Inculcate a cleanliness culture in SA metros before hosting the G20

Johannesburg must present the best of country to the world

- Mabila Mathebula

The City of Johannesburg is at an historical cross-road. The city shall need a strong and able crew to solicitously prepare for the G20 meeting. It is also a fact that President Cyril Ramaphosa has become twitchy about hosting the G20 in Johannesburg.

However, his corn pone hokum stuff about the cleanliness of Johannesburg did not fool anyone - we knew it was just empty rhetoric. During his State of the Nation (Sona) address in 2023, he told the nation about a hypothetical figure whom he called Tintswalo (grace). Had he visited the decaying Johannesburg before this year's Sona, he would have instead told the story of Basani (cleanliness).

It is not easy to walk through the filthy streets of Johannesburg without being afflicted with the fangs and talons of criminals. The president's recent visit to the city took the wind out of his sails. Are there any Cambridge Backs in the city to impress our G20 visitors? As we are about to host the G20 in Johannesburg, I imagine the parkland that has been randomly but artfully planted with groves of silver birch, clusters of flowering almond, magnolia and azaleas. Daffodils smoothing the ground in a display of blatant narcissism that will not shame the Cambridge Backs.