T

he local residents and other concerned citizens of Johannesburg have taken on the responsibility for the restoration and development of the park and have taken on the mission of restoring it and developing it to become a world class city park. In this regard it is similar to the history of New York's Central Park which, during the 1970s, suffered decay from neglect, over utilisation and an attitude of the City managers of 'anything goes'. Central Park became a dustbowl of drugs, crime and grime and was avoided at all costs by the local New Yorkers. In 1980, the people of New York decided to reclaim their park. To do this they first created a conservancy and appointed a manager to coordinate the resources of the community for the purpose of restoring the park. Through the combined and dedicated efforts of the people of New York, Central Park is today one of the most renowned parks of the world. Central Park of New York thus became a working model of the type of park and the manner in which it is administered, that could be used for the development of the Zoo Lake Park.

In 2015, a group of interested local Johannesburg residents resuscitated the old Zoo Lake Users Committee, which had become inoperative. In 2017 the new committee decided to register a new non profit company which was named "The Zoo Lake Development Committee NPC" as the previous company had not been deregistered. The previous company has now been deregistered and the new company's name changed to "The Zoo Lake Users Committee NPC and is the vehicle through which the efforts to rehabilitate and develop the Park are now channeled. A board of directors was appointed from the volunteers and various sub-committees were established to target specific projects.

Members of the company are those people who have shown an interest in the Zoo Lake.  If you are interested in becoming a member of the Company please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Being a member would entitle you to briefings on the activities of the Company and attendence at the Annual General Meeting each year to approve the accounts and elect the Board of Directors. We also encourage members to become active in the affairs of the Company.

In 2019 two members of the visited Central Park in New York and established a connection with some of their administrators. The information and guidance thus obtained has been extremely useful in the debate on the Zoo Lake Park's future.

The Board has acknowledged that the governance of the company is extremely important if it is to be accepted and trusted by the City of Johannesburg and potential donors. Accordingly as part of that responsibility, the Board has accepted and committed the company to the values as set out by The Independent Code of Governance for Non-Profit Organisations in South Africa. The company's annual financial statements are audited by an independent firm of auditors. The most recent set of Annual Financial Statements (28 February 2023) may be downloaded by clicking here.

In 2019, the company applied for, and was granted exemption status in terms of Section 18A of the Income Tax Act. This means that all donations which are made to the company for it to pursue its objectives may be deducted from the donor's taxable income in the year in which the donation is made. To learn more about the tax benefits, please click here.