1.2. Rationale
Transforming Johannesburg into a just city is the
fundamental idea developed in this study, which is based essentially on the
conceptualisation of the `just city'. According to Fainstein,
the «purpose of planning is to create the just
city» (Fainstein, 2005: 121); that is, a more inclusive,
multicultural, democratic, equal, and sustainable city where all residents
participate
in the life of the city and benefit from all the opportunities
offered by the city, regardless of
their races, ethnic groups, and national backgrounds. To meet
such challenge, Fainstein relies
on the reformative and transformative power of civil
society which, she believes, has the
potential and the capacity to challenge government
policies and decisions, and mobilise people to fight for the future of
their cities.
Johannesburg is a cosmopolitan city of about 3 225
812 people (Johannesburg, 2005) and constitutes the main destination of
the majority of foreign nationals from other African countries
(including FMs); but the way the city is accommodating diversity shows that
much needs to be done, in terms of promoting the social transformation of the
city b y facilitating a greater social justice for FMs and by
encouraging the local and national governments to balance interests
between both the local people and the FMs. In other words, both the local and
national governments should fully respect the rights of FMs contained in the
Refugee Act and in the Bill of rights.
This study also attempted to show that local and
national governments should work in collaboration with the CSOs to protect
the rights of FMs; and in these relationships, the local and national
governments should engage with CSOs as `partners' rather viewing them
as enemies, because these organisations have a better knowledge of FMs
as they do deal with them almost every day.
Over the last decade, SA has made appreciable efforts
in terms of democracy and human rights since the abolition of the
apartheid in 1994. The African National Congress (ANC), the ruling party,
created structures to end exclusion and all types of racial discrimination, in
aid of
a `rainbow nation', by facilitating the inclusion
and empowerment of the historically disadvantaged communities. As a
result, all South African citizens currently are able to live and work
together, regardless of their races and cultural diversities. They are also
equal in the eyes of the law, and they share equal opportunities
everywhere in the country. The government programmes and efforts to
facilitate a greater social justice for poor and vulnerable South
African citizens living in Johannesburg would have a huge impact if only
they were to include the interests of all the city's residents, including FMs
living in the inner city.
Undertaking such a study may have many advantages (for the
national and local governments, CSOs, and FMs). The most important of these are
contained in the statements set out below.
- This study will increase awareness of the national and
local governments on challenges
facing FMs living in the inner city; it will also question
these two spheres of government on issues relating to the implementation of the
1998 Refugee Act and other legislations affecting FMs.
- The outcomes of the case study conducted in this report and the
recommendations made for
the purposes of the local and national governments will
certainly help policy makers in the future to formulate more inclusive
policies that will benefit both local people and FMs.
- This report will also help CSOs to become more vocal and
more aware of their reformative and transformative powers for the social
transformation of the inner city; in other words, it will help them to
discover their current strengths and weaknesses in their struggle for greater
social justice for FMs.
- Undertaking such a study on the role of CSOs in facilitating
greater social justice for FMs will help both local and national
governments to reinforce their partnerships, particularly regarding issues
relating to the social transformations of the city.
It is also important to know that this stud y presents a new way
of approaching the issue of forced migration in Johannesburg, compared to other
studies done previously by the students
of the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University) of
Johannesburg. Most of these have dealt with sociological, anthropological,
and legal aspects of the lives of FMs living in Johannesburg; while
this study has used the urban planning approach to deal with challenges facing
FMs in the inner-city.
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