By Adam Craker
As news coverage surrounding the deadly fire in the Johannesburg CBD is lessening, we should all remember that 77 people, including 12 children, lost their lives.
The tragedy has stunned everyone, and should continue to stun us. It came weeks after a gas explosion ripped up Lilian Ngoyi (Bree) Street. Collapsed road infrastructure from the blast continues to paralyse daily traffic and movement.
During the recent BRICS Summit, an improved few Sandton blocks gave some residents of our city an example of what should be possible as a bare minimum throughout Johannesburg: secure spaces, safe buildings, repaired potholes, functioning traffic intersections, repainted street lines, and clean streets.
But as Joburg residents know all too well, just down the road from Sandton, the once-glittering Jozi CBD lies in near ruin. It is racked by crime, tragically home to far too many destitute people forced to live in unsafe buildings, at best, and in street-side squalor at worst. We have abundant reasons to be pessimistic, mistrustful and defeatist. Large parts of the CBD are, in effect, a fire hazard, and questions should be asked about the readiness of emergency services.
With all the tragedy in Johannesburg, it might seem incongruent to offer a message of hope, but my recent experience as co-director of the non-profit organisation Jozi My Jozi has tempered my pessimism and given me faith in our city’s eventual renewal. Even in the face of unspeakable tragedy. Johannesburg's citizens are mourning and overcome, yes, but we can’t lie down now.
Building on years of work with business, government and civil society, and together with my co-directors from Anglo American and Nando’s, I have come into direct contact with the Joburg metro and several citizen-led (by citizen leaders whom business leader Robbie Brozin refers to as the “invisible people”) inner-city rejuvenation initiatives. These engagements should bring us all hope and optimism for the future of our golden city, but they must continue on a basis of trust if we’re to collectively and truly solve the problems that affect us all.
Inner-city rebuilding projects offer tangible, localised and practical ways in which trust can be incrementally rebuilt. Working together on a clearly defined urban plan for a better future, not only rebuilds a city, it rebuilds relationships. And the CBD of Johannesburg offers a symbolically powerful opportunity to put a new spirit of renewal into practice and practical effect.
This will, no doubt, require honest introspection and a deep commitment from every person and entity in the city to do their bit. Our mission is for Jozi My Jozi to be the “super connector” of every willing role player to make purposeful, responsible changes for sustainable future successes.
Jozi My Jozi enjoys the backing of some of the biggest local and international names in corporate South Africa, including Anglo American, Nando’s, FNB, Standard Bank, Investec, Absa and Microsoft. Together with many others, Jozi My Jozi has five key focus areas through which the rescue of the CBD should be enabled.
The first is safety and security. Through actions such as the extension of a safety corridor from the Wits campus to Marshalltown and then further east, residents will be able to move freely and unafraid, a vital ingredient for restarting the city’s heartbeat. Already Jozi My Jozi is moving forward with a solar lighting project – running from Braamfontein through the Nelson Mandela Bridge onwards, which will increase visibility at night and aid the creation of safer spaces and more secure movement. Keeping citizens safe must include fire safety initiatives and an investment in more capable emergency services.
The second is social engagement. There is no denying the enormous humanitarian needs present on the streets of the CBD. Through acts of support and upliftment for the homeless and indigent particularly, we can draw guidance from the amazing work being done by people such as Bishop Paul Verryn and Leona Pienaar from the social development organisation Mould Empower Serve (MES).
Our third priority is commerce. It is essential to bring back business to the CBD. Making the urban space investable again will require buy-in from small, then medium, and eventually large enterprises. Specific incentives for business activities should be part of these considerations in order to attract a stable and safe business community back to the inner city while the broader renewal work continues.
Fourth, the importance of education cannot be overlooked, and progress is already being made. Anglo American, a founding partner of Jozi My Jozi, has dedicated one of their former buildings to the Maharishi Invincibility Institute. Homing this globally recognised institute within the CBD is a bold step towards making the city centre a training hub that can attract and retain youthful creativity to renew our urban heart with the energy it needs.
Finally, arts and culture is a key enabler to inclusive city growth that should never be dismissed. Making sure that the unique character of Joburg is evident in the city centre is critical, because without the vibrancy, unity and inspiration that culture supplies, our project is indeed a very limited one. Joburg’s heart should be a place for artists – from musicians to poets to actors – to celebrate the city’s rich history and traditions, and share their innovative abilities to transform our city into a beautiful, vibrant space for all.
Our collective challenge goes beyond any single institution or stakeholder group right now. It’s abundantly clear that something must be done, but now is the time to start doing that work while trusting one another to play their part too. Without our investment in this trust, any promises, know-how, funding, pilot plans and grand visions will amount to nought.
Doing the work, getting involved, rebuilding bit by bit – that is how we will restore the very centre of our country’s economy and make it rise out of the ashes.
Adam Craker is the CEO of IQbusiness and a co-director of Jozi My Jozi.
BUSINESS REPORT