City of Johannesburg Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC), Kenny Kunene, has acknowledged that the city could have done better in its consultation with residents and business owners who were affected by the 2023 gas explosion.

One person was reported dead and 48 others were injured in the explosion, which affected parts of the city centre’s major corridor, Lillian Ngoyi, formerly known as Bree Street.

On Thursday, Kunene and his team briefed the media on the technical aspects of the Lillian Ngoyi rehabilitation programme.

His briefing comes more than a month after the city reopened parts of the Lillian Ngoyi precinct following the completion of the first phase of the repairs. It is expected that the second phase of the project will be completed by the end of August 2026.

Head of Infrastructure Development at the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), Kwazelela Mcetywa, indicated that despite the delays and contractual disputes, the city has not exceeded its allocated budget of R92 million, as reported in the media.

“One of the lessons we have learned as the city is that we could have communicated better with our stakeholders, who include affected residents and business owners, especially when it comes to the timelines and delays.

“However, I am happy that this did not affect our budget as we are still within the R192 million budget, having spent just over R32 million on the first phase of the rehabilitation programme,” Mcetywa said.

Kunene said the rehabilitation of Lillian Ngoyi precinct forms part of the city’s Inner City Masterplan programme, which will filter into other parts of the CBD, including the Johannesburg High Court precinct.

The Patriotic Alliance leader, who recently returned to his official duties as Transport MMC, further committed himself to finishing the second phase of Lillian Ngoyi’s rehabilitation programme by the end of August 2026.

“I aim to launch the second phase according to the stipulated timelines. Unlike with the first phase, I will be there for the second phase, and I am not going anywhere because I want to oversee the masterplan, which also includes the high court precinct. Judges and prosecutors have expressed concerns about safety, citing incidents of robbery and stolen dockets in the area,” he said.

Kunene added that the legal dispute between the city and the previous contractor, Step Up Engineers, was terminated over allegations of non-compliance in terms of the General Conditions of Contract 2015.

It emerged that this contractor, who has since been replaced by Korone Engineering, also failed to submit the required documentation.

“We were able to resolve the issues with the previous contractor, and we terminated their contract as they withdrew their court challenge against us. If it were not for the heavy rains and the legal matter, I believe, we would have finished the project much earlier,” Kunene stated.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za

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