Former mayor explains why Joburg CBD is a mess – and how the ANC should fix it

One of Johannesburg’s earliest mayors after democracy, Amos Masondo, has weighed in on the debate over what is needed to address the complex challenges in the city.

Masondo served as mayor from 2000 to 2011, and he has been credited with major infrastructure projects in Joburg, including transforming townships such as Soweto and Alexandra.

His party, the ANC, is now in a power-sharing arrangement with minority parties in the council.

They now prepare for a hotly contested leadership race in Johannesburg with the DA positioning Helen Zille to become the next mayor of the metro.

But Masondo believes the ANC can retain power in Johannesburg despite the negative outlook from various polls.

He recently spoke to The Citizen in an interview in Woodmead, north of the city.

“What Joburg needs right now is leadership, and good leadership at large. The ANC collective has done a fairly decent job.

“Part of what we need is leadership that is about influence, and good influence,” he said.

ANC’s renewal project

He said the ANC must return to basics for it to return as a winning party after the local government elections.

“The challenge is to seek to change the situation and one of the critical starting points is to build an organisation that is strong, that is able to reach out to voters, and organisation whose values are rooted in the ideas and values of the Freedom Charter.

“We must be an organisaton that is not internally focused but is focused on service delivery and is in touch with the people in the urban areas, and in the rural areas,” he said.

Masondo said the ANC must consolidate the work it has done since taking power in Johannesburg and build on it to take the city to greater heights.

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Has Joburg decayed?

He does not believe that Johannesburg has decayed.

Instead, he said Johannesburg, like other cities around the world, is “ageing”.

“The cause of decline in the old CBD of Johannesburg was firstly because 1994 was coming and businesses… began moving out of the old CBD, into Midrand, Sandton, Rosebank and all those areas. That is the truth,” he said.

He said the mayor before him, Isaac Mogase, had also engaged with business, begging them not to leave the Johannesburg CBD.

“We were able to persuade a few to stay… business hates this but it is true that it is they who were leaving. We did what we could at the time.

“I believe that this decline can be reversed through partnerships and through ensuring that we regenerate and build anew in the inner city and that we also deal with issues of abandoned buildings, crime and related problems,” he said.

Immigration

Masondo said another problem that came after 1994 was the issue of illegal immigration into the CBD. But he believes migration is an international problem which can be managed.

“Yes, there was the arrival that had increased, arrival after 1994 of foreign nationals to the Johannesburg CBD and that came with a whole lot of problems, it was just not invasion empty buildings and crime and drugs, a bulk of these problems is attributable to foreign nationals.

“My approach on this is that there is no city in the world that does not have foreign nationals even in America, London, Paris, they are grappling with the same problem. Even in Africa, Lagos, Tanzania. The issue is how do you manage this and how do you ensure that people who come into the country are properly registered,” he said.

Zille running for mayor

Masondo said despite all the problems Johannesburg faces he does not believe that Helen Zille is the right candidate to become the mayor.

“The DA is fundamentally opposed to progress and the advancement of the lives of the poor. They are not only opposed to BBBEE, they are also opposed to black leadership.

“The point I am making is I have worked with her, I know her and I know her limitations and that of her party. It is not a good idea for someone like her to lead such a complex city,” he said.

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