MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Lions count the cost of an expensive weekend in Edinburgh

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. Lions count the cost of an expensive weekend in Edinburgh: It was an expensive weekend in Edinburgh for the Lions – and not only for the fans.Supporters who paid up to £145 for a ticket for the Japan game and were denied a half-time pint took to Twitter to … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Damn the South African Duhan haters. Show our boy some love: Damn the South African online haters of Duhan van der Merwe. Show the British & Irish Lions big winner some love because while he plays for Scotland and on Saturday made his Lions debut against Japan … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. Nigeria: Intrigues Over Kano Govt’s Teachers Serving in Private Schools: The Kano State Government has said it discovered and is ready to recall about 3,268 of its teaching staff employed to teach in public schools who are serving in private schools across the state. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. Beer association warns against hard booze ban as SA awaits President’s address: The President will update the nation on what interventions will be taken, in the coming days, to try to curb the high infection rate of COVID cases that South Africa is faced with. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. Caf Champions League: Kaizer Chiefs’ Zwane explains how their plan against Wydad Casablanca worked: Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Arthur Zwane says they devised a plan to avoid going pound-for-pound against Wydad Casablanca. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Visiting Port Elizabeth?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Vilakazi Street in Soweto is famous for having 2 Nobel Prize winning residents: Former South African president Nelson Mandela and former Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu lived on this street.

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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.