Blast street 'open', but at what cost?

For far too long, local government has tried to pull the wool over Johannesburg residents' eyes with their resplendent catch phrases so, when you hear a business owner in Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg (formerly Bree Street) scoff at authorities' claim that an unfinished reopening is something that should be celebrated after a gas explosion in 2023 turned his and others' worlds upside down, you can't blame them for being cynical.

- 

For more than two years, street vendors, commuters, residents and shop owners on the street have had to do without - or with very little - pay, as the street was closed after a gas explosion destroyed it in July 2023.

Yesterday, government officials were quick to celebrate the "progress" made in a ribbon-cutting, photo opportunity ceremony, but rubble, unfinished pavements and just sheer tardiness was on display.