Chantelle Benjamin

Johannesburg Metro Editor

THE Johannesburg City Council is set to approve an agreement this month that will tell businesses and property owners in the 11 registered city improvement districts exactly what they can expect from the council.

City improvement districts are nonprofit companies representing property owners.

Neil Fraser, former head of the Central Johannesburg Partnership and now a consultant to the districts, said the agreements would standardise the services the council provided and would ensure that there was no duplication of services.

“If a business has upgraded an area using superior finishes, it does not want the city to come along and dig up expensive tiles while repairing a water pipe and then to replace them with tar or an inferior product,” he said.

The agreement can also be modified to take into consideration the specific needs of districts, which are gaining in popularity. Seven of the 11 in Johannesburg were established last year.

Cape Town has them in the city centre, Sea Point, Claremont and Wynberg. Durban has them in the city centre and they are planned for Midrand and Fourways.

Taxpayers and businesses within the districts pay more for services above those offered by the council, including patrol officers, pavement cleaning, litter collection, the maintenance of public space, upgrading of shop fronts, replacement of pavements, planting of trees, removal of illegal posters or marketing the management district.

As a result, property in these areas has increased in value as investors return to areas that were becoming run down such as Randburg and central Johannesburg, or expand their investment in areas such as Sandton.

In the past, while the council co-operated with the improvement districts, there was no service agreement or yardstick against which the council’s performance could be measured.

The agreements will also provide clarity about who is responsible for maintenance of an area.

Fraser said some cities, such as Cape Town, had included punitive measures against the council in their service agreements if they did not perform, but said it was not a realistic option.

“Cape Town has never used them to my knowledge because it’s not constructive and would only attract hostility,” he said.

“If the council is not performing as it should in terms of the agreement, the management district should sit down with the city and find a way to sort out the problem.”