‘Look what we can achieve if we stand together’ – Jozi My Jozi spearheads Mandela Day clean-up of notorious Hillbrow

A helper at Mveledzandivho Primary School on Mandela Day on 18 July 2024 in Soweto. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)

By Michelle Banda

18 Jul 2024

Thousands of people participated in Jozi My Jozi’s clean-up in Hillbrow on Mandela Day. By linking volunteers to worthy causes, Jozi My Jozi wants to develop a spirit of service year-round and rejuvenate Johannesburg’s inner city.

For Mandela Day on Thursday, nonprofit organisation Jozi My Jozi, in collaboration with corporates, NGOs, the Gauteng government and the City of Johannesburg, hosted a clean-up in the inner city’s notorious Hillbrow district, with around 4,500 people coming out to help.

Jozi My Jozi aims to recruit people to help improve Johannesburg’s grimy inner city. CEO Bea Swanepoel said the event wasn’t a once-off.

At least 4,500 participants from the private and public sectors came to help in the Hillbrow clean-up. (Photo: Michelle Banda)

“It was a collaboration of the private and public sectors to also test out theories of what works and what doesn’t in the worst areas that we can find. We choose Hillbrow for that very reason,” she said.

“It needs tender love and care and no one is willing to go into Hillbrow because of an existing bad reputation and people’s perception of it. So we needed people to see for themselves the truth about Hillbrow.”

Jozi My Jozi’s Adopt a Project programme links volunteers to various inner city initiatives, which helps to make every day a Mandela Day and demonstrates a deep commitment to making a positive impact on the city and its residents, said Swanepoel.

Read more: Jozi My Jozi poised as the catalyst for Joburg’s ‘phoenix moment’ of inner-city renewal

“If we say we are going to work together under the government of national unity, what better day to choose than Mandela Day to collaborate? This event was a connection of the private and the public for the betterment of the people who live in the City of Johannesburg.

“For us, Nelson Mandela Day is 365 days. Jozi My Jozi is involved in various projects every day and this event was to create awareness, but one day is not enough or sustainable,” she said.

Safety key

Wayne Dawson, Jozi My Jozi’s safety and security lead, told Daily Maverick that helping make Johannesburg safer was a top priority for the group.

Johannesburg has been ranked as the 13th riskiest city for tourists in the world, according to a recent survey by Longwoods International that was published in Forbes Advisor. It also ranked third among the 10 African cities with the highest crime index at the start of 2024.

Dawson said they were bringing SAPS, metro police, crime wardens and security companies together to create a collective force to ensure that Johannesburg residents were safe, anywhere, at all times.

He said this would be coupled with solar-powered surveillance cameras, street lights and intelligence equipment to ensure they were not affected by load shedding.

“What we aim to achieve is a clean and safe city for all during the day and at night. We want Joburg to be a 24-hour city… to get her vibe back and bring back people and investments. All we need is the community on our side. We have the confidence to do what we are promising with passion and pride.”

Dawson said, however, there needed to be a united strategy.

“Every department has a vision and strategy of how they want things to work, which is a stumbling block because they ringfence certain things and then there is a conflict with other departments or whoever wants to help. What is also needed is a new look at enforcement – it’s not working now. It’s about bringing back specialisation,” said Dawson.

In another Mandela Day event, Miss SA Natasha Joubert visited Mveledzandivho Primary School in Soweto. Joubert, alongside Anglo-Gold Ashanti, has pledged to help the Adopt-a-School Foundation primary school to reach the best educational outcomes. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)

Mandela Dau Helpers at Mveledzandivho Primary School on Mandela Day on 18 July 2024 in Soweto. (Photo: Gallo Images / Papi Morake)

Among those participating in the Hillbrow clean-up event were the Gauteng Health MEC and acting premier Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko; MEC for Infrastructure and Development and Traditional Affairs Jacob Mamabolo, MEC for Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela, mayor Kabelo Gwamanda, and city manager Floyd Brink.

‘What we can achieve’

The clean-up received mixed reactions from observers and participants.

One bystander said: “To clean Johannesburg CBD, you need to clean the hijacked buildings first.”

Another said, “This initiative should be done regularly, not just for one day, because, by the end of the day, it will just go back to the original state – dirty as ever.”

One participant, Wits student Sihle Ngcobo, said: “A cleaner Joburg is a vision coming to life. Let us reclaim the City of Gold.”

Moses Mangwanye said: “Days like these remind us of what we can achieve if we stand together.”

Jozi My Jozi will organise another clean-up in August before the rugby Test match between the Springboks and the All Blacks at Ellis Park. DM

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Safety key

‘What we can achieve’