Florida CBD given a new shine

11 September 2015

 

An army of workers from the City of Johannesburg’s various municipal-owned entities and departments rolled up their sleeves and descended on the Florida central business district in Ward 70, Region C, to attend to all service-related concerns – big and small – under the Integrated Community Outreach Programme (ICOP).

 

The work included the replacement of missing manhole covers, repair or replacement of damaged kerb inlets, fixing of electrical wiring, identification of properties improperly converted into business premises, fixing of leaking water mains, collecting of litter, pruning of trees, conducting of health and safety inspections, retouching of road signage and resurfacing of streets.

 

Some of the entities that took part in the operation were Johannesburg Roads Agency, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), City Power, Johannesburg City Parks & Zoo, Pikitup and Johannesburg Water. Officials from the Department of Health and Social Development were also on hand to conduct on-the-spot screening tests for HIV-AIDS, hypertension, diabetes and other ailments.

 

They also provided general health education, while environmental health inspectors attended to concerns such as noise pollution and pest infestation.

 

“ICOP is, in a nutshell, a focused effort that brings together role players and stakeholders – including residents, councillors and all the relevant City agencies – together into a particular area to tackle specifically identified issues,” explained Regional Director Mlamleli Belot.

 

“Region C has 17 wards. We undertake this kind of operation every month in a different ward. We work closely with ward councillors and representatives of community groups, who help us to identify priority issues and specific gripes.

 

“As the Citizen Relationship Urban Management (CRUM) team, we try to ensure proper inter-departmental coordination to maximise the effectiveness of the City’s response in the identified ward so as to tackle the challenges in a unified manner and ensure everyone is on the same page from the get-go,” Belot.

 

This week JMPD partnered with the Westville Clinic Alcohol and Drug Rehabilitation Centre to spread the anti-drug message and promote public safety.

“Those are the things we try to address. We also hand out informational pamphlets and speak to community members directly to find out what their particular concerns are,” Belot said.

 

“The aim is obviously to get as much done in one day. But where and when we find that additional work will have to be done, we pass the information on to the relevant entities so they can flag it for attention.”