City of Johannesburg responds to Johannesburg City Library’s closure
City of Johannesburg allocated R25m in the 2024/2025 budget as part of the initial R45m.
The City of Johannesburg finally responded to the long calls of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and protesters who gathered at Beyers Naudé Square on May 18, against the closure of the Johannesburg City Library in 2020.
Click here to watch the video.
The Johannesburg Public Library has over 1.5 million books in its collection.
On the premises are several specialist libraries which include:
- Central Reference Library
- Children’s Library
- Michaelis Art Library
- Multimedia Library
- Music Library
The Johannesburg Crisis Alliance, Defend Our Democracy, Action For Accountability, Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, and Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) were among the entities that attended the peaceful protest.
The chairperson of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, David Fleminger said the protest was to hold the city’s authorities accountable.
“We must acknowledge that this is their job, their mandate is to ensure that the city’s resources are adequately maintained and accessible to the public. We do not believe that the library should have been closed for four years and do not believe that there is a good reason for its closure.”
Fleminger added that the foundation reached the end of its rope. He said the city needed to notice relevant concerns and engage with them so that a realistic plan that acknowledges the urgency of reopening the library could be put forward for it to be used by the public and serve its purpose.
According to the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation after findings from independent engineers and architects concluded:
- The public spaces of the library can be partially re-opened while repairs are ongoing.
- The gas-driven fire suppression system in the stacks must be commissioned, and the building brought up to the current and applicable code to protect the invaluable collections held in the library.
Believing that:
Libraries are not a luxury. Access to information is prescribed in South Africa’s Bill of Rights and the City of Johannesburg is currently violating this right by keeping the library closed.
Thus the foundation demands on behalf of the local community, scholars, students, researchers, educators, book lovers, and all the concerned citizens of Johannesburg that:
- The Johannesburg City Library be partially re-opened to the public with immediate effect.
- The necessary steps are taken to secure the collections in the library.
- The executive mayor and the city’s implementing agencies take their mandate seriously and stop dragging their feet concerning vital civic resources.
City of Joburg Member of the Mayoral Committee, MMC for Community Development, Lubabalo Magwentshu in a media statement released on May 20, said the City of Johannesburg recognised the importance of the Joburg City Library (JCL) to the community and understood the concerns surrounding its closure to the public for the past three years.
“We understand the significance of the Joburg City Library to the community, the importance of preserving and protecting the archives, the need to ensure compliance with safety regulations, protecting the community, and reducing the risk for library personnel, and are taking proactive steps to ensure its reopening.”
In response to the growing demand for the library’s reopening and the demands expressed in the protest action, the City of Johannesburg allocated R25m in the 2024/2025 Capex budget as part of the initial R45m needed to bring the facility into full compliance with safety regulations.
The budget for 2024/2025 is expected to be approved at the Extra-Ordinary Council Meeting scheduled for May 22, Braamfontein.
Magwentshu noted that with the commitment to address the matter during financially challenging times, the city initiated the procurement process to appoint service providers to address critical fire safety concerns at the library.
This phase of the project is expected to pave the way for the partial reopening of the JCL in the next financial year, with the remaining work to follow to ensure the full operation of the facility. He concluded that contractors are currently working on soldering and waterproofing external gutters as part of the current phase, and other work will begin on the much-needed compliance issues in July 2024.
History and politics Professor Achille Mbembe from the University of the Witwatersrand said the importance of him being at the protest was to support the demand for the library’s reopening.
“I support the demand for various reasons, the key one having to do with a promise in the Freedom Charter. The promise that was made said, ‘When liberation comes, the doors of learning will be open to all’ and it is for that reason that the Johannesburg Library has a major public good in the city and should remain open.”
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