MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

State and public sector workers’ unions to face off in Labour Court | MyJHB.co.za

Johannesburg in the news:

  1. State and public sector workers’ unions to face off in Labour Court: The government will face off with public sector workers’ unions in the Labour Court this week as it reneged on implementing the last leg of the three-year public wage deal signed in 2018. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Composed Bezuidenhout wins Dunhill golf championship as rivals falter: South African Christiaan Bezuidenhout kept calm while other challengers faltered and won the Alfred Dunhill Championship by four shots at windy Leopard Creek Country Club in northeastern South Africa … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. SA records 2,563 new COVID-19 cases, 38 more deaths: Thirty-eight more deaths were recorded, 17 of these from the Eastern Cape, pushing the death toll to over 21,000. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. SA demolish Malawi in netball series: The Queens were quarantined in Johannesburg for seven days before they travelled to Sun City. Saturday was a rest day after back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. Badenhorst and assistant coach … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. Sunshine Tour in a new partnership for SA golf: A summer of opportunity in South African professional golf has teed off on the right note for Sunshine Tour professional Heinrich Bruiners, who is set to benefit from a groundbreaking new initiative … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Whale and Dolphin Watching in Algoa Bay?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? There is only one other city on the continent that is bigger than Joburg, and that is the bustling metropolis of Cairo in Egypt. Johannesburg is the second biggest city on Africa.

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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.