Let ’ s arrest Joburg decay
JUST as Rudy Giuliani introduced the “Broken Window Theory ” after being elected mayor of New York, US, in 1993 as an approach to combat urban decay and general disorder, so can this theory be introduced to turn Johannesburg around, starting with overgrown pavements and long grass.
When communities take pride in their surroundings, it has a ripple effect that kicks in with a positive spin on suburbs around the cities. Johannesburg pavements are currently a mess with very long grass.
Grass-cutting is the responsibility of City Parks, but the way it currently works is that when there is a hard surface or paved sidewalk, weeding and grass-cutting become the responsibility of the Johannesburg Roads Agency.
A soft surface or soil is the responsibility of City Parks. The majority of overgrown areas are City Parks ’ responsibility.
In Johannesburg, some property owners beautify the pavements in front of their houses. That has a positive effect on surrounding neighbours who will do the same.
The problem with this is that often the property owners take over the entire sidewalk, making it impossible for pedestrians to walk on pavements. They then walk in the road, becoming a danger to themselves and motorists.
The government introduced the Expanded Public Works Programme to give job-seekers the opportunity to mobilise themselves into small business entities to create temporary jobs for themselves.
Johannesburg introduced Jozi @ Work, which is essentially the same thing, but in accordance with ANC policy, they reinvented the wheel and gave it a different name with no political will to actually implement the schemes.
If there was political will, the simple task of grass-cutting and an agreement between different entities and departments with enforced penalties where there are transgressions would have saved me the time of writing about something as obvious as a Broken Window Theory.