JHC AGM; COPE Citichat 16 November 2001

CITICHAT 45/2001 - 16 November 2001


JHC AGM & COPE

I first met Edith Monareng probably ten years ago when we both worshipped at the same church in Hillbrow. It didn’t take long to discover that this diminutive lady harbours a passion in inverse proportion to her slight frame, a passion for enriching the lives of tiny children. Shortly after we met she opened a pre-school facility in the church hall. We lost touch when I moved to another church but some years later she contacted me in regard to pre-school premises in the inner city and over the years we have bumped into each other from time to time. On Wednesday, Edith’s tiny tots from her pre-school, ECLAH (Enrichment of Children’s Lives and Hearts) were the star attraction at the Johannesburg Housing Company’s 6th Annual General Meeting.

I’m sure there were quite a few lumps in throats and even the odd tear as we watched about 30 tiny pre-schoolers in yellow tee shirts and blue jeans first sing “The Greatest Love of All” and then act out a simple but meaningful play. The two little lead singers, Mbali Kubaka and Mulalo Makhwara performed with the aplomb of real pros. The play was one that the kids had developed themselves – about ‘Amandla’ who had contracted AIDS as a result of blood contamination through a car accident. How he was then ostracised both in his community and in his school. The teacher contacts a social worker (both played by pre-schoolers) who visits the classroom and explains the disease to the children and how Amandla needs their love and not their rejection. The class, one-by-one, hugs the child and apologises for their previous behaviour.

What has this got to do with the revitalisation of the inner city? How does Edith Monareng’s school and the JHC connect? Firstly, Edith is the Principal of a pre-school facility in JHC’s Carr Gardens development. Secondly, the children, as tiny as they are, are being exposed in the most wonderful way to the contemporary issues and problems of our society. But, thirdly, and for me most importantly, what Edith is doing and what the JHC represents is that revitalising a city like Johannesburg is NOT merely about physical renewal but about transformation – transformation of communities through the transformation of individuals and what better place to start than with children! JHC doesn’t leave it there however, for in CEO Taffy Adler’s presentation he led us through various videos illustrating how the JHC takes this approach all the way through to developing and empowering their tenants by way of various programmes, role playing, etc. - equipping them as communities and not just as tenants. No wonder the Company can boast arrears at consistently below 5% and vacancies at below 5%!

The Chairperson of JHC, Bishop Mvume Dandala, a man whom I believe will have a growing impact on South Africa, captures the essence of what urban renewal is really about in the JHC 2001 Annual Report: “When people think of social programmes, they often think of projects that are shabbily run, with a laissez-faire attitude and without proper accountability. They think of projects that are run by people who lack passion, inspiration and drive because there is little monetary benefit in it for them. Because of this, many people think that such programmes cannot work. In this regard, JHC has taken on a new quest – to demonstrate to the rest of the country, that social programmes can function efficiently, effectively and can be accountable. Our experience has indicated clearly that this cannot be achieved without building on the bedrock of honesty and integrity. If a programme fails to operate on these principles, it intensifies the hopelessness and despair of those whom it is supposed to serve, those who have been victims in our society for too long already. JHC is making a very significant contribution to creating a culture in which people no longer see themselves as victims but as victors and as active players in their own transformation.”

On the pragmatic side, JHC has added 3% to the inner city housing stock since they were esatblished six years ago, and by the end of 2002 they will have created 1 700 units in total which will move that 3% to 5% of inner city housing stock. Construction is under way on new stock, Tribunal Gardens in Fordsburg and the Elangeni project in Albert Street, 148 and 168 units respectively, as well as refurbishment - as part of the Better Buildings Programme - of Lake Success in Petersen Street, Hillbrow, 140 units,. Next year they will tackle the quite massive Brickfield Project in Newtown where Taffy is looking to create something quite unique in the realm of inner city housing.

All in all, this was a week about inner-city housing. Earlier in the week, on Monday, another inner city housing project was formally opened, the 120 unit Troyeville Housing Company Co-Operative developed and built by the COPE Housing Association. COPE has pioneered the concept of co-operative housing provision in South Africa. Again, COPE are not merely developers of housing but through the co-operative housing model democratise home ownership and strengthen communities and the broader social fabric of the inner city. Earlier this year, at the end of August, they also completed the Tswelopele Housing Co-operative through the conversion into 54 units of the old Johannesburg Health Department office building in Hoek Street. As an aside, the opening on Monday was to have been graced and addressed by a number of relevant dignitaries from both local and provincial government. Neither of the dignitaries reflected on the programme arrived - although provincial government did have an appropriate substitute. The fact that local government was reflected on the programme, clearly having agreed to speak, but failing to materialise even on a substitute basis, is quite unacceptable. I think it is time that private sector bodies stopped inviting errant government officials to important inner city milestones rather than endure the embarrassment of ‘no-shows’. This is a personal comment as is all Citichat content!

But, what a contrast these two companies, JHC and COPE, provide to the approach of the slum-lord, whoops, sorry, developer, I mentioned a few weeks ago (Citichat 43, 2nd November). The pious pleadings of “providing for the residential needs of the poor people of the city” resonate with insincerity when one realises that the only beneficiary is the developer’s bank account. The ugly, no, obscene, face of capitalism.