AFRICITIES - The African Mirror

Sep

07

2020

Unique project to clean streets of Johannesburg

AFRICITIES

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER JOHANNESBURG - one of Africa’s biggest cities that was once called “The City of Gold” - has embarked on a unique clean up project aimed at restoring it to its former glory. Through the new project, volunteers will earn money from keeping the streets of Johannesburg clean. Through the Street Volunteers Network, a project of the Clean South Africa, volunteers adopt parts of or an entire street which they will keep clean. Dalu Cele, CEO of Clean South Africa said a network of volunteers would conduct weekly cleaning-up events of the streets and open space where they…

Oct

05

2020

By The African Mirror

South Africa launches new mega city

AFRICITIES

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER PRETORIA, the capital of South Africa, is the site of the country’s brand new mega city, a R84-billion project that will have 50 000 units. The Mooikloof development, whose first phase will cost R30-billion, is being hoisted as an example of how the government and the private sector can collaborate in major infrastructure projects to enhance service delivery. The project is expected to create 41 000 jobs. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who officially launched the project, said once it is completed, the Mooikloof Mega City may end up becoming the world’s largest sectional property development, with…

Oct

04

2020

By The African Mirror

Happy anniversary, Lesotho

AFRICITIES

THE history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho goes back as many as 40,000 years. Present Lesotho (then called Basutoland) emerged as a single polity under paramount chief Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basutoland joined other tribes in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828. Subsequent evolution of the state was shaped by contact with the British and Dutch colonists from Cape Colony. Missionaries invited by Moshoeshoe I developed orthography and printed works in the Sotho language between 1837 and 1855. The country set up diplomatic channels and acquired guns for use against the encroaching Europeans and the Korana people.…

Nov

02

2020

By The African Mirror

Pandemic exposes ‘hidden poverty’ in unequal cities

AFRICITIES

ANASTASIA MOLONEY FROM Bogota to Athens, the coronavirus pandemic has revealed pockets of once invisible urban poverty, prompting some mayors to target the cities' poorest for new health and welfare measures, a top health official said on Thursday. About half of the world's population live in urban areas and city mayors are on the frontline of the COVID-19 response, often deciding when to introduce and lift lockdowns and taking responsibility for the running of hospitals. Some mayors have become "urban health champions" introducing measures to help the poorest, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a webinar. "Nowhere has…

Oct

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Post-pandemic, will offices and factories become ‘places men go’?

AFRICITIES

ELLEN WULFHORST OFFICE life will be different after COVID-19, with desks far apart, Plexiglass barriers and a health warning on handshakes. But the biggest change could be a notable absence of women. Once the pandemic eases sufficiently for workers to return to their desks and factory floors, women are more likely to continue working from home because they shoulder the bulk of domestic responsibilities, experts said. "There is a danger there that women are the ones who are likely to opt to work from home, and offices may just end up being the places where men go to," said Phumzile…

Oct

10

2020

By The African Mirror

The future of urban housing after COVID-19

AFRICITIES

LUIS TRIVENO and OLIVIA NIELSEN THE COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted housing inequities and put the global housing crisis back on the radar. With a spotlight on housing’s role in public health – particularly in urban areas – predictions abound in the media about the future of housing and cities. Yet, these predictions are usually written by financially secure individuals and tend to ignore the plight of the world’s poor, for whom housing progress has been notoriously slow. In the COVID era, it’s time to look at housing from a different angle so we can help shape a better future for all.…

Nov

11

2020

By The African Mirror

Cape Town’s climate strategy isn’t perfect, but every African city should have one

AFRICITIES

IT may take an extreme heatwave, a mega wildfire or a severe coastal storm to begin to appreciate the dangers of climate change. ALANNA REBELO, Postdoctoral researcher, Stellenbosch University KAREN JOAN ESLER, Professor of Conservation Ecology and Head of the Department of Conservation Ecology & Entomology at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch University MICHAEL SAMWAYS, Professor, Conservation Ecology & Entomology, Stellenbosch University PATRICIA HOLMES, plant ecologist, Stellenbosch University TONY REBELO, Scientist, South African National Biodiversity Institute Africa is likely to be the continent hit hardest by climate change. The region is vulnerable to droughts, heat and floods and many countries have a…

Oct

20

2020

By The African Mirror

One woman’s fight to save Nairobi’s playgrounds and public spaces

AFRICITIES

NITA BHALLA IT'S hard to keep up with Renee Ngamau. From mentoring women entrepreneurs to campaigning against police brutality, the Kenyan lawyer, businesswomen, human rights activist - and former prime-time radio disc jockey - has taken up many social causes over the years. But Ngamau's latest crusade to protect Kenya's urban playgrounds has perhaps hit home more than most as she finds herself fighting to save her own housing estate from losing its green spaces to illegal encroachment by private developers. "I grew up here. I used to swing from the branches of that tree right over there. We used…

Nov

25

2020

By The African Mirror

‘Feminist’ mayors vow all-out drive against gender inequality in pandemic

AFRICITIES

ANASTASIA MOLONEY CITIES must move to the frontline of efforts to fight gender inequality that has grown worse in the coronavirus pandemic, said six mayors from three continents as they joined forces in a new network to advance women's rights. Around the world, women's jobs, unpaid labor, health and safety have been upended by the impacts of COVID-19 and need critical attention, said the organizers of City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE). The network aims to promote and share among city mayors around the world innovative projects focused on combating gender inequality. "Local governments can and should lead,"…

Oct

26

2020

By The African Mirror

Snakes and sewage: Housing troubles grow in S. Africa’s Soweto

AFRICITIES

KIM HARRISBERG CRUMBLING walls, sewage leaking into homes, dangerous loose wires - and sometimes, snakes. These are some of the myriad issues residents in Soweto, South Africa's biggest township, have been dealing with for decades, as they say, the government continues to deny them title deeds and urgent upgrades to their homes outside Johannesburg. "It was a dream come true when the government allocated us these homes after more than 15 years of living in a shack," said Nkosinathi Khumalo, resident of the Soweto suburb known as Snake Park because of its slithering visitors. His home was built on top…