In the press
AA-credit rating for City
The City has improved its credit rating over last year's rating, says Fitch Ratings. International rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded Johannesburg's long-term credit rating to AA-, from last year's A+ rating, and its short-term rating to F1+(zaf) from F1(zaf). A rating provides a relative measure of a city's creditworthiness. The best long-term rating is AAA, while the best short-term rating is F1+(zaf). The F1(zaf) rating refers specifically to the city's ability to pay its short-term debt.Stating that the City's outlook remained stable, the agency said: "The upgrade reflects the City of Johannesburg's strengthening operating performance, driven by a growing tax base and subsidies from the national government." The rating "also reflects higher provisions for asset depreciation, which help to self-finance its investments, now approaching R5-billion, up from R1-billion in [financial year 2004]". Responding to the upgrades, City Treasurer William Mathamela said: "We are very excited about the investor confidence that the rating has shown - it means the City has done a lot of good work." Fitch said the rating considered the City's long-term challenges to be "income inequality and low labour participation", which limited tax generation and collection.
Further upgrades: "The ratings could be upgraded further if easing macroeconomic tensions help to alleviate rising cost pressures on the municipality's operating performance, and if the sale of its R2-billion net debtor-book is completed successfully, providing the municipality with corresponding liquidity." The agency warned that ratings might be negatively affected if borrowing exceeded projections, which would lead to declining debt collection, and restricted tax revenue growth, if gross domestic product (GDP) growth weakened. "[Johannesburg's] operating performance continues to be strong, underpinned by tax and fee collection rates of about 95 percent," Fitch Ratings indicated.The City was committed to keeping expenses below 7 percent of expenditure, it said, but this would be influenced by a slowdown in GDP growth which would, in turn, limit the City's ability to pass on to consumers increasing costs of water, electricity and other service costs.Fitch suggested that local economic growth should hover around 3 percent per year, given a boost from the public works in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.
Building cities of the future
Urban planners are debating the way forward for African cities, sharing knowledge and ideas on the best use of resources for the benefit of all people, at the Planning Africa Conference. Johannesburg plans a new approach to urban development, international delegates at the Planning Africa Conference have heard. Speaking at the meeting, the City's Graeme Gotz said that Johannesburg wanted to cut the high demand for infrastructure and put in place an efficient public transport system, so lowering travelling costs. It also aimed to stop the gap between the rich and the poor expanding.
International delegates have gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre, to discuss urban development planning; it is the seventh annual Planning Africa Conference. Current planning policies, and innovative and appropriate methods, tools and techniques of planning, which can enhance the social landscape of Africa cities, are being debated. Another aspect is to promote the best use of a community's land and resources for residential, commercial, institutional and recreational purposes. "We are looking into increasing our capacity to cater for the future," said Phillip Harrison, the executive director of development planning and urban management in the City of Johannesburg. "We want to increase the influence we have to shape the future."
Gautrain will 'make electricity'
The rapid rail link will generate enough electricity to power a shopping centre the size of Eastgate Mall, and talks are planned to add this capacity to Eskom's national grid.The Gautrain will not only alleviate congestion on Johannesburg's roads but could serve as an electricity generator for Eskom. This was revealed by Jack van der Merwe, the chief executive of the Gautrain Management Agency, during a meeting of Gauteng MECs to elaborate on key government programmes announced by Premier Mbhazima Shilowa in his State of the Province speech to the provincial legislature on 18 February. Van der Merwe was responding to questions about the effects of the electricity crisis on the construction of the rapid rail link. He said the agency would hold talks with the national electricity supplier on how the Gautrain could feed the electricity it would generate back to the national grid. When braking, the train would be able to generate about 25 percent of electricity it would use to accelerate. "When the train brakes, the heat generated [will] be able to produce electricity capable of powering a shopping centre as big as the Eastgate Mall." Besides being a source of power, in the 2007-08 financial year the construction of the Gautrain created more than 29 400 direct, indirect and induced jobs, according to Ignatius Jacobs, the MEC for public transport, roads and works.
