MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Dodgy Ekurhuleni City Manager

Statement by Khathutshelo Rasilingwane MPL – DA Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate:

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Ekurhuleni will today re-submit an urgent motion to the Speaker of Council, to place embattled City Manager, Kagiso Lerutla, on precautionary suspension.

Additionally, the Speaker must convene an urgent council meeting for this motion to be considered.

Ekurhuleni Mayor Xhakaza had the opportunity in the last council meeting to act in the best interests of the City, and suspend Lerutla, he did not. Instead of choosing accountability, he feigned confusion, and asked that he be allowed to seek a legal opinion, despite having had several weeks at his disposal to do so.

This is a slap in the face of residents of Ekurhuleni, who deserve a government that holds its officials to the highest possible standards.

The DA will not watch as someone accused of fraud, corruption, and defeating the ends of justice is allowed to come back to work in the top echelons of the City’s administration.

We demand that the Speaker takes the allegations against Lerutla seriously. They cannot continue to aid and abet Xhakaza and the ANC in their attempts to shield officials from accountability.

The days of corrupt officials colluding with corrupt politicians to fulfill their corrupt desires must come to an end.

The City of Ekurhuleni is not for sale. All public funds and resources must be used to deliver better basic services, fix roads, keep lights on, clean up communities, and provide water and dignified sanitation 24/7.

In the upcoming Local Government Election in November 2026, voters will be faced with a choice, we can have more of the same or we can have a DA-led government that Gets Ekurhuleni Working for all.

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Sophiatown: The Lost “Paris of the Transvaal”

Sophiatown’s golden age was the 1940s and 50s. It was a dense, vibrant, and often dangerous neighborhood, characterized by “backyard” rooms, shebeens (illegal speakeasies), and a sophisticated social scene. It was the birthplace of Kwaito’s ancestors and the legendary “Marabi” music—a blend of traditional African rhythms and American ragtime. The streets were home to the most iconic figures of African literature and music: Miriam Makeba found her voice here; Hugh Masekela received his first trumpet from a local priest; and the writers of Drum magazine, like Can Themba and Bloke Modisane, used the neighborhood as their muse. They dressed in Fedora hats and double-breasted suits, channeling the style of Hollywood gangsters and Harlem intellectuals, creating a world that was cosmopolitain, intellectual, and radically multi-racial.

However, the “Bohemia” of Sophiatown was an existential threat to the National Party’s vision of total racial separation. The government viewed it as a “black spot” in a white area. In 1955, the state launched Western Areas Removal Scheme. On the morning of February 9th, 2,000 heavily armed police officers moved in, forcing families into trucks at gunpoint. They were relocated to the newly established matchbox houses of the South Western Townships (Soweto), 20 kilometers away. The resistance was led by figures like Trevor Huddleston, the Anglican priest whose church, St. Joseph’s, still stands today. Despite the slogan “Ons dak nie, ons pola hier” (We are not moving, we are staying here), the bulldozers were relentless.