MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

ANC tries Gauteng coalition power grab

Dear Editor

The DA has taken note of the coordinated attacks on the Mayors of the coalition governments in Gauteng.

The ANC are behind this move having submitted a motion of no confidence in Tshwane mayor Randall Williams while its allies the PAC and the AIC have done the same against the Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Palatse.

There are also strong indications that a similar move is planned for the Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell.

We have no doubt that these attacks are aimed at destabilizing coalition governments that are making positive changes in these metros. People are experiencing the progress being made in undoing the damage caused by years of ANC mismanagement.

We have seen in recent weeks that the ANC has tried to hijack legitimate community concerns in an attempt to make themselves relevant in communities. And it isn’t working.

We want to caution other parties not to get dragged into this misdirected ANC strategy to derail coalitions that are focused on serving the residents and not, like the ANC, focused on their own self-interests.

The ANC will try to convince other parties to join them in the attempt to break up the coalitions and we call on coalition partners not to get fooled by the crime syndicate that is the ANC.

The ANC have lost its links to the finances and patronage it needs to run its 2024 campaign and is looking to again loot the coffers of the metros.

The drive to end loadshedding in our metros, to deliver sustainable services to all residents and to make the metros attractive to investment will continue despite these attacks.

The DA and its coalition partners will continue to expose this ANC tactic, and we will fight tooth and nail to keep the ANC’s transparent attempt at terminal instability at bay.

Regards

Cilliers Brink MP
DA National Spokesperson

Category:

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.