MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

21 Months at the Top

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21 Months at the Top:

’95 remembered – the Barbarian way: The organisers of the Qatar Airways Cup clash between the Barbarians and the Springboks at DHL Stadium in Cape Town next weekend have released a number of new blocks of tickets to mark South Africa’s 1995 Rugby World Cup victory, one week before the 30th anniversary!

The victory over New Zealand 30 years ago will resonate with a flyover by a jumbo jet when the Boks kick off their 2025 season against the fabled BaaBaas, while a “’95 Remembered” category of tickets at R950 has been added to the inventory and is available here.

The seats are on the northern and southern ends of the ground with 40 000 tickets already scooped up elsewhere.

The new category was priced to reflect the anniversary of the 15-12 victory over the All Blacks at Ellis Park on 24 June, 1995.

Meanwhile, Springbok preparations are ramping up with coach Rassie Erasmus set to announce his team for the match next Tuesday.

The BaaBaas will confirm their line-up in the coming days with big names set to be confirmed after the completion of club commitments.

Organisers have urged fans not to delay and miss out on prime seats to see the Springboks start the 21st month as world number ones.

– MyZA

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.