MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

SA Auto Week’s Accelerator Awards

WesBank, South Africa’s leading provider of innovative vehicle and asset solutions, is honoured to announce that it is the headline sponsor of this year’s prestigious naamsa | Accelerator Awards. The winners will be announced at a gala evening event on Friday, 28 October, bringing to a close this year’s groundbreaking South African Auto Week (SA Auto Week).

“We are aware of the need to recognise and reward companies and people involved in the motor industry and encourage them to excel. These awards celebrate the innovations, people and excellence of the automotive industry’s collective achievements,” says Ghana Msibi, CEO of WesBank

The focus at SA Auto Week will be on the automotive ecosystem in which WesBank is a key stakeholder.

naamsa CEO, Mikel Mabasa, has stated that the naamsa Accelerator Awards will become the country’s most prestigious objective and fact-based motoring competition. “We are using our respected and independently audited datasets to recognise and acknowledge the best performing brands in different segments and categories across the auto value chain. We will also be awarding the best performing dealerships for the year under review across all brands in South Africa.”

The three awards categories for this year’s event are: New Vehicle Sales Awards, Manufacturing Awards and Dealership Awards, with each category acknowledging several different segments. As part of its sponsorship of this year’s prestigious awards evening, WesBank representatives will be presenting the New Vehicle Sales Awards to the top-performing category brands.

All eyes will be on the state of the local automotive industry next week, when partners and stakeholders from across the continent and globally gather to discuss, debate and deliberate at the inaugural SA Auto Week, taking place from 25 – 28 October at Kyalami International Conference Centre in Midrand.

“Our objective as a partner of the naamsa | South African Auto Week and the sponsor of the Accelerator Awards is to confirm that WesBank is a life partner throughout the entire vehicle ownership experience. We are an innovative and trusted partner, moving every step of the way with our stakeholders, such as the OEMs, dealers and suppliers in this exciting industry,” concludes the WesBank CEO.

Category:

The Oriental Plaza: A Phoenix in Fordsburg

If Johannesburg is a city of forced displacements, the Oriental Plaza is its most resilient response. While the Rand Club was built for the elite and Ponte for the “jet-set,” the Oriental Plaza was born from the trauma of the Group Areas Act—a piece of Apartheid legislation designed to geographically separate the races. Yet, in true Johannesburg fashion, what was intended as a tool of containment and financial ruin for the Indian community transformed into one of the most vibrant, independent commercial powerhouses in the country.

The story of the Plaza begins with the destruction of Pageview, affectionately known as Fietas. In the mid-20th century, Fietas was a legendary multicultural hub, centered around the bustling 14th Street. It was the city’s premier destination for textiles, clothing, and spices, where shoppers of all races would rub shoulders in a “jazzy, soulful” atmosphere. However, because Fietas was located so close to the white-only city center, the Apartheid government declared it a “white area” in 1962. The community fought back for decades, but by the 1970s, the bulldozers arrived. Homes were leveled, and the thriving traders of 14th Street were forcibly relocated to a purpose-built, modernist complex a kilometer away in Fordsburg: the Oriental Plaza.

The government’s intent was cynical: by moving the traders into a controlled environment with high state-mandated rents and strict rules on what could be sold, they hoped to break the back of Indian commercial dominance. The early years were devastating; many businesses folded, and the “Grand Bazaar” felt like a sterile warehouse compared to the street-level energy of Fietas. However, the traders refused to vanish. They eventually won the right to purchase their own shops, making the Oriental Plaza unique among South African malls because it is owned by the shopkeepers themselves rather than a corporate landlord. This ownership model changed everything. Without the burden of massive monthly mall rentals, the 360+ independent stores can offer prices that national retailers cannot touch, turning the Plaza into a “bargain-hunter’s paradise” that draws millions of visitors a year.