21 October 2025
TO ALL MEDIA HOUSES
PRESS RELEASE
NO EMBARGO
The Al Jama-ah Party says the City of Johannesburg is geared towards being transformed into a world-class, iconic city:
Al Jama-ah’s leader, Hon Ganief Hendricks who is the Presidential District Development Model (DDM) champion for the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) says rapid transformation is taking place in the city that will regain its status as the ‘iconic city’ of South Africa.
In his capacity as Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendricks held a brainstorming meeting with several relevant stakeholders yesterday, in Johannesburg and have visited several sites on the eve of the G20 Summit.
The oversight visit included a robotics hub in the inner city of Johannesburg, the Marshalltown precinct which he found safe and secured. Plans to transform the COJ has the support of 150 partners which includes banks, major corporations and institutions. He will accompany the Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi on a site visit of the main thoroughfare of Johannesburg this afternoon from 14h00.
As DDM for CoJ, Hendricks will be inviting President Cyril Ramaphosa to visit the following six precincts: Marshalltown, Maboneng, Braamfontein, Bank City, Absa Precinct and Standard Bank Precinct. All these precincts have been transformed into 24/7 safe and clean areas.
“This is contrary to the narrative portrayed by other political parties on the condition of Johannesburg’s inner city. With the support of Anglo America, Jozi My Jozi and other partners, we can transform the city into a world-class iconic city,” says Hendricks.
He calls on the CoJ’s stakeholders such as Jozi My Jozi, to increase the visibility of the projects they initiated to assist in transforming the city into a world-class city. Hendricks calls on all spheres of government to abandon silo-working and to eliminate unnecessary red tape which retards the transformation process.
After the G20 Summit, and as DDM champion, Hendricks wants every precinct in the Metro to be clean and safe; some of it to be transformed into smart precincts where young people can learn, live and relax in safe environments. His mission is to make the inner city the educational hub of the Metro – a legacy of the G20 while South Africa held the Presidency.
Hendricks introduced two senior experts, namely Faisel Idris Sheikh and Shireen Ebrahim who will work closely with him as DDM champion and will bring their specific strengths to the Anglo-American and Jozi My Jozi projects.
Issued by Asghar Khan on behalf of Al Jama-ah
For media enquiries contact:
Nisa Hendricks (Media and Marketing Manager)
Cell: 082 613 1917