through broadband infrastructure, provide smart technology enabled transport, reduce its telecommunication costs, lower the general cost of digital communications and provide smart policing through CCTV cameras. “We are currently implementing various projects across departments, these are isolated hence we are not
seeing much impact at this stage. We need better coordination to have greater impact and to scale up the implementation,” says Boya. He says as an aspirant Smart City Joburg wants to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public, and improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare. “We need to bring in a lot more people into the digital revolution, so that the digital divide within our society is narrowed and ultimately eliminated,” he explains.
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Dialogue sought over immigrants Government intervention is crucial to preventing the exploitation of undocumented immigrants who work under unsafe conditions.
Residents complain of unfair employment By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za ayor Mashaba, recently sought to engage Minister of Labour, Hon. Mildred Oliphant, and Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Malusi Gigaba, on the need for an urgent meeting to discuss the number of businesses in Johannesburg employing undocumented immigrants. This followed repeated concerns raised with the Mayor during a visit to the Slovo Park community on Tuesday, 10 July 2018. During the visit to the community, residents complained of how a neighbouring factories were employing undocumented immigrants in contravention of the law. By employing undocumented immigrants, these business owners said to be flouting immigration and labour laws and acting against the interests of unemployed Johannesburg residents. These businesses also serve to exploit undocumented immigrants, unable to exercise labour rights of their own. This situation continues to stem
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from the failures of National Government to guard our borders and address the crisis of illegal immigration in our Country. Johannesburg remains at the epicenterof situation, as many foreign migrants come looking for work.
While the onus is on employers to abide by the law, national government have the responsibility to enforce the law and ensure that those businesses who choose to ignore the law face the consequences. Government intervention is also
crucial to preventing the exploitation of undocumented immigrants who, by virtue of their status, can sometimes be forced to work under unsafe conditions. Mayor Mashaba had this to say regarding the community’s com-
Jeppe Park gets upgrade By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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he communities in the Inner City and in particular in Jeppe’s town now have a gathering place for families, social groups and a place to get healthy and fit. The appointed main contractor DKPB by the Johannesburg Development Agency on behalf of the City of Johannesburg indicated that the construction was successful. The contractor employed 5 SMME’s and utilised 39 local labourers for the construction of the Park. The construction of the Park started
in December 2017 and was scheduled to be completed in June 2018. The Jeppe Park Recreational Facility will improve the local tax base and improve property values of the residents in the Inner City and in particular the Jeppe residents. The upgrade of Jeppe Park consist of natural, semi-natural, planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation for the protection of natural habitats. A space for health fitness. It has grassy areas, rocks, soil and trees to provide intrinsic environmental, It also contain buildings such as monuments,
fountains and playground structures. The Park will now efficiently and effectively be utilised by learners, youth, church groups, old and also sports fanatics. Extensive stakeholder engagement was conducted to ensure that the community gave inputs of the outcome of the final designs and co – produce to meet these outstanding local needs and mitigate challenges. The Cost of the projects is R12, 4 million said Botes.
plaints, “Our residents must know that we take their concerns seriously and are actively addressing them. By doing so, we open up spaces for healthy dialogue in communities and correct unlawful conduct from unscrupulous business owners.”
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Obama gives centenary lecture in honour of Nelson Mandela’s legacy By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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he Nelson Mandela Foundation said they chose former US president Barack Obama to deliver the 16th Nelson Mandela Lecture because he is passionate about active citizenship. The 2018 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation, was delivered by Barack Obama on Tuesday at Wanderers Cricket Stadium in Illo-
vo. The lecture is one of the foundation’s flagship programmes to honour the struggle icon. Every year since 2003, global leaders have used the lecture to raise topical issues affecting South Africa, Africa and the rest of the world. Taking to the podium, Obama said, “It is a singular honour for me to be here with all of you as we gather to celebrate the birth and life of one of history’s true giants.”
“It was not just the subjugated, the oppressed who were being freed from the shackles of the past. The subjugator was being offered a gift, being given a chance to see in a new way, to participate in the work of building a better world.” “I believe in Nelson Mandela’s vision. I believe in a vision shared by Gandhi and King and Abraham Lincoln. I believe in a vision of equality, justice, freedom and multi-racial democracy, built on the
premise that all people are created equal.” He also reflected on how Madiba did not point out particular races as he sought to build a renewed nation. Instead of commenting on politics, Obama’s speech was drawing on broader themes and his admiration for Mandela, whom America’s first black president saw as a mentor. We need to be proud of our heritage he urged. BLUEPRINT 2289/E
JMPD prioritises road safety
JMPD says it will continue to impound unroadworthy vehicles
By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za
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he Executive Mayor for the City of Johannesburg, the Chief of Police, Mr David Tembe, and the MMC for Safety, Cllr Michael Sun, conducted an inspection of impounded un-roadworthy, unlicensed and illegal vehicles which had been confiscated by the JMPD as part of Operation Buya Mthetho. Initially, the impounding of the vehicles was met with resistance by taxi associations, who embarked on a strike aimed at countering JMPD’s efforts to enforce the rule of law in our city. The strike left hundreds of commuters stranded. Mayor Mashaba spoke firmly against any intimidation and reckless behaviour conducted, saying
“the City has not sought to specifically target any members of the taxi industry. Rather, the City is enforcing the rule of law for all road users in order to ensure the safety of all residents.” The JMPD operation saw a total of 500 vehicles, taxis, bakkies and illegal dumper trucks being impounded since the commencement of Operation Buya Mthetho in February 2018. The vehicles were either un-roadworthy, unlicensed or illegal. Mashaba said lawfulness and order was important to building a safe society, this also extended to public transport operators. He urged all commuters, transport business owners and motorists to co-operate with each other to ensure safer roads for all of us.
CONTRIBUTING TO NATION-BUILDING THROUGH EDUCATION Nelson Mandela, one of the world’s most honoured statesmen and the father of our nation, taught us that “no country can really develop unless its citizens are educated”. Through our bursaries, we at RTIA honour his teachings as it is one of the many ways we contribute to nation-building. We are proud to celebrate 100 years of uTata and to rediscover his teachings for a better South Africa.
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@rtia_aarto
www.aarto.gov.za
086 122 7861
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City of Joburg to host the 702 Walk the Talk
By Staff Reporter news@inner-city-gazette.co.za onths of behind-thescene work have been put in to ensure that the 702 Walk the Talk on Saturday, 22 July 2018, is a success for the City of Joburg. About 50 000 walkers will be pounding the streets of Joburg from Marks Park Sports Club in the annual event, which is a long-standing
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partnership between the City of Joburg and Primedia broadcaster Talk Radio 702. Several arterial roads around Marks Park, including Judith Road from the intersection of Beyers Naude Drive to Barry Hertzog Avenue and Victory Road from Barry Hertzog Avenue to Empire Roadwill be closed from 4am until 2pm. MetroBuswill transport partici-
pants from park and ride facilities to the venue. Joburg Water will provide quality drinking water to all participants. City Power will provide electrical infrastructure to power the event. Pikitup will clean and sweep identified streets and help keep the park clean after the walk. The City’s Emergency Management Services (ambulances and firefighters) will be on standby for any even-
Contact Peter or Frans Tel : (011) 404 - 1353/4 Fax: (086) 699 - 4371 Email: admin@vukajozi.co.za
tuality. JMPD will manage traffic, enforce by-laws and prevent crime. The Johannesburg Roads Agency will provide quality municipal roads, fix potholes and repair broken traffic lights. The Johannesburg’s City Parks and Zoo have ensured that the grass is cut and that park and street trees are maintained. A Joburg that works is a South Africa that works.
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