Economist.com Cities Guide: Johannesburg Briefing - July 2006

News this month

Handing in the homework

In July South Africa handed its self-assessment report to the peer-review team of the African Union (AU). The team will judge South Africa and 25 other African countries against specific, AU-set targets in an exercise to improve political stability and economic development on the continent. The peer-review team will submit a draft report of its own appraisal to the South African government in September, with a final report to be made public next year.

The self-assessment was conducted by members of the government and civil groups, with feedback from individual provinces and over 5m South Africans. Concentrating on poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment and health, it apparently highlights corruption and is critical of the government’s HIV/AIDS record. Among the problems highlighted in Gauteng, Johannesburg's province, were the explosive growth of urban areas, unemployment, violence against women and children, poverty and crime. Nigeria's Adebayo Adedeji, who heads the review team, congratulated Gauteng for its high level of participation. Still, the opposition Democratic Alliance said the review understates the problem of crime, and some civil groups have complained that their contributions were partly ignored.

Kicking off

After the World Cup football tournament came to a dramatic end in Germany on July 9th, eyes turned to South Africa, which will host the event in 2010. Questions have been raised about South Africa's ability to host the event, in particular its lack of infrastructure, poor transport links and high crime. But FIFA, world football’s governing body, and Danny Jordaan, who heads South Africa’s organising committee, have rejected rumours that the tournament may be moved to Australia. South Africa has already unveiled the official logo and announced host cities and stadiums.

Wolfgang Nowak, a former senior German politician, chaired a two-day conference of planning experts in early July to assess Johannesburg and discuss solutions to its big-city problems. He said the city was capable of meeting the challenges of hosting the World Cup. Some games will take place in two Johannesburg stadiums, which the authorities are upgrading at a cost of several hundred million rand. The FNB Stadium will be expanded and given a roof, and new developments are planned for the area around Ellis Park. Smaller stadiums in the city may host warm-up matches or training sessions. Provincial authorities have also unveiled a new crime-fighting strategy, which involves more roadblocks, police training and community participation.

Gautrain coming

Work on the Gautrain, a high-speed rail link between Pretoria and Johannesburg, is slowly making progress. Among the many challenges met by the project have been objections from residents living along the proposed route. But in mid-July the Gauteng government ruled that construction on the uncontested portions could begin, before outstanding legal battles are settled. This should avoid yet more delays in completing the 20-billion-rand ($2.8 billion) project.

The Gautrain is meant to relieve congestion between the two cities. Jack van der Merwe, the project's leader, said in July that traffic congestion has become so bad that measures including toll roads and high-occupancy vehicle lanes should be introduced. Thanks to a growing middle class, a strong economy and unreliable public transport, car sales in South Africa are booming, increasing by almost 19% in the past year. As South Africa’s most urbanised province, Gauteng's traffic problems are particularly bad.

Healthy management

Hospitals in Gauteng province are now able to run their own affairs. Brian Hlongwa, the new provincial minister for health, announced on July 10th that local-government authorities will no longer control human resources, facilities and budgets at Gauteng's 28 hospitals. The Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, the country’s largest medical facility, was the first to get its new powers.

Public hospitals have been plagued by delays and poor service, which many have blamed on the fact that most decisions, from ordering supplies to maintaining discipline, were managed by provincial authorities. Last fiscal year, Gauteng's hospitals and clinics failed to spend 44m rand of their maintenance budget. Gauteng is the first province to implement Thabo Mbeki's recommendation to decentralise hospital management, which the president made in his state of the nation address earlier this year.

JIA no more

Johannesburg International Airport, until 1994 named after Jan Smuts, a Boer general, is set to be renamed after Oliver Tambo, an iconic figure of the African National Congress, who died in 1993. The public has until the end of July to comment on the proposal, which has already been approved by Pallo Jordan, the minister for art and culture, and is therefore expected to be enacted once all comments have been received. The opposition Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus parties have criticised the decision, which they say will be costly and confuse tourists. But the South African public seems largely unbothered. The proposal to change Pretoria's name to Tshwane, which seems to have been shelved for the moment, attracted a much more passionate response.

Catch if you can

July 2006

Rembrandt 400 years

Until September 17th 2006

For the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt van Rijn's birth, the Johannesburg Art Gallery is showing its collection of the Dutch master’s work. The exhibition features 41 copperplate etchings, acquired in 1934, which reveal Rembrandt's tremendous skill as a printmaker. He experimented with several techniques, such as dry-point, often combining them in a single work. As in his paintings, the chiaroscuro—or dramatic use of darkness and light—is particularly notable. The show also includes prints by Rembrandt's Dutch predecessors and contemporaries, and the gallery is hosting a series of related lectures.

Johannesburg Art Gallery, Corner of Klein and King George Sts, Joubert Park. Tel: +27 (0)11 725 3130. Open: Tues-Sun 10am-5pm.

More from the Johannesburg cultural calendar