MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Zim Bus Intercepted With Border Jumpers, Smuggled Goods

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. Zim Bus Intercepted With Border Jumpers, Smuggled Goods: Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said the Zimbabwean bus driver had been arrested along with the undocumented migrants. He said the bus had since been impo … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. 2.5m Sinovac vaccine doses readily available: JOHANNESBURG – The local partner for the Sinovac vaccine is assuring the public it’s effective against the Delta variant of the coronavirus. That’s after a Lancet study found BioNTech vaccines such as … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. Child rights organisations concerned about children involved in looting: Scenes like where children are involved in looting have become a regular sight in the media and on social media platforms. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. Looting deals body blow to health care, and flood of Covid-19 cases will follow: In a week of winding queues for food in protest-ravaged areas of KwaZulu-Natal, doctors and nurses were forced to make important decisions: join the lines or return to work hungry to treat victims of … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. South African riots over Zuma jailing pre-planned-Cyril Ramaphosa: BBC-South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa has said the violence that has rocked the country was pre-planned, describing it as an assault on democracy. Riots were sparked by the jailing of former … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Did you know this about Johannesburg? It’s home to almost half the world’s human ancestor fossils: The Cradle of Humankind is home to 40% of the planet’s human fossils, making it one of the richest archaeological sites in the world.

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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.