Joburg inner-city revitalisation – The city must report on the ANC’s failed progress
7 October 2021
There is a lie at the heart of our Johannesburg. We all know it well – Johannesburg is a "World Class African City." One wishes the slogan was true. But as many residents know, the city, particularly when I took office in 2016, was more akin to a world-class slum. The inner-city, formerly the heartbeat Johannesburg, was mired in crime and grim – a hellscape for many residents.
It is not an exaggeration to say that in 2016, the city spiralled into deep decline despite the ANC’s spin-doctoring, costing over R300 million. At the time, Johannesburg faced an infrastructure backlog estimated at R170 billion and a housing backlog of over 300 000 units.
In that year of 2016, the people of Johannesburg decided they wanted change; a chance to be free of the ANC’s lies and corruption, and so, following the Local Government Elections, I led a multi-party coalition government that was dead set on delivering change to the City. A key component in delivering this fundamental change towards resident-centric quality basic services, or Diphetogo as we termed it, was reviving, revitalising, and restoring the Johannesburg inner-city.
To do this, the multi-party coalition government launched the Inner-City Revitalisation programme during my term as Mayor, handing over abandoned, derelict, and hijacked buildings to the private sector for mixed-use development, including affordable accommodation.