Orange Grove is no longer a safe area due to an increase in crime and illegal occupation, attributed to the City of Johannesburg Property Company’s (JPC) failure to complete the Louis Botha Corridor/Orange Grove Precinct, which was intended to improve the area and local economy.
The JPC is being taken to task by the DA in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) for the gross mismanagement of a crucial project launched 13 years ago, which cost the City of Johannesburg R80 million but has not commenced, despite the allocated funds being partially spent. This mismanagement has also conservatively cost the city 13 years of lost revenue of about R200,000 per month on utility bills.
In 2012, the JPC was mandated by the City’s Development Planning Department to purchase and redevelop 55 properties along the Louis Botha Corridor/Orange Grove Precinct, which was launched under the Corridors of Freedom initiative, aligned to the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) programme and the Nodal Review densification strategy. These properties are earmarked for mixed-use, high-density development.
The acquisitions were made by the City of Johannesburg Development Planning Department with the intention of supporting integrated human settlements, economic upliftment, improved public transport access, and generally upgrading municipal services. Yet, the degradation of the area continues.
In response to the DA’s questions on the issue posed to the Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure Development and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Jacob Mamabolo in the GPL, he forwarded a reply written by the acting CEO of JPC, Musah Mahunga.
See the reply here.
From this reply, it appears that the development has not been able to commence because 22 of the 55 properties acquired are still illegally occupied despite eviction notices being issued to the residents of these buildings in September 2017. Additionally, of the 16 plots of land involved in the development, seven still have not been transferred to the city.
This means the money allocated for those seven plots, around R38 million, would today, had it been properly managed and placed in an interest-bearing account, be worth more than R110 million. We would like to know what has happened to it.
Mahunga, in his report forwarded by Mamabolo, stated that a Government Forensic Investigation Services report in April 2018 implicated two JPC employees, one of whom was illegally occupying one of the buildings. The two were allegedly involved in illegal subletting and rent collection. One employee was fired, and the other resigned. We demand that criminal cases be opened against these corrupt individuals. However, in the last seven years, no progress has been made with the project.
Mahunga also stated that the lack of progress with the project has constrained the planned redevelopment, compromised safety, and contributed to further urban decay in this area. This means that in the meantime, the City of Johannesburg has been deprived of essential rates revenue from these buildings.
The DA is demanding urgent action on this project. For Mamabolo to pass the buck in responding to the GPL directly by merely forwarding Mahunga’s report to him is lazy and unprofessional. It is also not what we would expect of MEC Mamabolo.
The residents of Orange Grove and of Johannesburg deserve competent and transparent management of the JPC. A DA government in Gauteng would work to ensure that projects are properly managed and completed within budget and on time. We will also implement a working infrastructure management plan coordinated from province with municipalities.