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New Directions for Urban Policy-Making in South African Cities: the Case of Joburg 2040

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New Directions for Urban Policy-Making in South African Cities: the Case of Joburg 2040 New directions for urban policy-making in South African cities: The case of Joburg 2040 Dissertation Submitted in Fulfilment of the Degree: Master of Management by Dissertation Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management: Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand Supervisors: Professor David Everatt and Dr Caryn Abrahams 2017 Zayd Ebrahim 0407937N DECLARATION I, ZAYD EBRAHIM, hereby declare that the work submitted here is the result of my own investigation and that all citations, references and borrowed ideas have been duly acknowledged. I further declare that this work is submitted for the first time at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand towards a Master of Management by Dissertation and that it has never been submitted to any other university/faculty for the purpose of obtaining a degree. ___________________ Signature ___________________ Date i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing this dissertation was an enriching experience. It has provided me with a renewed enthusiasm, to continue strategizing and planning for one of the most dynamic, resolute and enigmatic metropolitan cities in the world. As an ‘insider’ possessing knowledge that ‘outsiders’ find it hard to possess, the experience of undertaking this research challenged my own positionality and reflexivity. Whilst the binary of insider/outsider may be helpful, the dual role of a researcher and employer is incompatible. This dissertation will undoubtedly help guide the directions that I continue to take in my journey of future investigations. I am grateful for undertaking this exercise to uncover my ‘researcher identity’ during this process. I am grateful to my wife, Salmah, for her enduring support, belief and sacrifice, and for allowing me to realise that this dissertation may not be the most important thing in this world! I am equally grateful to my children, Hamzah and Muhammed Zidan, my parents and brother for their continued support. I would like to convey my gratitude to my supervisor, Professor David Everatt, for his thought provoking viewpoints, encouragement and advice that empowered me to face difficult decisions and make necessary changes! I am grateful for the interest taken in ensuring that my academic conversion was a seamless process. I would like to express appreciation to my co-supervisor, Dr. Caryn Abrahams for helping me understand and refine my research perspectives. My colleagues at the City of Johannesburg, Jan Erasmus and Tinashe Mushayanyama, for continuously engaging on the subject matter, providing valuable resources and taking a keen interest in this research. Former City of Johannesburg colleagues, Stephen Narsoo, Rashid Seedat and Trevor Fowler for their willingness to contribute to this study. I am thankful to Andrew Barker, Blake Mosely Lefatola for their perspectives shared during the interview process, Darlington Mushongera for assisting to shape the research process and to Ahmed Essop for editing my dissertation. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANC African National Congress CBD Central Business District CBO Community-Based Organisation CBP Community Based Planning COGTA Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs CDS City Development Strategy CoJ City of Johannesburg/City of Joburg DA Democratic Alliance DFA Development Facilitation Act DLG Developmental Local Government DPLG Department of Provincial And Local Government EFF Economic Freedom Fighters GEAR Growth, Employment And Redistribution Strategy GCR Global City Region GCRO Gauteng City Region Observatory GDP Gross Domestic Product GDS Growth and Development Strategy GVA Gross Value Added HDS Human Development Strategy IDP Integrated Development Plan/ning IMATU Independent Municipal and Allied Trade Union IUDF Integrated Urban Development Framework LED Local Economic Development LGTA Local Government Transition Act MFMA Municipal Finance Management Act MSA Municipal Systems Act iii NGO Non-Governmental Organisation PFP Progressive Federal Party RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme RSA Republic of South Africa SA South Africa SACN South African Cities Network SAMWU South African Municipal Workers Union SDF Spatial Development Framework UDF Urban Development Framework iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Breakdown of the four sections constituting the literature review. ............ 18 Figure 2: Arnstein's Ladder of Participation (Arnstein, 1969) ..................................28 Figure 3: International Association of Public Participations’ Spectrum of Participation (IAPP, 2005) ..........................................................................................................29 Figure 4: A timeline of CDSs developed by the City of Johannesburg between 1999 and 2016. ...............................................................................................................63 Figure 5: Joburg 2040 GDS Outcomes, Outputs linked to 2011-2016 Mayoral Priorities and day-to-day operations for the period 2011-2021. ..............................70 Figure 6: Awareness of Joburg 2040 and the IDP from the Soweto focus group (CoJ, 2016) ............................................................................................................97 Figure 7: Awareness of Joburg 2040 and the IDP from the Youth Focus Group (CoJ, 2016) ............................................................................................................98 Figure 8: Awareness of the GDS and IDP from the Business Focus Group (CoJ, 2016) ......................................................................................................................99 Figure 9: Public participation levels in the City of Johannesburg between 2005 and 2015 (CoJ, 2015) ................................................................................................. 101 Figure 10: Awareness of the IDP by racial breakdown in Johannesburg (GCRO Quality of Life Survey III, 2013) ............................................................................ 102 Figure 11: Participation levels during the IDP process by racial breakdown in Johannesburg (GCRO Quality of Life Survey III, 2013) ........................................ 102 Figure 12: The City of Johannesburg's strategic planning process cycle flow (CoJ, 2013b) .................................................................................................................. 127 Figure 13: Matrix of city strategy options indicative of the level of public ownership and urban complexity (author's diagram) .............................................................. 132 Table 1: Operationalising research questions. ........................................................80 Table 2: List of interview participants, description of role and date of interview. .....83 Table 3: Focus Group setting and participant data .................................................83 Table 4: Comparison of strategic issues between the ANC administration (2011- 2016) and the present DA-led administration ....................................................... 144 v ABSTRACT The City of Johannesburg has produced five iterations of its City Development Strategy over the last 17 years with the latest CDS Joburg 2040, launched in 2011. This dissertation argues that the City of Joburg’s leading role in negotiating for developmental local government paved the way for long term planning at the local government sphere. CDSs prior to Joburg 2040 were developed as technical documents prioritising the needs of the municipal institution over citizens. Formulating Joburg 2040 epitomised a combination of economic and political conflicts taking place in the city. Joburg 2040 attempted to break the path dependence of urban growth and development by re-envisioning the imperative of urban transformation. Thus, Joburg 2040 attempted to emphasise a political imperative of an incoming leadership that was willing to listen and engage with citizens by coproducing a long term vision for the City. As participation has being ineffective in facilitating active involvement of the citizenry, participatory processes have served the needs of the municipality rather than citizens. Joburg 2040 was a politically championed process of developing a CDS that attempted to change that status quo. vi CONTENTS DECLARATION .............................................................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................. ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ................................................................ v ABSTRACT .................................................................................................. vi CONTENTS ................................................................................................. vii 1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ......................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background and context of this study ........................................................ 3 1.2.1 Coproducing the vision: The Joburg 2040 GDS outreach process ..... 4 1.3 Purpose of the study ................................................................................. 6 1.4 Participation in setting ............................................................................... 6 1.5 Problem statement ...................................................................................
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