Weeks before the rugby Test match a huge operation was launched to accomplish the almost impossible.
12 September 2024 - 05:00
by Melody Emmett
Picture: Supplied
The Springboks’ win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on August 31 was not only a local rugby triumph but also a victory for one of the grimmest parts of Joburg.
A disparate group of organisations and individuals, suburban rail authorities, city management and private groups came together weeks before to ensure that the area around the stadium would be clean and the transportation of thousands of fans by rail — a mode that has fallen into decay in recent years — would be smooth.
The rugby win was the “cherry on the top,” says Bea Swanepoel, CEO of Jozi My Jozi, a group that is dedicated to restoring Joburg. She says “all sides” could claim credit for the operation. Others involved included Joburg city manager Floyd Brink, Irene Mafune of the City of Joburg, Andy Makanda of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), and entities such as Gautrain, Transnet and City Power.
A board involving city departments and the private sector had been established before the event, says Mafune. It drew up a list of what needed to be done.
Pictures: Supplied
Jozi My Jozi was paired with City Power to fix streetlights.
“We created partnerships to ensure that whatever was done was in line with the city’s bylaws,” says Mafune.
Six weeks before the Test, the group met at Ellis Park to discuss what needed to be done: streetlights and potholes had to be fixed, burst water pipes and leaking valves needed to be repaired and trees had to be cut.
“Every Monday we would meet. Everyone would go through their list and give feedback to the city,” says Jozi My Jozi’s Stephen du Preez.
They reported on progress they had made: painting, fixing streetlights, and, in the case of the Joburg Roads Agency (JRA), repairing potholes. “The JRA had something like 130 issues to deal with, and they tended to all of them,” says Du Preez. “We showed that when you drive towards the same result, all can work together.”
Picture: Supplied
Within three to four weeks, 380 streetlights along the entire Joe Slovo Drive, from St John’s College to the M2, were replaced at a cost of R19,000 a light, says Du Preez.
The JRA and Discovery’s pothole patrol joined forces. Discovery contributed about R40,000; the JRA painted road markings and put up new street signs.
“We were very fortunate that we had willing partners in the city and that Prasa opened the Ellis Park train station,” says Du Preez.
Makanda adds: “Within three weeks Prasa had revived that station and repainted it, as well as the bridge and the palisade, checked all the railway tracks — which were still intact — and put security in place.”
There was joy and celebration, and everyone was in good spirits. It was a huge success
Andy Makanda
Rugby fans were advised to catch the Gautrain from a station nearest to them. From Park station they took suburban trains to Ellis Park. “Each [suburban] train [normally] carries about 2,400 passengers. For the Test a three-minute train ride every 15 minutes, full to capacity. Even All Blacks fans from New Zealand took the train; it was part of their booking package,” says Makanda
“We haven’t done a reconciliation of how many people used the train yet, but it was like any train in Europe or China, full to capacity. There was joy and celebration and everyone was in good spirits. It was a huge success.”
Jozi My Jozi’s Wayne Dawson says security was the first of the focus areas identified for the Test. The others were education, arts and culture and the social and commercial aspect.