The plan was to get in and out of Johannesburg as quick as possible. It’s a huge sprawling city with a bad repetition, for violence and crime. We were to meet up once again with family and visit friends we had yet to see.
Joey’s as it is known is like a fortified city made up of hundreds of secure complexes. For many foreigners it’s a bit overwhelming or a bit overkill depending on your view. Large suburbs have been fenced off and the one or two entrances into them are patrolled by arm security guards who man security booms and regulate just who is allowed into the area.
Inside of this you get large cluster house developments of between 10 and 100 houses set inside a large wall that is usually electrified. Here you are required to sign in and out by the security guards that man the entrances to theses complexes. Inside, you are in a protected oasis, far away from trouble, and life goes on normally.
White South Africans and an ever increasing number of Black South Africans live in town houses, and there are hundreds of them with 1000 being built every month as S.A experiences the backend of a huge property boom. I have reason to believe that it was the fasted growing property market in 2004.
There is a huge divide between the haves and the have nots in this place .There is plenty of money being thrown around in this city, with a large and fast growing black upper middle class. Most of my friends that live in S.A have moved up to Joey’s because that seems to the only place to get work. Most struggle to find jobs as the government are on a mission to correct the wrongs of the past and make sure that work places reflect the racial makeup of the country…in other words is great to be black in the new South Africa!!!
For the savvy entrepreneur Johannesburg’s gold rush has yet to end. More money than sense, I say, as people try to out do each other. Lots of people up here are riding the wave of success and are doing very well for themselves. The rest are just riding the gravy train.
South Africa is doing very well indeed! In fact I’m dam impressed, and the level of optimisms here is massive. It’s a beautiful country with an ugly past, but it’s great to finally see people living together harmoniously. People (both black and white), in my humble opinion, have started to accept the past, and just get on with making this a great country. However….
This has got to be one of the most blatantly corrupt governments in Africa.
With the deputy president facing jail (if he actually goes to court) for corruption and if I’m not mistaken rape charges.86 government officials have been singled out recently for investigation in to a travel scam, whereby they have inflated their expenses or claimed for trips not done. Some official spent 700 000 rand (70 000 pounds) on a shopping trip to Dubai, and then when questioned went on record as saying that this was only a drop in the ocean. Tell that to the 10 million dying of aids, with little or no proper support from the government. The s-elect few are lining their pockets with money while the masses struggle to line their stomachs with food.
The government here is just throwing money at any new businesses that have the correct political make up .A close friend, who’s company has a contract with a governmental department told me of a lady who arrived one day out of the blue, sat around for an hour and then left, not to be seen for the rest of the month, she then billed the department for 120 hours worth of work and charged 3.6 million rand (360 000 pounds) for her services for that month alone. And that’s just small change. Nice!
On a positive ,at least some of these matters have been brought to light, and hopefully S.A’s legal system will put these pigs away. I have to wonder however, just how long it will take till a power hungry madman is in charge, what with the rest of the world full with them… Your comments are welcome!
