Joburg City Library is a ruin

It will be partially opened in six months’ time Joburg Development Agency.

- Brian Sokutu

Thick dust has settled on books, shelves and tables, only one escalator works and white paint is peeling off the roof due to water leaks, causing holes.

At the African Student Collection section of the Johannesburg City Library, which stores a valuable collection of books by Haile Selassie, Carlos Cardoso and Alan Paton, there is a bigger uncovered hole. It is testimony to the four years of neglect of the city's unmaintained crown jewel.

Gauteng's biggest source of information for students and the public yesterday became the subject of an intense discussion with senior city council officials being quizzed by DA law-makers on an oversight visit.