Johannesburg, or Jozi as it is more fondly known, is a far cry from the continental powerhouse of commerce, culture and history it once was. Dilapidated infrastructure, hijacked buildings and uncontrolled crime have tarnished the famed City of Gold. In this article, Laura Tyrer explores how the Jozi My Jozi collaborative initiative is transforming the inner city.
Many companies that inhabited the inner city have decamped to the safer northern suburbs, leaving behind a city that has been steadily spiralling into disrepair, poverty and crisis.
But those who love this cultural melting pot, who understand how important it is to restore it to a place of opportunity, prosperity and hope, know that all is not lost. For at the centre of the city pounds a golden heartbeat – its people.
The nonprofit coalition Jozi My Jozi is dedicating its efforts to reviving the city for these enduring communities – and those yet to come. This place-based collective of committed individuals, organisations and companies is working tirelessly to rebuild the inner city of Joburg.
The making of Joburg’s place-based collaborative
The ambitious urban renewal project was initiated when mining giant Anglo American decided to relocate from its Marshalltown precinct property in the former Johannesburg central business district (CBD) to Rosebank.
Unable to find a developer to buy the precinct, the board instead imagined a vision which would enhance the city. For this, it had three directives for the use of its property. The first two, protecting the heritage of the buildings and avoiding any long-term liabilities for the company, were relatively straightforward. However, the final directive, to leave a lasting legacy for both Anglo American and the mining industry on which the city was established, proved more of a challenge.
After extensive consultation and studies of urban revitalisation efforts worldwide, the team tasked with this challenge identified a crucial element. “We needed an anchor,” explains Jozi My Jozi acting CEO Bea Swanepoel. “We had the strong presence of the banking sector, but banking is not the anchor we needed. Instead, we turned to education.”
The University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) were approached to consider establishing satellite campuses in the inner city. While both ultimately declined out of concern for the safety of their students, the engagement attracted the attention of several South African change-makers. Nando’s Co-founder Robert Brozin challenged the team to explore a broader vision of leaving a legacy of a transformed inner city. Wits Business School Head Maurice Radebe suggested approaching major businesses in the inner city to be part of the process in a ‘coalition of the willing’.
Outreach to banks and other companies to pitch the idea of turning the city around was greeted with an overwhelmingly positive response. We Are Bizarre Founder and Creative Director Melusi Mhlungu’s proposal that the project draws inspiration from successful city branding campaigns like ‘I love New York’ led to the creation of the ‘Jozi My Jozi’ brand, capturing the spirit of ownership and pride the team hoped to instil in stakeholders and residents.
With the name and brand in place, Jozi My Jozi was formally registered as a nonprofit and “The coalition of the willing quickly became the coalition of the doing,” says Swanepoel. The initiative expanded its focus beyond the inner city, reaching out to a broader range of companies and stakeholders.
“This is not a business-as-usual situation. The private sector has to do more than pay rates and taxes if we want to see real change. It doesn’t have to be forever, but we need a step-change to take Joburg out of the hole it is in at the moment. This is an exceptional situation.”
Bea Swanepoel, Jozi My Jozi
Education anchors the inner city
Jozi My Jozi achieved its goal of creating an educational anchor in the former CBD. In 2023, Anglo American handed over its iconic 45 Main Street building to the Maharishi Invincibility Institute, a nonprofit private education institution dedicated to empowering under-privileged youth in the inner city and surrounding areas.
The building enables the institute to grow its impact. Now able to serve up to 5 000 young people, it has more than doubled the number of students it can support. The institute provides access to on-the-job training and assists graduates in securing sustainable employment.
Supporting education and training is a key component of Anglo’s directive to leave a lasting legacy. Together with health and employment opportunities, education contributes to building and maintaining thriving communities.
Transforming will to action
Initially established in 2022 as an NPO, Jozi My Jozi gained traction in 2023 when private sector partners began to join the cause. The initiative currently includes more than 60 signatory partners, including companies, other NPOs and city improvement districts. Formal collaboration agreements were established with the City of Joburg and Gauteng Province, ensuring alignment with government strategies.
The collaborative employs a simple theory of change. The Jozi My Jozi movement restores hope for the inner city to attract inspirational ideas and initiatives. Successfully delivered, these initiatives restore pride and a sense of ownership, generating a self-sustaining momentum to restore and maintain the area.
“We want this movement to get traction to bring hope back to the people so that they get inspired to love and reimagine their city,” explains Swanepoel. “In the precincts where the project has been active, this approach is already delivering the end goal.”
The collaborative has identified five focus areas:
- Improving safety and security with the installation of solar streetlights, the repair of potholes and reinstating the pavements, among other activities
- Encouraging social engagement to address the overwhelming rate of homelessness in the city by fully understanding the extent of the problem, providing day service centres and night shelters
- Restoring commerce to the CBD by bringing business back to the city and creating job opportunities
- Using education as an anchor to uplift the city and support social upliftment
- Employing sports, arts and culture to create an environment where businesses could thrive and communities could rebuild.
