The City of Tshwane has launched an initiative to reclaim its inner-city, addressing hijacked buildings and rising crime to attract investment. Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya leads a multi-departmental operation known as ‘Reclaim Our City’, targeting unsafe and hijacked buildings in Pretoria CBD. SUPPLIED
RAPULA MOATSHE
Hijacked buildings, poor infrastructure, cleanliness issues and inadequate security are the major deterrents to investment in the Pretoria CBD and addressing them is crucial to making the municipality an attractive destination for investors.
Chrys Haitas, executive director for Strategic Business Development at the Capital City Business Chamber, echoed this view while responding to the City of Tshwane's newly-launched initiative aimed at tackling hijacked buildings and crime in the inner city.
The weekly multi-departmental operation known as ‘Reclaim Our City’ is aimed at combating crime and criminal activities in the capital city.
The operation involved the SAPS, the Department of Home Affairs, the Tshwane Metro Police Department, and the City’s Health Department and Environment and Agriculture Management Department.
Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya expressed concerns over the alarming state of affairs in the CBD, revealed during the first phase of a joint operation last week.
“Over the past several years, the level of crime has risen and adherence to by-laws has deteriorated across the City, but especially in the city centre,” she said.
Haitas shared the same sentiment, noting that the city has incredible potential, with iconic buildings that could be restored to their former glory.
“They have got those buildings that potentially could be something special. If you actually drive into the City you will see that it is terrible,” she said.
Securing the inner-city is a crucial step in ensuring the success of various operations, including cleaning initiatives, she said.
“How do you secure it? You ought to look at what the challenges are, the challenges are the buildings that are being hijacked, which not only causes mess in the city but also affects infrastructure as well as security,” she said.
She said during last week's operation, authorities discovered a building with illegal connections for both water and electricity, highlighting the scope of the challenges facing the inner-city.
She also pointed out that people no longer feel safe to run businesses in the inner-city.
“Who wants to go down to the City at the moment? You don’t feel secure because of the environment, the way it looks,” she said.
However, she suggested that these challenges can be overcome by reclaiming and refurbishing empty buildings that can generate additional income for the City, creating a positive cycle of growth and improvement.
“By doing what they are doing, I think it is smart. So the chamber definitely supports that from the business perspective because we need business to invest, we need business to come back to the City. When business comes back to the City they (will protect it). They will look after it as well,” Haitas said.
Deon Gericke, manager of Advocates Chambers on Madiba Street, previously said many advocates had relocated from the CBD to suburban chambers due to the area's crumbling infrastructure and rampant crime, which had become a major concern for their clients.
In the first phase of the operation, authorities inspected several unsafe buildings in the CBD, discovering that some structures violating safety codes were being used as a makeshift church and a daycare center, posing serious risks to occupants.
“The buildings will be condemned for violating the building codes,” Moya said.
A privately-owned building at Drakensberg flats in Nana Sita Street was found to be uninhabitable, with disconnected electricity and water services.
Despite these dire conditions, hundreds of residents have resorted to using water from a fire hydrant for their basic needs.
Moya said: “It has become too common that City-owned buildings are hijacked and used by criminals to earn an income. We closed a nightclub or restaurant that was operating in a City-owned building, but its municipal bills were being paid to unknown entities and not to the municipality.”
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za
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