Hakuna and Matata and the train
Work is surging ahead on the Gautrain, with tunnels being dug, viaducts swinging into place and cash being spent. Importantly, jobs are being created. Hakuna and Matata are in place and the Gautrain viaducts are growing wonderfully. Hakuna is in place in Midrand and Matata is working away in Modderfontein.
Hakuna and Matata (together meaning "no worries", and made famous in The Lion King) are two launching girders, huge 400-ton vertical metal trusses or cranes that hug the viaducts or bridges, and help complete the placing of the large concrete segments on the piers or pillars. Hakuna is working on viaduct three over Allandale Road in Midrand while Matata is at viaduct four, crossing Rietspruit Road and Olifantsfontein Street in Modderfontein. In all there will be 15 viaducts flying over freeways and crossing valleys and rivers, totalling some 10,5 kilometres. The longest will be 650 metres. "This international bridge deck assembly method enables construction to proceed with minimal disruption to existing infrastructure and traffic below," says the Gautrain construction update. "Bombela CJV [Civils Joint Venture] has integrated the best international skills and technology in designing and building the viaduct structure along the Gautrain alignment," says Joos Marais, the deputy project director of Bombela CJV. "The intention is for skills transfer to take place during this operation and to ensure that through the training processes, the South African crew are able to gain the relevant skills and knowledge from our expatriate team." Construction is taking place along almost the entire route of the 80km Gautrain, running between the Joburg CBD, OR Tambo International Airport and the Pretoria CBD. There will be 10 stations, with 15 kilometres of tunnels running from Park Station to Rosebank and Sandton, and surfacing at Marlboro alongside Alexandra township. Most of the stations will be under construction this year.
Jhb property rates
Did you know that pensioners are exempt from paying property rates. Johannesburg's new property rates policy will provide a varying degree of rebates for many pensioners who have reached the age of 60 or older.
Joburg's water 'among the world's best'
Tap water in Johannesburg is fresh, clean, healthy and affordable, says Joburg Water. "Residents should not be deceived … into the unnecessary expense of buying bottled water," it says. Joburgs tap water is of the highest quality and is healthy and safe for human consumption. This is Johannesburg Water's response to queries from residents who have reported that some restaurateurs have advised them not to drink tap water, but rather to buy bottled water. The City's water and sanitation service provider pointed out that "the quality of Joburg's tap water has been rated among the best in the world".Baldwin Matsimela, the utility's acting executive manager of marketing and communications, said that his department had been made aware that "restaurateurs advise residents not to drink tap water, alleging our water is not fit for human consumption". Such statements, Matsimela warned, could negatively affect tourism. "Residents should not be deceived into believing that our tap water is contaminated and into the unnecessary expense of buying bottled water."
Joburg Water supplies the city with more than a billion litres of fresh, clean, healthy and affordable drinking water each day. It maintains a water network of nearly 9 800 kilometres of pipes and a sewer network of about 9 600 kilometres pipes. It also manages 87 water reservoirs, owns and operates 33 water towers, six state-of-the-art waste treatment facilities and two laboratories accredited by the South African National System. It is responsible for ensuring the 900 million litres of waste water generated in the city each day are treated to the high standards demanded by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. The quality of the water was maintained, Matsimela said, through testing more than 500 samples from across the city each month. Because of these tests, the utility was able to respond quickly to any problems and ensure the quality of every drop of water.
Jozi 'will be ready' come 2009
Executive Mayor Amos Masondo with Ruby Mathang, MMC for development planning and urban management in the City and Mavela Dlamini, City Manager
Around ROUND 450 excited fans, officials and other stakeholders attending a 2010 report-back imbizo at Nasrec cheered when the City's Executive Mayor Amos Masondo confirmed that Joburg's two 2010 FIFA World Cup? host stadiums will be complete well before the football tournament begins in June 2010.
The imbizo was held at Nasrec, in the shadow of the showpiece Soccer City stadium, by the City's 2010 Office and the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) on Thursday, 21 August 2008).
