Joburg inner city promise excites developers

10 November 2017

 

The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Herman Mashaba and Cllr Funzela Ngobeni, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Development Planning, held another successful Inner City Partnership Forum on Wednesday, 08 November 2017, at Bank City, Johannesburg.

 

The Johannesburg Inner City Partnership Forum facilitates growth and transformation for all inner city stakeholders through collaboration between City of Johannesburg, other spheres of government and the private sector.

A number of the presentations by private property developers and investors revealed that the inner city, despite the recent power blackout as a result of cable theft, is taking a firm footing towards rejuvenating and transforming as millions of rands are injected into the area.

Mayor Mashaba said: “The desired outcome of the project is to facilitate job creation that ensures that skills transfer takes place including promoting youth and small business development so that businesses that are established in the inner city are sustainable and new businesses are attracted to the area to develop a livable safe inner city.”

He outlined the City’s plans in dealing with hijacked buildings, illegal immigrants and how the forum can assist the City to radiate positive vibes. He also mentioned that a number of projects and programmes aligned to the city’s key strategies are currently underway to address challenges of urbanization in the inner city.

One of the projects the forum has undertaken is conducting research on the scope and nature of cross-border shopping in the Joburg CBD. Another project involves the establishment of a Tracking and Registering City Heritage Register to ensure that there is sufficient information for potential investors and developers to allow them to make informed decisions when purchasing property in the Inner City.

To address issues of food security, the forum, with support from other partners, has launched the Urban Agriculture initiative, a roof-top farming initiative in the inner city. It has already starting creating jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities, youth development and skills development.

One of the forum members, TUHF, is currently financing entrepreneurs looking to purchase and convert buildings into low-cost housing for residents in the city. It has made investments in the Empire Perth and Knowledge Precinct, Eastern Gateway and along the Louis Botha Avenue.