/blogs/spaniard/2012/04/16/poor-johannesburg/ Just another capeinfo blogs Sites site Wed, 16 Oct 2013 19:22:05 +0200 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 /blogs/spaniard/2012/04/16/poor-johannesburg/#comment-120 Neil Fraser Sat, 21 Apr 2012 08:00:55 +0000 /blogs/spaniard/?p=849#comment-120 I have been involved in the Johannesburg Inner City urban renewal programme for many years and in that capacity have worked closely with the City politicians and officials. Pre 1994 a joint city/business tourism company had been established but it was funded by the city. It had a somewhat mixed reputation but generally did a fairly competent job.After 1994 the politicians disbanded it in favour of an in-house department which was a disaster. Around 2001/2 it was re-established as “an independent company” (its directors, chairman and funding coming from the council!). It chose to relocate itself to Rosebank in snazzy offices that appeared to be almost always empty except for its staff and was generally ineffectual. It’s CEO left under what I believe were corruption charges. Since then it appeared to improve to an extent but its ties to the Council left it little if any independence of thought or action. Returning directly to within the highly politicised folds of the Council itself will finally stifle it completely.

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