The mushrooming of initiatives by organisations or individuals who are pushing up their sleeves to fix, upgrade and clean up their towns or rescue hijacked buildings is a double-edged sword.
It is a need driven by civic organisations, fed-up residents and action-orientated achievers who want to reverse the dereliction of duty of local, provincial or national government which has resulted in urban decay.
The collapse of cities and towns resulting in increased crime rates, reduced property values, a lack of community services, higher unemployment and worsened living conditions has worsened social inequality and dialled up societal fragmentation.
It is an ugly, festering wound that threatens to spread unless contained.
And this is the conundrum.
On one side of the coin is the unmistakable spirit of champions of change and on the flip side the frustration extolled by taxpayers who expect government officials to do their jobs.
One of the latest change initiatives is a project by Jozi My Jozi which is determined to restore Joburg's shine, which has been dulled by years of neglect, a lack of law enforcement and turning a blind eye to the transgressions of owners and criminal syndicates.
Having already turned on street lights in Johannesburg's inner city suburb of Doornfontein and the iconic Mandela Bridge, the nonprofit organisation, founded a year-and-a-half ago aimed at rescuing the Johannesburg CBD, has now turned its attention to the notorious suburb of Hillbrow.
Driven by CEO, chartered account Bea Swanepoel, the organisation is seeking the creation of a hopeful future for its residents and youth, a functional city that is the best in South Africa.
As part of their mission to reclaim the city, they have also repaired potholes on Joe Slovo Drive and are part of CBD Fridays, an initiative which involves the City of Joburg and the Gauteng provincial government where parts of the city are cleaned up. They are signing contracts with corporates to upgrade gateways into the city, which will also have public artwork installed.
While they have the backing of some of the biggest names in corporate South Africa, including Anglo American, Nando’s, FNB, Standard Bank, Investec, Absa and Microsoft in efforts to make their mission work, changing perceptions is not easy.
People say they are crazy because it is a “no-go” zone but they are determined projects like the Elis Park precinct are examples of successful private and public partnerships.
Ponte, the iconic cylindrical building on the edge of Hillbrow, is one example of an evolution from a trendy attraction for the city's well-heeled in the 1970s to a drug den teeming with pimps, prostitutes and criminals and, finally, to a renovated, secure access and limited-occupancy apartment block with tourism potential.
The block, which is set to go under the hammer, could return to its glory days as the heartbeat of urban culture reviving the area’s popularity and economic viability.
In Durban, a collaboration to fix the city spearheaded by #TeamRescue eThekwini as the city grapples with escalating water and sewerage infrastructure failures, has hit a snag in the form of “bureaucratic hurdles”.
They met Durban mayor Cyril Xaba in October to discuss how the city could embrace community partnerships and leverage experienced teams of engineers and other professionals to restore civic pride, enhance service delivery and rebuild trust between the municipality and its residents.
But the municipality has stonewalled them, blocking a potential private-public partnership opportunity for some self-serving agenda.
Bureaucracy, however, hasn’t prevented organisations such as Tidy Town Amanzimtoti and Tidy Town Margate from initiating a number of projects, from bin recycling to refurbishing run down areas and beautifying public spaces.
The organisations realise the impact of tourism to their area and the importance of the movement as a vehicle the community uses to keep the areas clean and safe.
As the saying by Eldridge Cleaver goes, 'you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem'
Critics, however, believe those who champion change in the absence of action by the government are giving it a free pass. If private organisations continue to assume this role there is no government accountability in carrying out duties funded by taxpayers.
As the saying by Eldridge Cleaver goes, “you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem”.
This is the important distinction between pointing fingers at an incompetent government and forging partnerships towards a common purpose of fostering pride, unity and action.
The key is not to replace municipal functions — that would be the height of falling on one's sword — but instead to be part of the solution through collaboration and ensuring government accountability and transparency so that everyone benefits.
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