| Deadlines being met in inner city |
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| Written by Emily Visser | |
| Tuesday, 06 May 2008 | |
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The majority of commitments in the Inner City Charter are being met on time, and the partners are ironing out the remaining few challenges. 
The Donald Mackay Park in Hillbrow is getting a major facelift
REGENERATION of the inner city is going ahead, and most of the commitments in the Inner City Charter are being met on time. More than 70 percent of its time-dated deliverables are being met, confirms a report by the inner city programme manager, Yael Horowitz. Her report was tabled before the mayoral committee on 17 April and relates to the third quarter, ending in March. A number of projects are running smoothly or have been successfully initiated since work on the first charter commitments began in late 2007. "We have had very good charter movements," Horowitz says. In all, there are 192 charter commitments in five sectors - urban management, safety and security; public spaces, arts, culture and heritage; economic development; transportation; and residential development - to be met over five years. The urban management function in Region F, the inner city, has been augmented in recent months. The area has been divided into four quadrants and regular urban management and by-law enforcement blitzes take place. 
Urban inspectors have gone on a campaign to educate informal traders about the City's by laws
It is also becoming cleaner and greener. The City launched the Sisonke Project in 2007, in which 20 underground bins were set up in the inner city; 2 000 new swivel bins were also introduced. Work is being undertaken at five inner city parks - Pieter Roos, Alec Gorshell, Le Roith, JL de Villiers and Donald Mackay. Upgrades being done include general beautification in the form of paving, fencing, park furniture and greenery. The public environment upgrade in Yeoville, Berea and Hillbrow is also progressing well, and the congestion on Rockey/Raleigh, Kotze and Pretoria streets will soon be a thing of the past as they are turned into beautified high streets. Another 64 blocks in these areas have been identified as activity streets and will receive minor upgrades, while a number of residential streets will get some tidying up. The project is running according to schedule and will meet its deadline at the end of June. Other improvements include a stronger surveillance and policing presence; ongoing by-law enforcement and education programmes; a Migrants' Helpdesk; and the start of the first phase of the Bus Rapid Transit system in the Ellis Park precinct.
Taking off slowly 
Underground bins are being installed
Horowitz says that while about 90 percent of clearance certificates are turned around in two months, a small proportion are delayed "due to administrative regulatory stuff holding it up". This problem has been noted and will be resolved to meet the charter commitment, albeit it later than scheduled. The Better Buildings Programme will also take off again after coming to a halt earlier in the year as a result of public administrative problems. Of the 22 or so agreements between the City and private developers under the programme, nine have been approved by the mayoral committee and the revamping of these buildings will proceed soon, Horowitz confirms. Developers sign an obligation certificate with the City in which rates and taxes arrears are written off in lieu of the buildings being refurbished. Horowitz reports that even in instances where charter commitments are lagging behind schedule, progress and action is still taking place. The roll-out of linear markets by the Metro Trading Company (MTC) is one such example. With the formation of a steering committee and a more realistic delivery programme drawn-up, "the elevation and prioritisation of this programme by all players will ensure that the markets, although late, are delivered". Another challenge is the transitional and emergency housing programme. This commitment has suffered from continual delays, confirms the report. The first 500 beds became available in April 2008, eight months later than the date set out in the charter. The Old Perm building, the MBV building and the old Chelsea Hotel, all in Hillbrow, have now been revamped. A further 1 000 beds, originally set for mid-2008, will be available in October 2008, the report points out. "A high-level intervention has been instigated to ameliorate the problems and a way forward on this will be forthcoming shortly," Horowitz says.
Partners 
The Chelsea Hotel is to be upgraded to house transient people
A number of concerns were raised by the private sector partners during the forum's second meeting. Among these were greater involvement in decision-making; what recourse is available in respect of non-delivery of programmes and projects; and the role, purpose and establishment of working groups. As a result, the forum's terms of agreement were amended slightly to accommodate these concerns, Horowitz confirms. They will be adopted at the next meeting, on 3 June. This will also be the first meeting that the independent evaluator will attend. The evaluator will ensure charter deliverables are measured and met. The inner city regeneration plan has a total capital budget allocation of R300-million for the current financial year, while the City will spend approximately R2-billion over the next five years to revitalise the area. While the budget has been approved, "there have been and continue to be delays with respect to payments in this budget", the report notes. The heart of the problem appears to be different requirements requested by the finance department, leading to resubmissions of invoices and late payments to relevant parties. "It is crucial that a more streamlined and efficient mechanism is set in place, one where there is absolute clarity in terms of requirements and where speedy payment is guaranteed," the report concludes.
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