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Stuff from Johannesburg

Why won’t Gauteng Premier disclose Bank of Lisbon fire report?

Dear Johannebsurg

I am deeply suspicious that there is something to hide as Gauteng Premier David Makhura has refused to give details of the investigations into into the Bank of Lisbon fire that started at the head office of the Gauteng Health Department on 5 September 2018.

In a written reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature on the investigations into this fire he has repeatedly responded as follows:

“The question was responded to by Acting MEC for Health Jacob Mamabolo in the sitting that was held on 15 September 2020.”

This is an evasive reply as I was following up on Mamabolo’s reply to me which indicated that the Premier’s Office had conducted one of four investigations into this fire which led to the deaths of three fire-fighters.

We need to know why we still do not have public findings and accountability for this tragic event.

These are the questions that Makhura refused to answer:

  1. What investigation was conducted into this fire;
  2. When was the investigation completed and a report submitted;
  3. Why has this report not been made public;
  4. What are the findings of this report?
  5. What action will be taken based on the findings and recommendations of this report;
  6. Whether the Premier’s office is aware of the three other investigations into this fire;
  7. If so, which of these investigations have been concluded and what are their findings;
  8. What accounts for any delays in concluding investigations and making the findings public?

The City of Johannesburg, SAPS and Department of Labour have also conducted investigations but nothing has been reported publicly

I will continue to ask questions and apply pressure for the full facts to come out no matter how damning they may be to those who failed to prevent this terrible fire.

I suspect that there is a cover-up. All the investigations need to be made public as soon as possible so that there is accountability for this terrible event.

Regards

Jack Bloom MPL
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health

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Museum Africa: Art Collection

The museum’s collection is staggering, housing approximately 850,000 objects that range from the prehistoric to the contemporary. It is one of the few institutions that attempts to tell the story of Southern Africa from the Stone Age to the nuclear age. The “Johannesburg Transformations” exhibition is the museum’s centerpiece, dragging the visitor through the chaotic evolution of the city. It doesn’t shy away from the grime; it features detailed reconstructions of “shack life,” the illegal “shebeens” (speakeasies) of the 1950s, and the vibrant but overcrowded “backyard rooms” that defined the black urban experience during Apartheid. One of its most sobering permanent displays is the “Tried for Treason” exhibit, which meticulously documents the 1956 Treason Trial. Visitors can see the portraits of all 156 accused—including Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Albertina Sisulu—and read the “little red books” placed beneath each photo, where the public is invited to write their own reflections and facts about these liberation icons.

Deep within the museum’s labyrinthine halls, you’ll find specialized branches that are world-class in their own right. The Bensusan Museum of Photography sits on the top floor, acting as a shrine to the visual history of the continent. It contains everything from rare 19th-century daguerreotypes to the legendary photojournalism of the Drum magazine era. Meanwhile, the Geology Museum houses over 17,000 specimens, including a definitive collection of the rocks and minerals that made Johannesburg possible. It is a place where you can see the actual gold-bearing conglomerate reefs of the Witwatersrand up close, stripped of their commercial value and presented as scientific wonders.