The project Re-imagine Randburg was launched in February 2025 with the hopes to get enough energy and action going to convince more businesses and local residents to take an active part in basic maintenance and the upkeep of their suburb. The idea being that if more people step up, Randburg would be able to recover some of its former glory. 

What was the problem?

The suburb of Randburg has been sliding into the crime and grime that has plagued much of Johannesburg. In the past 20-odd years businesses have fled, leaving the once thriving central business district struggling and falling into decay.

Residents have also seen the upkeep and maintenance of their suburb become  non-existent. Their usual complaints include crime and lawlessness and the poor state of the roads, with broken traffic lights, potholes, unpainted road markings and signage. Construction or repair work when it is done is shabby.

The local public swimming pool, the surrounding park and the recreation centre were also closed for over four years and had not been maintained for years. It added to a sense of hopelessness about a suburb falling through the cracks.

How did they fix it?

Local ward councillor Lucinda Harman teamed up with businessman, former JSE CEO and Randburg local, Roy Andersen, to launch a project called Re-imagine Randburg.

They had visited Springs in December 2024 to see how the community there had started an “adopt your street” initiative, getting businesses to sign up to maintain the pavements, traffic islands and streets around their businesses.

Harman told FixLocal that she identified “quick wins” to spark interest and show the community what could be achieved. For her this was to get the local swimming pool cleaned and re-opened. She created a first-ever partnership agreement between the Joburg City Council, other authorities and the local residents associations to jointly manage the facility. The pool is scheduled to reopen in Spring 2025.

On the back of this “quick win” Harman worked on a longer-term plan asking businesses and residents to pledge to upkeep the area outside their businesses or their streets.

Learning from the Springs community, they used the power of social media to highlight the good that has been done by individuals and businesses.

They’ve held several pre-launch and launch events so that businesses stay informed, but importantly, were also reminded of what Randburg used to represent as a business hub and its potential to be restored.

Businesses and residents have taken up the challenge by repairing potholes, removing rubble and clearing vegetation in their public spaces. Successes are shared on Facebook and Harman said it’s given people reason to see that a communitywide change can happen when everyone starts to do their bit.

What makes it work?

• An active councillor: Communities need to have strong councillors who are committed to taking action and coming up with innovative ideas for improving their wards. 

• Involving business: The local councillor teamed up with a prominent businessman for this initiative that would involve the business community. 

• Learning from others’ experience: The councillor also took lessons from a community leader from another suburb who had successes with their initiatives.

• Showing success and building momentum: To generate interest and buy-in, the councillor worked on reviving a community facility, alongside the community. The successful completion of the project meant more confidence and trust was created so that more fixes could happen.

• Community involvement: The community was updated regularly and were involved in the various different projects.  

•  Using media: Media was alerted and gave coverage to the story, raising awareness and profile for the campaign and giving hope back to the communities.

Acknowledgements

Author: FixLocal Reporter

Additional articles/ sources: 

Not just window dressing: Residents roll up their sleeves in Re-imagine Randburg initiative - https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/not-just-window-dressing-residents-roll-up-their-sleeves-in-re-imagine-randburg-initiative-20250224

Photograph: Lucinda Harman