MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Passport to Privilege: Mashatile’s Mystery Guests Undermine Joburg’s Anti-corruption Efforts

Advertorial:
Passport to Privilege: Mashatile’s Mystery Guests Undermine Joburg’s Anti-corruption Efforts:

GOOD Statement by Matthew Cook, GOOD National Chairperson and City of Johannesburg Councillor:
While the City of Johannesburg investigates a significant corruption scandal involving a R263 million water tanker tender, one of the key figures in the alleged scam has quietly reappeared, not before a court, but at an international investment conference in Paris.

 

Sibuyile Magingxa, whose company Nutinox, controversially secured the tender alongside Bulitpro Construction, is currently under investigation for price manipulation and collusion – red flags detailed by an amaBhungane investigation in December 2024.

Mayor Dada Morero confirmed in January that the case is before the courts and is under internal audit. Yet, instead of facing scrutiny at home, Magingxa and his partner Lesedi Phala surfaced in the French capital, attending private meetings with international investors as part of the South Africa–France Investment Conference, despite not being listed as official delegates.

Their attendance was only uncovered through their own social media posts. It has been confirmed that public funds were not used to pay for their trip. But this does not answer the central question of how an individual at the centre of a corruption scandal was doing closed-door engagements with the Deputy President and global investors.

The Executive Mayor needs to publicly explain how he intends to deal with Magingxa’s Paris trip

This isn’t just a matter of optics. It’s a direct contradiction of Johannesburg’s stated commitment to clean governance and accountability. We cannot claim to root out corruption when individuals implicated in questionable conduct are allowed to insert themselves into official business platforms with zero oversight.

If Johannesburg is serious about rebuilding its image and rooting out corruption, there must be no elite escape route, no shadow diplomacy, and no passport to privilege for the politically connected

GOOD Manifesto on Disaster Management: Supporting effective disaster management strategies.

 

Read More at the Source

– MyZA

CLICK HERE to submit your news to www.MyPR.co.za.

Click here to submit your South African News – free.

Prepaid Meters: Straton Prepaid

Category: Tag: , , , , , , , ,

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.