Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has, over the past month, embarked on a “reclaiming the inner city” campaign. He has been driving bylaw enforcement initiatives and spearheading repairs and clean-ups of inner-city streets, among other efforts. For instance, the congested and famous “Kwadunusa”, or De Villiers Street, looks remarkably different — day and night compared with what it once was. The paving is now squeaky clean, and walking is a breeze for commuters.
It is difficult to imagine that the street vendors who had long stationed themselves and sold goods on the pavements were, in fact, violating bylaws and inconveniencing everyone. Their presence had become a way of life — permanently stationed, selling from the same spots daily. Disorder had been normalised, and life in the inner city meant navigating between taxis driving recklessly on busy streets, vendors and their goods on pavements, and pedestrians trying to make their way through it all.
The overall picture and energy of the inner city reflected hustling and survival — people caught in a continuous survival cycle, with limited growth and development.
This picture makes one realise why governance is important. In simple terms, governance is a complex system of processes, rules, functions, laws, structures, power dynamics and norms based on relationships. Together, these assign authority — determining how decisions are made and who drives the strategic direction of an organisation or group. They also establish who oversees service delivery, implements policies, plans and projects, and monitors risk. Governance determines who reports on performance and the achievement of intended results.
Respecting the rules
Good governance rests on accountability, leadership, integrity, transparency, skills and the stewardship of those entrusted with authority. Effective governance, in turn, relies on those governed respecting the rules. It is often taken for granted, like the screws that bind the components of a chair, keeping it sturdy. The visible part is the chair, but we rarely appreciate the invisible work done by the screws to keep everything in place until one or two come loose and the chair starts to wobble. Only then do we start to investigate and fasten them.
For as long as I have known Johannesburg’s inner city, its streets have been bustling and chaotic, crowded and unsafe, with opportunistic criminals lurking around. It was a place you went to only when unavoidable, constantly vigilant of your surroundings and belongings. It is no surprise that those who could avoid the inner city did so, leaving it to those who needed it for survival. Over time, it became unrecognisable, filled with hijacked and dilapidated buildings.
Morero is now doing the simple yet fundamental work of finding the missing screws and fastening them through his “reclaiming the inner city” campaign. Judging by the pictures and comments from ordinary South Africans on his Facebook page, it appears he’s making real progress.
Out of interest, I took a drive to Lilian Ngoyi Street and the famous De Villiers Street to see for myself. True to what others have praised, it was a pleasure to drive there. I noticed a stationed traffic police bus and visible police presence. I also saw a few individual vendors who had already laid out their goods on the cleaned pavements — a woman with her vegetable stall and a few men with cloths spread on the ground selling loose items. It made me wonder how long it would be before many others returned, as these few seemed to be doing.
The key driving forces behind the momentum are the upcoming local government elections — which may see changes in Gauteng leadership if the ANC does not win — and the G20 summit, which will host global leaders in Johannesburg on November 22-23. These are external pressures compelling all the City of Johannesburg departments to co-ordinate and put their best foot forward.
The question becomes: can all these efforts be sustained without a covenant with those who survive in the inner city? A covenant is a binding commitment between parties to work together towards a common goal. How will the mayor balance the survival needs that the lawless inner city has long provided with the need for order and legality? How long before policing efforts are exhausted? What will ultimately outlast the other: the need to survive or the need for law and order?
For the sake of development, may the gods of governance be on the mayor’s side, and may law and order reign.
• Dr Vilakazi is an academic, author and organisational developer.
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