The imbizo, attended by the OC's head of security, Linda Mti; the Confederations Cup director, Steve Watson; and FIFA's head of social programmes, Federico Addiechi, was held to assess the city's state of readiness to host the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa? and the World Cup the following year.
It was also a way to strengthen partnerships between the OC and the City, according to the member of the mayoral committee for community development, Nandi Mayathula-Khoza. With just under two years to go before kick off, Soccer City Stadium was 55 percent complete and Ellis Park Stadium was 35 percent complete, said Masondo.
Randburg SAPS Take Police Patrols To A New Level
Two SAPS Inspectors have taken community policing to a new level by establishing a bicycle patrol pilot project; and after less than three months it's showing encouraging results where it matters most - close to home!
Randburg streets get freedom names
Two major roads in Randburg, named after apartheid prime ministers, are to be renamed to reflect the country's democracy.
June 6, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
New names to replace two main roads in Randburg, in northern Johannesburg, have been announced following a rigorous public participation process. Hendrik Verwoerd Drive is to be renamed after human rights lawyer Braam Fischer, and Hans Strijdom Drive will become Malibongwe Drive.The new names are part of the branding and marketing for the Randburg Revitalisation Project and are meant to paint a positive image of the suburb with which "its community, both residential and business, can identify", according to a report from the City's development planning and urban management department.
At present the major arterials and other connecting streets in the area are named after old National Party ministers and the impression is that the area is strongly rooted in the apartheid era.
Randburg became a National Party stronghold in the 1950s and the two streets were named after former prime ministers who played leading roles in implementing apartheid. Nkululeko Drive was mooted as a popular replacement after a rigid public participation process called by the Johannesburg Development Agency involving newspaper advertisements, radio announcements, website surveys and ward committee meetings in July 2006. The proposed names of Malibongwe Drive (for Hendrik Verwoerd Drive) and Nkululeko Drive (for Hans Strijdom Drive) were approved by the full council on 26 October 2006. However, there was a second phase of public engagement and public notices were placed in key local places like the library, clinic, civic centre and schools. Notices were also placed in The Star, Citizen and Beeld newspapers on 16 November 2006.
SA Property News: Johannesburg decentralized impresses
Read more on the South African property news and a ray of hope seen in office rentals in the decentralized regions of Johannesburg including Randburg, which have continued to fare well, according to property economists Rode & Associates. Says Erwin Rode: “These regions seem to be leading the way into what is still being anticipated as an upswing in the office property cycle.”
In the final quarter of 2007, numerous office nodes in Johannesburg decentralized recorded double-digit growth rates in excess of building-cost inflation. In the order of highest to lowest, these included Rosebank (+29%), Randburg Ferndale (+26%), Sandton CBD (+24%), Rivonia (+22%), Bryanston (+19%) and Parktown (+18%).
Traffic lights to go solar
Long queues of vehicles at traffic lights knocked out by power cuts may soon be a thing of the past. "All traffic lights and public lights will be converted to solar power, with battery back-up," Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said in Pretoria on Friday. Briefing the media on a host of emergency measures aimed at finding fast solutions to South Africa's electricity crisis, she said the cost of the conversion would be about R400-million. The project was an opportunity for job creation and skills development, she said. Sonjica did not say when the project was expected to start or finish. Meanwhile, the manufacture of energy-wasting light bulbs would be restricted in an effort to reduce demand by 750MW by 2010, Sonjica said. If eight ordinary light bulbs were replaced with fluorescent lights in South Africa's 10-million electrified households, 800MW could be saved, she told a media briefing in Pretoria. The programme would also allow poor households to exchange their ordinary light bulbs for fluorescent lights for free until 2015. "In order to ensure that this roll-out is sustained, we intend to issue a restriction on the manufacturing of incandescent light bulbs."
Certain exclusions would be granted for oven lamps, microwaves, for "sensitive buildings" and special cases.
Source: Sapa (25 January 2008)
Understand the City By-Laws
From advertising signs and street trading to fireworks and public open spaces, if you need to know about our city by-laws then visit www.joburg.org.za
Follow the Quickhelp link on the home page and scroll down to City Gov, where you will find By-laws.