Newsletter 19 June 2025

Randburg Central Economic Region (RCER) is at the heart of the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) which is a Category-A metropolitan municipality out of three (3) metros of the Gauteng Province and the 8th in South Africa. CoJ is the most advanced commercial city in Africa and the engine room of the Southern African regional economy. It is a city with a unique, African character, world-class infrastructure in the fields of telecommunications, transportation, water and power, and with globally competitive health care and educational facilities. However, the city is also one of contrasts – home to both wealthy and poor, residents and refugees, global corporations, and emerging enterprises.

In 2018 the city had a GDP of $48 billion ranked as the financial capital for the continent hosting the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the largest stock exchange on the continent and the 16th biggest in the world. Johannesburg generates 16.5% of the country’s wealth and employs 12% of the national workforce. More than 70% of South African companies have their headquarters within the City of Johannesburg. It is also ranked 8th (behind Durban) as the city with the most trees with over 23,6% of it being covered by trees, harboring the Ferndale leafy suburb, Brayston and Sandton.

CoJ and its surrounding regions have however experienced economic decline over the past couple of years. Growth in crucial job creating industries such as manufacturing and mining has declined significantly. The CoJ and consequently Randburg has experienced high volumes of domestic migration – i.e. people migrating from other provinces in South Africa to Johannesburg; approximately 30% of Johannesburg’s population is made up of people who were born in other provinces. In 2017/18 the CoJ experienced a monthly inflow of migrants of almost 16 000 people. This has led to increased pedestrian traffic from 2015 to 2021 and intense densification taking place in the region leading to high density residential properties springing up

The Randburg region is attractive as a crucial economic center which serves as a gateway to Sandton, Fourways, North Riding industrial areas and Johannesburg markets. Randburg thus acts as a springboard for businesses to expand to the rest of the country.

In 1996 Region B contributed 13% to Johannesburg economy, a figure it maintained in 2018. Region A and C: with warehousing, packing, logistics and telecoms companies, contributed 12% and 24% respectively and has a growing low to poor townships of Diepsloot and Ivory Park. Region D: the most populated region, hosts South Africa’s largest township, Soweto, with small holdings of agriculture and livestock as well as manufacturing – contribute 8% with an unemployment rate of 43%. Region E: is the most economically prominent region with vast contradictions. On one hand, it hosts the ‘champaign north’ with its anchor being the financial hub of Sandton which is the richest square mile in Africa. On the other hand, it houses South Africa’s oldest and poorest township area called Alexandra. Finance, retail and warehousing are core to the economy of this region, which now also hosts the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This can account for the increase as in 1996 it contributed 25% to the city’s economy during 2018 it contributed 27%. Region F: a transforming region with agricultural links to the neighboring city of Ekurhuleni contributed 27% in 1996 onward, but dropped to 23% by 2018. Region G: home to the middle income formerly coloured townships of Eldorado Park and Ennerdale as well as the Indian township of Lenasia and the fairly new township of Orange Farm. The region is a gateway to Sedibeng District Municipality – contributes only 4% to the Johannesburg economy.

In 2018, the finance sector is the largest within CoJ accounting for R182 billion or 28.1% of the total GVA in the metropolitan municipality’s economy. The sector that contributes the second most GVA to CoJ is the community services sector at 24.7%, followed by the trade sector with 14.7%. The sector that contributes the least to the economy is the agriculture sector with a contribution of R1.77 billion or 0.27% of the total GVA.

The slumpiness of the region is the contrast of highs and lows in economic condition wherein 8% of the population has no income and 47% are living on less than R40 000 per annum (2018 statistics).

The Gini Coefficient for the city is 0,624 making it a very inequal society. South Africa is the most unequal society in the world with a Coefficient of 0,629. Although there has been an improvement in the city amongst all racial groups since 2008 the black African population’s improvement was marginal at 0,25% compared to 1,29 of the white population. The population group with the highest percentage of people living in poverty is the African population group with a total of 61.4% people living in poverty, using the upper poverty line definition. The proportion of the African population group, living in poverty, decreased by 7.16%, as can be seen by the change from 61.40% in 2008 to 54.24% in 2018. In 2018 0.92% of the White population group lived in poverty, as compared to the 0.89% in 2008. The Coloured and the Asian population group saw a decrease in the percentage of people living in poverty, with a decrease of 5.54 and 3.09% respectively.

52,6% of the economically active population in Johannesburg are employed and 77% of them are employed in the formal sector. The finance sector employs the most at 26.1% and 22% are employed in the trade and retail sector. 17% are in the community services sector which includes the general government services, given that the provincial capital is in the city. The agriculture sector employs the least share of people at 0.6% and 8% of the employed are employed in the informal sector, which has significantly grown from employing 225 000 people in 2008 to an estimated 351 000 in 2018. According to the 2016 Community Survey 53% of Johannesburg’s residents had completed matric, which is 25% higher than the national average. 6% had an undergraduate degree and 5% have a post graduate qualification. 3% have no education.

The Randburg economy is made of Wards 102 and 104, as shown in the figure above, with a population rate of 32 875 and 29 423 people respectively. The combined population of the two wards is 62 298 people, divided into 26 209 households.

According to statistics from both wards, the employment rates for wards 102 and 104 are 71.6% and 77.7% respectively, with the majority of this group working in the formal sector. it should be noted that not all employed people work in the study area. With the area’s higher household and individual incomes, it is likely that a large portion of the employed population works outside of Randburg, with individuals commuting to and from work.

