A focus on the Randburg Civic Centre is needed
RANDBURG – The Randburg Civic Centre has various concerns according to Ward 102 councillor David Potter.
Ward 102 councillor David Potter has raised concerns about the current state of the Randburg Civic Centre.
He said that the centre is used by thousands of City residents weekly and needs to have concerns addressed by the City for proper service delivery.
The Randburg Civic Centre has a variety of services including drivers and vehicle licence renewal, city account queries and payments, fine payments, an extremely busy health clinic with extended hours, a library with extended hours, an accident reporting office, the JMPD Regional office and others.
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He said that the issues currently facing the Randburg Civic Centre are the pests and rats that are in the building and the general deplorable state of corners of the building not seen by the general public.
He said, “The staff and visitors have raised the issues with my office and are greatly concerned. The matter was recently escalated by my office to the Region B Environmental Health Practitioners who did a thorough inspection and report. This matter of concern I have escalated to the Joburg Property Company MD and City Manager as well as other City officials. The pests and rats are an occupational health concern.”
Further to this, since the insourcing of the security guards, with little back-up support, crime inside the parking lot has increased dramatically. Theft of motor vehicles and theft out of motor vehicles is a serious issue.
“My office, at the end of 2019, raised the issue with the chief of police, JPC and the head of JMPD security to which the insourced security function now reports. The situation has not improved. Staff at the Randburg Civic Centre now park their cars right up against the building in fear of them being stolen or broken into. When I was at the Civic Centre with you last week, my car was jammed in the staff parking lot, not even the visitor’s parking lot which is larger and even more exposed to risk. Further to this, there is a lack of control of keeping suspicious people out, who are reportedly working with officials inside the licensing office,” said Potter.
Potter said that his office has been informally briefed on the awarding of a 2019 issued request for proposal for the development of the Randburg Civic Centre property and other related vacant properties within the Randburg CBD.
“No concrete detail related to what development and when it will commence has been communicated. This past week I wrote to the Joburg Property Company executive management asking that detail be provided to my office and the wider Randburg community in the interest of transparency,” said Potter.
He added that until development occurs, the Randburg Civic Centre continues to service the public and cannot be left to pose a risk to both staff and visitors to the centre. He also noted that the JPC website does not contain detail of the award.
“The Randburg Civic Centre is a critical and functional property, ensuring that many residents of the City can interact professionally with the City and City officials. I remain embarrassed to be the ward councillor of the Randburg Civic Centre in the state that it is currently in and trust that the regional director of CRUM (citizen relationship and urban management) , JPC and the City will turn the attention on the Randburg Civic Centre in everyone’s interest,” concluded Potter.
The Randburg Sun has contacted the City of Johannesburg and is awaiting their response.
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