Rich City, Poor City

Rich City, Poor City

Contrasts abound as the wealthy wall themselves in and the poor do everything possible to survive

Marie Huchzermeyer

(Jo’burg in Fact, Literary Festival 2012 Supplement, Mail & Guardian August 24 to 30 2012)

City of Extremes, the title of Martin Murray’s compelling analysis of contradictions in Johannesburg’s city building process, suggests a condition nearing its limit.

Birds in the Cornfield: Squatter Movements in Johannesburg, 1944-1947

by Alf Stadler, 1979

During the second half of the forties, between 63,000 and 92,500 Africans settled in squatter camps in and around Johannesburg.' The camps were mostly situated beyond the city's south-western borders, in the area which later became Soweto, but there were also camps at Alexandra, ten miles to the north, and at least one within a few miles of the city's centre and one at Albertan, six miles south-east of Johannesburg. The largest of these densely concentrated settlements accounted for anything up to 20,000 inhabitants who occupied dwellings of hessian-sacking, wood, corrugated iron and cardboard. The settlements which will be discussed here were organized into movements led by individual leaders and committees. One such leader, James Mpanza, organized his movement as the Sofasonke party, which revealed religious and military overtones, while another, Schreiner Baduza, organized squatting as a deliberate strategy in the political struggles of the poor. In most cases, such leaders mobilized a following and settled on vacant land. They levied charges on the inhabitants, established services and an administration, including 'police' and 'courts', and assumed control over trading activities in the camps. The closely settled camps and the considerable authority of the leaders served to increase the autonomy of the squatter communities. 

The Small Matter of a Horse: The Life of 'Nongoloza' Mathebula, 1867-1948

by Charles van Onselen (Ravan Press, Johannesburg, 1984)

Introduction

Modern South Africa's industrial achievements are often pointed to with considerable pride — sometimes by outsiders, but more frequently by the powerful or privileged within the country. Viewed from the heights of the cabinet room, the company boardroom, the stock exchange or the bank, there is no doubt some justification for this pride. A country which in 1981 had a gross national product of approximately R70,000 million, a private consumption expenditure bill of almost R 38,000 million and a wage bill of close on R35,000 million is indeed, as a recent edition of the Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa put it, 'the economic workshop of the African Continent'¹ Yet common sense as much as class analysis would lead one to believe that the view from the lower terrain of the township house, the mine compound or the farm hut would be more critical.

New Babylon New Nineveh

Available for the first time in one volume, this book explores the Past struggles of everyday people on the Witwatersrand, 1886-1914. This was a period of extraordinary social, political and economic change. Charles van Onselen explores a host of practices, processes and problems which, in many ways, make for startling comparisons with modern-day South Africa. "New Babylon" and "New Nineveh" were originally published in London in 1982. They contain a brief exploration of mining enterprise on the Rand at that time, which sets the scene for eight essays that cover diverse aspects of the unpredictable and fascinating social developments that accompanied industrialisation and urbanisation in the years leading up to the First World War.

Theatres of Struggle and the End of Apartheid

by Belinda Bozzoli, Wits University Press, 2004

This is a compelling study of the origins and trajectory of a legendary black uprising against Apartheid – the Alexandra Rebellion of 1986. Using insights from literature on collective action and social movements, it delves deep into the rebellion’s inner workings. It examines how residents of Alexandra – a poverty-stricken, segregated township in Johannesburg – manipulated and overturned the meanings of space, time and power in their sequestered world; how they used political theatre to convey, stage and dramatise their struggle; and how young and old residents generated differing ideologies and tactics, giving rise to a distinct form of generational politics.

Gil Scott Heron: Johannesburg

Bloke Modisane: Blame Me on History

A review by Muthal Naidoo

(First published 1963)

 

In the name of slum clearance they had brought the bulldozers and gored into her body, and for a brief moment, looking down Good Street, Sophiatown was like one of its own many victims; a man gored by the knives of Sophiatown lying in the open gutters, a raisin in the smelling drains, dying of multiple stab wounds, gaping wells gushing forth blood; the look of shock and bewilderment, of horror and incredulity, on the face of the dying man.  (5)

Two deaths, dozens of injuries and counting...An investigation into politically motivated violence against the LPM in Gauteng

An investigation into politically motivated violence in eTwatwa (Gauteng) and other Landless People's Movement affiliated settlements during May 2010. A report prepared by Jared Sacks at the request of the Gauteng Landless People's Movement, July 2010.

Reports of political violence in South Africa are on the upsurge. There has been a clear increase in aggressive attempts to undermine social movement activities in the past few years. As a result of the violence, social movements activists, migrants and ethnic minorities have often been forced into exile from their communities.

The following report investigates allegations of politically-sanctioned and coordinated attacks on the Landless Peoples Movement in the informal settlement area of eTwatwa in the Municipality of Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. These attacks have resulted in the forced removal of numerous residents who have, as a direct consequence of the attacks, been forced from their homes and, often, into hiding. This report focuses on the historical context behind the attacks as well as how the attacks have affected the relevant communities.

City Johannesburg

by Mongane Serote, 1971

This way I salute you:
My hand pulses to my back trousers pocket
Or into my inner jacket pocket
For my pass, my life,
Jo’burg City.
My hand like a starved snake rears my pockets
For my thin, ever lean wallet,
While my stomach growls a friendly smile to hunger,
Jo’burg City.