Operating a movement built on passion and communication
The Jozi My Jozi brand remains independent, surrounded by a loose coalition of willing and capable partners, united in their desire to revitalise the Joburg inner city.
The organisation acts as a convening partner, coordinator, idea generator and ‘super-connector’. One of its key functions is offering its private sector partners ideas to elevate their CSI strategies. “Companies have run out of ideas on how to spend their CSI budgets and can be disheartened by the lack of impact that billions of rands worth of investment have had. A big part of the project is giving them suggestions for projects that will deliver big impact,” comments Swanepoel.
Jozi My Jozi and the private sector propose infrastructure projects requiring government input and approval. Project tasks are shared cooperatively and organically, with private sector partners providing funding, materials, expertise or support for work to be done.
Other partners contribute to the success of the collective in a myriad of ways. For example, Wits and UJ students contribute their masters and doctoral research to understanding the extent and nature of the problems that need resolving and the solutions to achieve this.
The collaboration is built on constant and transparent communication with all partners. Quarterly meetings with private sector partners are held to share updates, align projects and avoid duplication of efforts. Weekly meetings with essential City of Joburg representatives from key entities such as Joburg Water and City Power convene key decision-makers, building efficiency and ensuring swift action and accountability. Similar monthly meetings are held with Gauteng provincial leadership to facilitate high-level coordination.
Swanepoel says building trust is the central requirement for partnerships of this nature. And it is achieved through consistent delivery of promises and open communication about both successes and challenges. This approach fosters strong relationships and alignment across private sector partners, city authorities and provincial government, creating a collaborative environment and a ‘collaboration of unity’ for urban renewal efforts.
“We understand that we need each other and that we need to complement each other.”
As an NPO Jozi My Jozi is managed by a steering committee of corporate partner representatives from Anglo American, Nando’s, IQ Business, Microsoft, Absa, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank.
Directors meet weekly, while the day-to-day functions, including communications and marketing, project management and stakeholder engagement, are fulfilled by 12 full-time individuals seconded by the partner organisations to Jozi My Jozi. Auditing, legal and secretarial functions funded by the corporate partners ensure the organisation’s strict adherence to good governance.
The organisation is in the process of registering as a public benefit organisation (PBO). Swanepoel notes this is a requirement of the international funders with whom the organisation is engaging rather than an expectation from partners who would receive tax benefits under the PBO status. “None of our partners have requested this. They’re doing it for the right reasons.”
Showcasing partner impact
Jozi My Jozi’s work and impact are meticulously measured and tracked with resources supplied by partners, including IQ Business and Nedbank. In addition to measuring all projects and outcomes against the 17 SDGs, Jozi My Jozi tracks the organisation’s collective carbon footprint and carbon reduction measures. It also tracks crime statistics in the area.
Setting in motion a snowball effect
Built on the strong mandate of its initial partners and operating under strict adherence to good governance guidelines, the Jozi My Jozi initiative is accelerating rapidly. “The more we grow, the faster we can implement and make an impact,” Swanepoel enthuses.
Swanepoel says the process has revealed the incredible spirit of the inner city and the soul of Johannesburg’s people, who are where the city’s real value lies.
She describes the hidden gems to be discovered in the inner city’s vibrant venues, restaurants and businesses that have held on through the city’s decline and the Covid-19 pandemic. She praises the education and training facilities that make an enduring contribution to the economic future of the former CBD and the NPOs working quietly but steadily – sometimes for decades – to respond to homelessness and addiction in the inner city. Swanepoel has nothing but praise for the individuals who make their lives in Joburg’s inner city, from the informal community leaders who eagerly engage with the collaborative to reinvent the city to the informal traders who feed its residents.
Jozi My Jozi wants to work with these businesses, institutions, organisations and individuals to strengthen and grow their efforts sustainably. “We are open about our vision for a city where people can feel safe enough to work, live and play. And that is exactly what we are trying to accomplish!”
The collaboration has already attracted national interest and is evolving into a proof of concept that could be rolled out in other metros across the country.
Learnings from a place-based collaboration
- Take the time to engage the communities who live in and use the area, listening to their needs and suggestions and treating them with dignity and respect.
- Look for creative ways to involve local communities in crafting solutions, e.g. students contributing research or residents participating in projects.
- Persevere. When the cause is important, difficult challenges can be overcome with enough will and action.
- Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. Ensure that channels of communication remain open for the sake of maintaining trust, managing misunderstandings, retaining efficiency and creating more opportunities for inspiration and collaboration.
- Think beyond the funding box. Company partners can also provide secondments of the qualified and experienced staff essential for project success.
- Only spend money where it adds value.
- Consider the knock-on effects of interventions. Projects to enhance one locale should not have an adverse effect on neighbouring areas.
- As important as it is to get things done, they need to be done right. Practice good governance and transparency to ensure tasks are executed to the best possible standard.
- Be part of the solution and take responsibility for remedying the issue. If not now, then when? If not us, then who?