Deliverables in the Inner City Charter are
being met, according to an independent audit, and emphasis is being placed on
speeding up specific commitments.
MORE than half of the commitments in the Inner
City Charter have been delivered in the first year of its existence, an
independent audit has confirmed.
The first year - the year reviewed - ran
from July 2007 to June 2008 and received an overall score of 56 percent from
independent assessors, Urban Inc. It found that sectors such as human
development and urban management were delivering very well, sometimes even beyond
charter commitments.
The results of the audit were reviewed and the
Independent Assessment of Progress against Charter Deliverables was formally
adopted at the fifth meeting of the Inner City Charter Partnership Forum on 3
March at the Metro Centre. The audit was completed in October 2008.
According to Urban Inc, progress was judged
only on the documentary evidence submitted by the City and on visually
verifiable progress on the ground. Executive Mayor Amos Masondo, who chaired the
forum meeting, reminded everyone that the charter was about delivery and
results first.
Commendable
Two of the sectors - urban management, safety and security; and community
development - achieved excellent results, obtaining scores of 72 percent and 62 percent, respectively in the audit.
"Region F has made excellent progress and
must also be commended on the orderly submission of evidence," a summary of the
audit declared.
Among the region's delivery successes are
its regional management plan, which is regularly reviewed; a comprehensive
mapping of service breakdowns and by-law contraventions; and the completion of a
bad building database - there are some 200 of these.
The City's human development department is
directly responsible for the community development commitments in the charter. The
audit found that substantial progress had been made in fulfilling commitments,
and in some cases, "the department has delivered additional work over and above
what the charter calls for".
Among its successes are the Inner City
Street Children Sanctuary project; 100 early childhood development services,
with support provided; refurbished sports and recreation centres; and the
establishment of the Inner City Community Revitalisation Fund.
Satisfaction survey
A small satisfaction survey, taken from about 50 stakeholders, was also done to
"get impressions" on the ground, confirmed Graham Gotz, the policy and strategy
specialist in the central strategy unit of the Mayor's Office.
Because the sample size was small, and
therefore unscientific, the results did not form part of the audit but
nonetheless were "roughly aligned" with its findings.
In the survey, the urban management team of
Region F - the inner city - was commended in particular for delivering beyond
requirements and received a 92 percent score from stakeholders, Gotz said.
Not so good
The department of economic development and the Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD),
however, were singled out in particular for non-delivery and a lack of visible
policing, respectively.
The audit found that the economic
development sector "appears generally to not have progressed as anticipated
with a number of major projects stalled or not proceeding".
On hand to reassure the partnership forum
was executive director Jason Ngobeni, who acknowledged that several
deliverables had not been achieved. But he said the department had since
started an accelerated programme in this regard, with a "crack team now working
on deliverables".
He pointed out that some of the
deliverables were technically challenging, highlighting in particular the
broadband project and the linear markets. The department recently named Ericsson
as its preferred broadband service provider, with the first pilot
expected to be
rolled out in April this year. It is almost a year
behind schedule.
Turning to linear markets , the department had started setting one up in Fordsburg, while
the Hoek and Quartz street
markets had been completed, although this was also behind schedule. Among the
challenges was that linear markets were proving to be very expensive, he said.
A particular concern raised by the floor
was a lack of deeper engagement with stakeholders on the management of linear
markets, with especially the Metro Trading Company coming in for some flak.
And, although the JMPD had produced in
terms of its deliverables, the privates sector was still concerned about the
lack of visible policing in the inner city. "Traffic in the city is absolute
chaos and visible policing is zero," said Renney Plitt, the chief executive
officer of AFHCO, a property company.
According to the JMPD, however, it deploys
170 officers and 25 vehicles in the inner city on a daily basis, the majority
in the morning to assist with the traffic flow.
In addition, on 6 March it kicked off its
Operation Nomakanjani campaign in the central
business district. Meaning "no matter what" in English, it is a fight by the JMPD
to stop dangerous driving and to enforce traffic and road law. By Friday, 151
drivers had been arrested.
The operation will last two months and will
be expanded to other areas of Johannesburg.
Challenges addressed
In her overview of the charter commitments achieved to date, the new inner city
programme manager, Santhurie Naidoo ,
confirmed that completing charter deliverables on time was one of the
challenges her office would look into.
Specific deliverables that will receive
urgent attention are off-street parking for taxis and buses; linear markets;
the broadband network; the business process outsourcing precinct; by-law
enforcement; transitional housing; the Inner City Property Scheme; and rates,
taxes and tariffs structures.
The latter has been a serious concern for
private investors, with the Johannesburg Inner City Business Coalition (JICBC)
calling for mediation in 2008 and listing "mission critical" issues that needed
urgent attention in charter implementation.
Among the problems raised by the JICBC were
the delay in planning approvals which was holding back the development of about
12 buildings in the inner city; about 40 clearance certificates which were
proving to be problematic; the new rates and tariffs structure of the City
which was affecting the affordability of well-managed buildings; and the Inner
City Property Scheme.
The City met the JICBC on 2 March to
discuss these issues and find a way forward, confirmed Gotz. At that meeting,
both parties agreed to work together instead of calling for an independent
mediator to resolve the critical issues.
Among the resolutions was for the planning
department to look at the issues on a case by case basis, and that two high-level
JICBC members meet the clearances department to focus on key blockages in the
system.
Anne Steffny, the director of the JICBC,
said the private sector sometimes felt as if the mayor was not always fully
informed of the stumbling blocks because discussion times were always cut short
in the forum meetings.
"The private sector is driving very hard
for the mission critical issues to be delivered. These are the items that will
insure investment in our city and will ensure a sustainable world-class African
city."
The overall results of the audit per sector
are:
- Urban management, safety and security - 72%
- Community development - 62%
- Arts, culture, heritage and public open
spaces - 55%
- Transport - 53%
- Residential development - 48%
- Economic development - 35%
Related stories:
|
