As 2024 draws to a close, the Epping City Improvement District celebrates a year of notable achievements in making our area a cleaner, safer and more vibrant community. And, we share our festive season safety tips for businesses and all those going on holiday this season.
2024 in review – efficient service delivery in urban cleaning.
Urban Cleaning Success
This year, our urban cleaning and management efforts have continued to be a priority across our City Improvement District. Thanks to the tireless work of our team, our streets and public spaces remain clean and well maintained. Improved waste management, rapid response to urban defects, and efficient service delivery have all contributed to creating a cleaner environment for residents and businesses.
Looking Ahead
“Despite a tough economic climate, rising costs and ongoing service delivery challenges, we’ve stayed focused on delivering high-quality services,” says Gene Lohrentz, Managing Director of Geocentric Urban Management. “The achievements in urban cleaning and continual focus on crime prevention in deploying ever more safety officers this year are a testament to this commitment. We’re eager to continue this momentum into 2025.”
Geocentric, a partner in managing CIDs for 15 years, proudly oversees 13 of the 54 City Improvement Districts (CIDs).
Our Board and Geocentric management team are dedicated to innovative and effective approaches to service delivery, ensuring our district remains a thriving, inclusive community for all. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership in these endeavours. Here’s to a safe, clean and prosperous 2025!
As the year progresses, we invite all stakeholders to join us for Epping City Improvement District’s Annual General Meeting (AGM 2024). This is a vital opportunity to reflect on our achievements over the past year and begin planning for 2025/26. Details below.
This year, we have worked on revising our Frequently Asked Questions with the City, revisiting the official definitions of a City Improvement District to create a better understanding of the CIDs and how we work.
Read on for more.
Save the Date!
We are excited to announce that AGM 2024 is just around the corner. All stakeholders are welcome to participate as we review our progress and set the direction for the year ahead.
Please note: Resolutions presented at the AGM can only be voted on by bonafide members. All non-members wishing to take part must be registered before Friday, 11 October 2024.
We’ve recently updated our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section, providing a detailed overview of City Improvement Districts (CIDs) in the City of Cape Town. This update covers how CIDs are formed, their regulatory framework, the benefits they offer property owners, and the types of services they provide. Additionally, it explains the different types of CIDs and the process for establishing one.
Do Property Owners Have a Say? Yes, all property owners can participate, but only registered members can vote at meetings like the AGM. Membership is required to have a vote.
Can my CID additional rates be spent anywhere in the City? No, it is ring-fenced to be ploughed back exclusively into the CID
Meet our Epping City Improvement District Managers!
We’re proud to introduce Allan Swartz, the newest member of the Epping CID management team. Allan is committed to building on the successes of the CID and driving further improvements in the area. Allan joins our experienced team, including Senior CID Manager Lehan Joubert and fellow CID Manager Renaldo Kleinsmith, ensuring that Epping continues to thrive.
Allan Swartz: 084 067 6019, ecid3@geocentric.co.za
It’s been another year of successes and tackling challenges head-on for the Epping City Improvement District. As part of our renewed commitment to public safety and urban cleaning and management, we persist in leading the way toward the continuous improvement of Epping as a thriving business hub.
Our CID team has increased their presence on the ground, resulting in improved statistics across the board for 2023. We’ve driven more kilometres in our patrol vehicles, engaged with more members of the public and attended to more service requests and urban defects than ever before. We’ll continue with this increased presence in the community in 2024 and the years beyond.
This year, with 51 CIDs now in operation in the City of Cape Town, the new CID by-law and policy has come into effect. Geocentric, who has now been working with city improvement district initiatives for more than 2 decades, is proud to be responsible for over 25% of the total CIDs in operation.
In addition to taking care of the public’s safety, with the implementation of a new law enforcement offer, and urban cleaning, our CID placed a focus on greening and recycling across Epping in 2023, ensuring the general upkeep of the area. Our urban beautification and improvement projects will be continued throughout 2024, in line with the goal of continuously upgrading our community.
2023 Epping City Improvement DistrictStats
“Despite the challenges of a struggling economy, ongoing load shedding and higher fuel prices, the aim of the ECID remained focussed on delivering top-up services to the public spaces of Epping throughout the year,” says Gene Lohrentz of Geocentric Urban Management, tasked with the delivery of our City Improvement District services.
The ECID Board and Geocentric management team is committed to finding innovative, efficient and cost-effective ways to continue delivering on the vision for a safer, cleaner, well-maintained and vibrant community. We look forward to more opportunities to make a tangible difference in 2024.
Recycling Project
The Geocentric recycling project has been initiated in Epping! This project includes separating recyclable litter from non-recyclable litter. We are thereby preventing recyclable items from ending up in landfills.
Going forward, Geocentric’s long-term plan is to introduce even more green bins to the area to combat litter, and service these bins to separate recyclable and non-recyclable litter as part of their Environmental Upliftment and Sustainability Programme for Epping.
A new Impact Grass Cutting Team for Epping
Making a positive visual impact on the Epping area is a high priority for the ECID. Due to the very wet winter we experienced this year, cutting the grass adequately and safely became difficult. Geocentric is using the warmer months to address the long grass in the area.
Long grass is problematic because it not only looks untidy, but also becomes a litter trap. As we head towards the summer months, the grass dries out and becomes a fire hazard.
In response to these challenges and in line with our goal to keep Epping visually appealing, we have put together an Impact Grass Cutting Team. For the first month, we have deployed four staff members and thereafter we will have two staff members ensuring consistent maintenance of the grass in the area.
What’s more – all the staff recruited for this project were from Mould Empower Serve, an NGO that helps homeless and unemployed people. Geocentric has equipped this team with a Lawn Buggy, which includes a lawn mower, leaf blower, brush cutters and all other equipment needed to complete the job.
Safety Tips for the Holiday Season
As the festive season approaches, it is essential to prioritise safety at this time, as crime, accidents and fire hazards are usually on the rise during the holiday period.
Being mindful of potential risks and hazards can help safeguard you, your business and your property – from road safety considerations to vigilance against petty crimes in crowded business premises to more serious crimes such as hijacking and robbery.
Along with keeping your personal safety in mind, if you are a business owner, it is imperative to be vigilant and proactive in implementing strategies that protect your assets, property and staff during the busiest time of year.
Prevention is better than cure. That’s why we urge property and business owners to make every effort to prepare their properties, businesses, staff and themselves against opportunists and criminals with our safety tips below:
Emergency Numbers
Quick access to relevant emergency numbers can be the difference between life and death. We have compiled a comprehensive list for you to save and share for easy access to these numbers.
Once again, our 24-hour security control room is always available for your public safety emergencies.
Whatsapp group info
If you’re interested in staying informed about our initiatives, as well as the newest developments in your improvement district, you can become a member of our ECID business WhatsApp group by:
• Sending a WhatsApp message to 081 869 8911.
• You will need to include your Name and Surname or the name of your business
• You will need to include your street address, which should be within the boundary of the CID
• We will add you to the relevant CID Community Group
Rules and regulations for communicating will be stipulated in the group.
