Mr Mayor, we are watching you

It would be far too easy for us to dismiss Joburg mayor Dada Morero’s comments as cocky and unrealistic that he can keep the city clean well after all the international delegates have left after the G20 summit hosted here.

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In the lead-up to the summit, Joburg residents dismissed efforts to beautify the city by maintenance and cleanup teams as a farce and a disgrace, comparing it to putting lipstick on a pig.

For far too long, local government has allowed the city to fall apart with no clear maintenance plan. Broken traffic lights, pothole-riddled roads and unkempt pavements are a common sight.