​Property owners, developers and businesses say they are beginning to see tangible changes in the inner city, which has bolstered their appetite to invest more in opportunities offered by the City of Joburg.

The sentiment was shared by most businesses at the Inner City Partnership Forum, held on the 26 February 2019 at the Council Chambers, Braamfontein.

​​The meeting gives partners and stakeholders an opportunity to present the work they have been doing in the inner city. TUHF, which has one of the largest residential property portfolios in the inner city, applauded the City's efforts in turning around the inner city.

“We recognise the work done by the City in the inner city and the releasing of properties to developers, but also we urge the City to focus on getting the basics right in order to realise the dream. These include service delivery, urban management, by-law enforcement and efficient development application process," said TUHF's Katherine Cox.

The Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Cllr Herman Mashaba, assured the forum that the City was committed to working with stakeholders and making safety its priority in the inner city.

“Our efforts in the inner city are beginning to bear fruit. As the City we understand your frustrations as business and property developers. I understand that as partners operating in the inner city, you are concerned about safety issues, but I can assure you that we are counting days when we will finally release an additional 1 500 JMPD officers, who will take to the streets to ensure the safety of our residents," said Mayor Mashaba.

In 2017, the City recruited about 1 500 JMPD trainee officers who are currently undergoing training, who would join the City's law enforcement team at the end of their training.

The MMC for Development Planning, Cllr Reuben Masango, said the City was working around the clock to address some of the challenges raised by stakeholders.

“Some of the challenges we are discussing here, we continue to pursue their resolution in other platforms such as the Inner City Sub-Mayoral Committee. Some of these issues seem to be taking longer, but we are working hard to resolve them," said MMC Masango.

Citiq Group acting CEO Nicolaas Erasmus said it has an appetite for the education precinct in in the inner city and of turning the empty spaces into public asset. “The fee-free education has created unprecedented demand and also access to mainstream tertiary institutions is not sufficient," said Erasmus.

The Joburg Inner City Tourism Association's Chairperson Isaac Chalumbira said his organisation was working hard with the City to realise untapped opportunities of the inner city by giving tourists a uniquely Joburg downtown experience, which is infused with arts, restaurants, hotels, theatres and  memories.