Let’s get the understatement out of the way: Johannesburg, with its six million people, R77-billion budget and 40,000 workers, isn’t in a good shape.
But Jo’burgers don’t let it get them down. In this third episode of ‘This is Jo’burg’, Charles Leonard hears from a can-do homeless person who regulates traffic at intersections during the constant power cuts – he explains why he started doing it.
Also, two decades ago Jo’burg had its 10-year-long “golden age” – a senior city manager who was there then tells us how the city should work and why he hasn’t lost hope for Jo’burg’s future.
Host: Charles Leonard
Guests: Clement Selika; Rashid Seedat
Photograph: Charles Leonard
Credits:
Compiled, produced, hosted & engineered by Charles Leonard.
Recorded in May 2023 for the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS).
Songs:
- Gibson Kente – Saduva
- Stephen Marley – Traffic Jam
- Africa Express – Johannesburg (feat. Sibot, Radio 123, Morena Leraba & Gruff Rhys)
- Tananas – Shake