A further issue is related to the suburbs around Randburg and the kind of commuter traffic that is found in the CBD office spaces. The Covid-19 pandemic has generated many shared workspaces and offices in the Randburg CBD which was not previously the norm and attracted travel into the Randburg node. There have been some positive dramatic changes in Randburg over the last three years that puts it in a favourable position to shape things slightly differently which could inadvertently create a different Randburg CBD to what currently exists.

Since the JDA’s Randburg Square Public Environment Upgrade (PEU), there has been development in Randburg with huge conversions of business to residential, for example, opposite the SARS building and on Dover Road. This has increased the number of pedestrians needing to make use of public transport, especially minibus taxis.

There are many vacant buildings in the Randburg CBD which is problematic. It is critical to note that as land use changes, so does the need for transportation. The vacant buildings will likely be changed into high density residential buildings although there are varying views on that.

There are 7 precincts land-use proposals in the Urban Development Framework (UDF) 2021 which is a positive outlook for the region. These precinct can provide recycling cabins for informal recyclers. Provision for night shelters for the homeless is also being considered, which will quell Illegal squatters on green open spaces who have made it unsafe and unusable and always filled with all sorts of litter.

Street parking is an issue for Randburg CDB of which proposal for paid parking has been developed. Civilian cars are parked on the street from the Oak Avenue retail section to Mikro Lane without anyone monitoring how long they are parking for. In the Randburg CBD and taxi rank area, coordinated parking that includes minibus taxis and Uber drivers is being considered.

The bus loading facilities in Randburg are also a concern. Secondly, there is no loading facility for commuter buses in Randburg Central as the Randburg Taxi Rank only caters for taxis, thus commercial buses currently load passengers along Bram Fischer Drive raising a safety hazard. The same can be said for the Big Ben Taxi Rank, which is further down Bram Fischer Drive opposite the Santon Clinic, as this facility only caters for taxis and commuter buses are loading along the road.

Overgrown and poorly maintained street verge is a big challenge. Poor Tree Inventory degrades the stature of Ferndale as a leafy suburb. The Ferndale-spruit in earnest has been under the care of Ferndale Residence Association (FRA) which have done a good job.

Vacant buildings pose safety hazards and Off-loading on the corner of Bram Fischer Drive and Jan Smuts Avenue is largely carried out by alcohol delivery trucks which seem to be the largest vendors with the biggest trucks. This needs to be taken into consideration by the JDA project.

Off-loading stock at the Oriental Plaza Hawkers Market is exceedingly difficult because there is one off-loading zone. Summarily, commercial taxis park there waiting for passengers.

Randburg has recreational cyclists, calling for cycling lanes to be constructed. Broken, poorly maintained sidewalks incite jaywalking and reduces the safety of pedestrians. There appears to be a dumping site along the palisade fence that separates the Christ Embassy Randburg Church and the Mikro Lane parking lot where traders operate. In general, from the week of the 24th to that of the 31st every month there will be a lot of buses and trucks parking at Mikro Lane. This is good for business as there will be many people, but in the aftermath, there will be a lot of litter.

Sufficient street lighting at a higher angle is required to avoid theft or vandalism. SAPS has a medium-term strategic plan for the Randburg area that is aligned with the previous 5-year plan. It is commendable that Randburg SAPS works well with JMPD but there is a lack of integration with other departments such as the Department of Human Settlements who

can address the issue of illegal squatting outlined in this newsletter.

An increase in public infrastructure upgrades that include lights and bollards is anticipated. However, there is no mention of CCTV cameras, which are the ambitions of the City’s integrated security center based in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department’s (JMPD) head office. The introduction of CCTV cameras and security to Randburg would be a much welcomed development. At some point a properly run City Improvement District (CID) or what is now known as the New City Improvement District (NCID) will be established but

at this stage this has not been presented to Council for approval.

Randburg has positively attracted distribution centers such as Takealot distribution centers. This has resulted in more logistical activity and commercial traffic. Although many businesses in Strijdom Park deal with freight vehicles and freight tends to be concentrated here, there is also a big mix of business such as automotive part suppliers that are not freight.

In 2018, at the footnote of the District Development Model (DDM) Johannesburg aims to position itself as Africa’s financial and technological nerve center and a pre-eminent hub for innovation, research and development. The various spheres of government and private sector have partnered with the City to embark on a R150 billion development to take place in Rosebank, Sandton, Midrand and Fourways. The inner-city regeneration has just started and will get a major boost with the release of more derelict building and the reconstruction of the Provincial Government Precinct. New private sector-led developments currently being planned in the North (Lanseria Airport City) and South (Masingita, Afribizz, etc.).

The eradication of the slump is taking shape which is visible on Dover Street, Kent Avenue, and Bond Street. The new mantra is Office Space Optimization Programme (OSOP) which is heavily funded and implemented within Randburg. These programs are as a result of experimentation post COVID-19 pandemic where the trend has been to shift away from CBD office space toward suburban offices or work-from-home arrangements. Alternative office options, such as on-demand or ad-hoc office space that cater to the current environment and can be easily reversed, are highly considered.

Land use on Randburg’s outskirts are predominantly low to medium-density residential areas. There is a growing trend of medium-density complex developments being built recently or currently being built on previously low-density residential land. In addition to the foregoing, low-density residential properties undergoing conversion, there is an unwavering increase of business activities. Large scale public transport and inter modal facilities in support of residential densification would be ideal. Furthermore Region B is the 3rd largest contributor to Johannesburg region economy, a position that maintains growth and with concerted public private sector collaboration Randburg can surpass.