G20 spotlight misses Joburg's neglected neighbourhoods
There is a blind spot amid Johannesburg's preparations for November's G20 Summit, undermining attempts to spruce up parts of the city which may be traversed by world leaders.
Nothing constructive is happening at one of the gateways to Africa's richest square mile.
At the intersection of two iconic roads – Sandton Drive and Winnie Mandela Drive – lies George Lea Park South, an unkempt hotspot for repeated bylaw violations which go unpunished.
The most visible infringement is the illegal dumping of builders' rubble.
Failure to curb this is symptomatic of the malaise crippling Joburg. Responsibility oozes away like the raw sewage which spills weekly, but not weakly, from old pipes perpetually clogged with fibre – not the dietary kind.
Data fibre cables cause sewer blockages, with the permission of Joburg Water.
ALSO READ: Joburg's cure: Place the city under administration
Back to the trouble with rubble. Illegal dumping can be reported to a hotline number. But that's useful only if you phone while the dumping is taking place, or you have the registration of the offending vehicle and, preferably, you have photographic evidence. Otherwise, the hotline is of little use.
As a staff member replied to me on WhatsApp last year when I asked if that was still the hotline number: 'Correct. We are only responsible for issuing [fines]. Not for cleaning.'
Cleaning up is always someone else's job, of course.
Removing dumped rubble requires Pikitup, who are plagued by vehicle shortages, breakdowns or labour disputes.
Union meetings are held during working hours, so collections may start late. Pikitup has little spare capacity for rubble removal.
If you see rubble lying for weeks on high-value land alongside Winnie Mandela Drive, you know why.
ALSO READ: When politicians and criminals blur lines
On Monday, in addition to repeat complaints about dumping, I was asked to arrange JMPD assistance with 'vagrants in George Lea Park South', 'four x Illegal advertising trailers along Sutherland Road' and 'Illegal hawkers at corner Cromartie Road, Argyle Road and Sutherland'.
The open land between Winnie Mandela Drive and parallel Sutherland Road is prime outdoor advertising space routinely abused at no cost by owners of giant billboards on wheels.
They do not fear lackadaisical folks whose job is to enforce bylaws.
Nor is there effective bylaw enforcement against people sleeping in the park, or those who make fires, drink alcohol, cook, or buy and sell all manner of merchandise, including animal skins and drugs.
Or those who hang about the intersections, performing tricks in the traffic, or robbing motorists.
Occasionally, the city carries out multidisciplinary operations there.
ALSO READ: Why the ANC remains a safe haven for corruption
But offenders return as soon as JMPD officers drive away.
President Cyril Ramaphosa lives not far from all of this. Whether on walkabouts or in motorcades, he must notice the conditions in George Lea Park South, or the sewage running down Saxon Road and Cromartie Road, the ubiquitous water leaks, or the years-old sinkhole at the corner of Argyle and Winnie Mandela.
And so on.
Seven years ago, US President Donald Trump was rightly pilloried for his scatological description of African countries.
Even if Trump is not coming to the G20 meeting in Sandton, surely Joburg can pull out all stops to prove him wrong.
Not for Trump, but for Sandton's forgotten ratepayers.
NOW READ: Now we wait for accountability, Mr Mayor
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