Johannesburg - The African Mirror

Apr

2024

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

IVAN Vladislavic is Johannesburg’s literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers to escort them through dark and perilous streets. “In Paris,” he observes, “these linkmen were often police spies or informers, while in London they were more likely to be in league with criminals”. For his part, Vladislavic believes that the real linkmen are Johannesburg’s car guards. They emerge from the darkness not so much to guard cars as to give middle-class drivers the illusion…

Apr

2024

By SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

African cities with the most millionaires

NEWS

GROWING private wealth in Africa is transforming the continent's major cities into hubs for millionaires and billionaires, according to the latest Henley & Partners Africa Wealth Report. Collectively, these urban centres are home to 135,200 millionaires, 342 centi-millionaires with fortunes exceeding US$100 million, and 21 billionaires. With the number of high-net-worth individuals projected to jump by 65% over the next decade, these cities are not only expanding economically but are also setting the stage for a new era of prosperity and influence. bird TenX lists the top ten cities and regions for private wealth in Africa:1. Johannesburg, South Africa: 12,300…

Apr

2024

By The African Mirror

Former South Africa junior international shot dead in hijacking

NEWS

FORMER South Africa junior international Luke Fleurs, who played for the country’s most popular club Kaizer Chiefs, has been killed in an attempted hijacking in Johannesburg, police officials confirmed. The 24-year-old was shot in the chest at a petrol station on Wednesday night and the assailants drove off in his vehicle. "While waiting to be served by the petrol attendant, he was confronted by two armed males," police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo told reporters, adding no arrests had yet been made. Centre-back Fleurs played every minute for South Africa at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, and that same…

Feb

2024

By SAKHILE DUBE, BIRD STORY AGENCY

From the high-flying aviation industry to working the highways and byways of Johannesburg

BUSINESS

LOBISA Nhlapo spends her days contending with a mix of the traffic jams and open highways and byways of one of Africa's oldest developed cities: Johannesburg. The diversity of the storied surroundings is echoed in the multitude of stories told by her clients. That rich tapestry, along with regular improvements in her working conditions, is what has prevented her from going back to the aviation industry, where she worked before Covid. However, questions over her role as a woman driver in the male-dominated ride-share still rattle her. "Personally, I love meeting all kinds of people, which makes my work more…

Dec

2023

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

NBA Africa expands in the East

BASKETBALL

NBA Africa has established a subsidiary in Nairobi, adding a fifth office to a network that includes Cairo, Johannesburg, Dakar, and Lagos. According to NBA Africa/s new CEO, Victor Williams, the NBA Kenya office will bolster basketball within the country, especially in the school curriculum. “We want to train more teachers and coaches in the game to strengthen the administration of the game by also offering clinics to referees. We also want to work with prospective partners who see the game as a vehicle to engage young people,” Williams explained. The NBA launch event on November 29th included a junior…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africa’s Johannesburg feels tremors after 5.0 magnitude quake

NEWS

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake shook South Africa's Johannesburg on Sunday morning, the U.S Geological Survey (USGS) said. The USGS said the earthquake occurred at 0038 GMT at a depth of 10 km (6 miles). Some Johannesburg residents reported feeling tremors. "Earth tremor in Johannesburg. Longest and strongest I have felt! Went on for about 30 seconds, it felt like," one resident wrote on Twitter. Security risk and crisis management consultancy Crisis24 said there were no reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake. Source: U.S. Geological Survey Thomson Reuters Foundation

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

Buckets for toilets and no lights – Johannesburg’s poorest feel let down

NEWS

CATHERINE SCHENCK and ANAIT MIRIDZHANIAN IN a dilapidated block in the business district of Africa's wealthiest city, Johannesburg, Thulani Cele and 300 others squatting in the building fill buckets with water from the only working tap so they can drink and wash. "We are living in a terrible situation. We need toilets ... We need water," says Cele, a 40-year-old former retail worker, who adds that residents have no sanitation and must use buckets as toilets. The Johannesburg Department of Housing has said one of its priorities is providing water and sanitation to informal settlements and all residents deserve quality…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Radio in South Africa turns 100 – and collides with podcasting and streaming

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THIS year marks 100 years since radio was introduced in South Africa, through “the first experimental broadcast at the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg” on 18 December 1923. A century on, up to 94% of South Africans over the age of 15 confirmed in a recent survey that they owned a radio set in one form or other. Author SISANDA NKOALA, Senior Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology Radio remains firmly in place as the country’s most loved medium. Millions tune in daily to 40 commercial and public broadcast stations and over 250 community stations. Although other forms, like television, have…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Water problems: No Day Zero for Johannesburg

NEWS

BIÉNNE HUISMAN, BIRD STORY AGENCY EVERY day, residents of South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg, wake up wondering whether there will be water in their taps. Just more than 1,000 kilometres away, in Gqeberha, a water crisis is unfolding, too. These won't be the last African cities to worry over a looming "Day Zero" when water runs out. But there are ways to avoid it happening. Cape Town has been there and done that – and knows that without careful planning and preparation, there could easily be a repeat of 2018’s “Day Zero” crisis. “Day Zero” was to mark the onset…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Johannesburg’s informal traders face abuse: the city’s ‘world class’ aspirations create hostility towards them

NEWS

UNEMPLOYMENT and the rising cost of living force many people to make a living in the informal economy, particularly street trading. While it is difficult to measure the size of the informal economy, some studies show that more than 60% of employed people in the world work in the informal economy. It’s over 80% in Africa, and the trend is increasing. But many governments discourage informal trading, considering it the antithesis of development. In their view, informal trading causes street congestion, contributes to crime and grime and threatens public order. Author MAMOKETE MODIBA, Researcher, Gauteng City-Region Observatory This is often…