Initiative to revitalise Boksburg CBD grabs speaker of council’s attention

The main objective is to make Boksburg one of the world's safest city to live in, do business and to visit.

November 22, 2022

Fanie Mthupha 2 minutes read

Graphite Security's Charl van der Merwe gave a presentation on how CCTV cameras operate to help prevent crime and assist with investigations whenever crime is committed.

The community initiative to breathe new life into the Boksburg CBD continues to gain momentum, with the level of support from locals, including businesses and authorities, coming in leaps and bounds.

The objective of the initiative, dubbed the City Improvement Project (CIP), is to encourage all relevant stakeholders to take responsibility and unite behind a common mission to improve the aesthetics of the city’s economic environment, following many years of neglect.

Vandals, crime, illegal dumping, neglect and overcrowding have left the CBD a shadow of itself.

After it started with a handful of concerned citizens, the project was officially launched during an unusually well-attended big clean-up campaign in the CBD last month.
The growth also became evident in the latest meeting (on November 17), which was for the first time graced by the attendance of the speaker of council, Raymond Dhlamini, representatives of the Boksburg SAPS and the city’s Boksburg customer care centre.

Members of the Boksburg SAPS have also come on board.

It was also attended by a substantial number of residents, including business operators, property owners and residents from the CBD and Boksburg North.
The EMPD and the controversial Waste Management Department were also invited to the meeting, but they didn’t turn up.

However, the speaker of council welcomed the initiative and encouraged residents to press ahead with their good work.
“I hope we are also going to be able to assist with whatever you are going to need. It’s encouraging to see people who love their city.
“You might feel that your work is not being noticed, but, believe me, there are people out there who are noticing what you are doing. Thank you very much for your efforts,” said Dhlamini.

During the meeting, leaders of the subcommittees, dubbed ‘Action Groups’, gave feedback on work done so far. They are (from left) Wesley Hermanus, Andrew Tinker, Leroy Slava, Derek Fox, Jean-Paul Goris, Marius De Vos, Andrew Harris, Eugene Meraki and Eugene Ngoetjana.

Members of the project’s recently formed subcommittees, dubbed ‘action groups’, gave feedback on the tasks they have undertaken so far. They also shared their proposed projects as well as how they envisage reaching their goals.

Among the things that were discussed included intensifying the clean-ups and the fight against crime, patching potholes, exploring the possibility of installing CCTV cameras, bringing all the other relevant stakeholders on board, and ensuring that every property or building complies with the city’s safety regulations and standards, such as zoning ordinance, illegal land use and overcrowding.