Business confidence in Randburg has fallen sharply in recent years, according to the Randburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), although hopes of a turnaround are growing due to new investment and infrastructure plans.

RCCI chief executive officer Richard Ntjana said the decline in confidence has mirrored the area’s steady decay since its establishment in 1959.

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“The business confidence is very, very low. It has been going down, the same way Randburg has been degenerating over time, in the main because it’s regarded as an unsafe place, a crime-ridden place, and people are not feeling safe to be in the area. In addition to that, it’s not clean,” Ntjana said.

He said the mix of crime, dirt and ageing infrastructure has pushed several businesses to relocate to more attractive commercial nodes elsewhere.

“There are a lot of businesses that have shifted out of this area. They relocated to commercial nodes that are thriving, like Rosebank, Centurion, Waterfall in Midrand, as well as the new smart city that is emerging in Lanseria,” he said.

Ntjana added that some property owners in the Randburg central business district have also failed to maintain their buildings, worsening the problem.

Chamber backs precinct initiative

To try to arrest the decline, the chamber has thrown its weight behind the Randburg Precinct Management District, a legally registered, non-profit body set up to fill gaps left by the City of

Johannesburg’s service delivery.

Ntjana explained that the initiative provides what he called top-up services the city struggles to manage on its own, from extra refuse collection to added safety patrols.

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“A city improvement district comes in handy by making sure it provides a top-up service, so refuse gets collected regularly, unlike just once a week through the municipality,” he said. “Over and above that, we do safety patrols to look after the place, providing additional security. We call them cleaning ambassadors and safety ambassadors.”

These ambassadors also report problems such as potholes, damaged pavements and faulty streetlights back to the city, working alongside ward councillors, Ntjana said. He added that the RCCI is working to build stronger relationships with local councillors while remaining apolitical, focusing on shared community development goals.

Gautrain and investment signal recovery

Despite the challenges, Ntjana said several developments give the chamber reason for optimism, chief among them the planned extension of the Gautrain, which is expected to include a station in the Randburg CBD.

“Wherever the Gautrain passes through, there is an economic rejuvenation of the area, so that gives us hope,” he said.

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He also pointed to renewed investor interest following the recent change of ownership at MultiChoice, and to several private and public/private residential developments already under way in the area.

However, Ntjana said Randburg needs more than new housing stock to recover fully, calling for greater investment in office space and industrial development to balance the residential growth.

“We still need office complexes, we need the commercial nodes to balance everything,” he said. “Randburg Square is okay, but it’s small. We believe it can be better.”

Ntjana urged local businesses across the greater Randburg area, including Roodepoort, Lanseria, Cosmo City, Fourways, Midrand, Rosebank, Auckland Park and Parktown, to join the chamber and support its efforts to restore the area.

“We need to dignify this area and make sure that business confidence is kept at the highest level,” he said.

Businesses wanting to get involved may visit www.rcci.co.za, email [email protected] or call 086 101 9218 or 083 798 9506 for more information.

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