There are common sounds that tell you that you are in Johannesburg’s Central Business District. The sound of the city is characterised by an unrelenting orchestra of hooting Siyaya and Quantum taxis, and the blaring mixture of kwaito, gospel and North African music from small foreign-owned shops and charismatic churches.
Amongst this staccato of the city’s music is a choir of informal traders singing the same song from Wanderers to Klein streets – “I have what you want” … “How much you have?” … “I give you discount” … “I make you nice my sister, come I do your hair”. Each individual puts on their best performance with the hopes that their voice will be the one to capture a customer’s ear and maybe their wallet.
SILENCE: Obinaddo sits quietly infront of his stalls at the Noord Linear Market. Photo: Tebogo Tshwane
Anthony Obinaddo is one of many traders selling counterfeit clothes and shoes. In fact, right next to his protective gear, is a trader selling counterfeit clothing and again, next to his second stall, is another competitor also selling fake branded items.
Despite the heavy competition at the market, Obinaddo is more of a conductor than a chorister. While his competitors belt out their sales pitches to potential customers and even drag them by the arms in the direction of their stalls, he sits silently on a plastic chair in front of his two stalls and watches as if his business runs itself.
Obinaddo (27) a Nigerian trader sits in the front and centre of his two stalls at the Noord Linear Market. The first stall, on the left, is a table filled with protective boots and clothes hanging on the frame that surrounds it.
On the second stall, to his right, is a table filled with a mixture of fake, branded sneakers and soccer boots that are enclosed by fake, branded t-shirts and pants on the frame around them.
The nature of the business
“I don’t know if it’s my style but I see it as harassment, you not forcing someone to buy what you want. If he got eyes he know what he wants,” Obinaddo says.
His approach to business can also be attributed to his lack of experience in the market. Obinaddo only started trading eight months ago after he arrived in South Africa. “They call me ‘new boy’ or ‘fresh boy’,” he laughs.
Obinnado continues to laugh as he reveals that his approach to business often means he “is always the loser” among his competitors. Even though he says his business is not doing well, he is able to employ two assistants, at R1200 per month, to help him with sales, as well as R2000 rent every month for his two stands.
Directly across from Obinnado’s stall, Zimbabwean Sihle Dube (38), a single mother to a 13-year-old girl, struggles to make ends meet, selling omelette sandwiches and hot beverages.
Dube and her cousin, Priscilla Ndlovu (34), come to the market every day between 5am and 6am to serve fluffy omelettes speckled with bits of green pepper, tomato and onions on sliced white or brown bread. Their drinks menu includes a choice of tea, coffee or Milo.
SUNNYSIDE:Priscilla Ndlovu assists her cousin in the business of making eggs despite the fact that she sometimes doesn’t get a salary. Photo: Tebogo Tshwane
Their busiest hours are from 7am to 9am, after which they sit and wait for customers to trickle in until 6pm when they pack up and go home.
Dube has been operating from the same stall for 8 years and pays R400 monthly rent to its owner.
“Business is not working, sometimes you make between R50 and R100 per day,” says Ndlovu. Dube agrees with her and adds, “It is a good thing I am working with my sister because if it was someone else they would ask me ‘why you not pay me?’”
It turns out that Dube has not paid Ndlovu her monthly R1200 salary for two months.
Dube says she hardly sees any profit. Her monthly expenses include R500 rent at her flat, R400 rent for the stall, R1000 stokvel fee, R70 a week for storage in a building across the street, R20 per day to the boy who helps carry her items to storage and sometimes Ndlovu’s wage.
When all of that is paid, Dube says her personal expenses are settled according to how good or bad business is on the day. “I’m left out, I buy food little by little and even to send money to my daughter, I do it little by little” she says.
Operation Clean Sweep cleans out profits
Dube says the City of Johannesburg Municipality’s by-laws which are enforced by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) have dealt a hard blow to their business.
Three years ago over 1200 informal traders claimed victory for interim relief at the Constitutional Court over mass evictions that took place under what was called “Operation Clean Sweep”. The City indiscriminately removed over a thousand legal and illegal informal traders from the inner city, an act which was described as “startling” by the court.
The court criticised the City for infringing people’s dignity by taking away their ability to “earn money and support themselves and their families”.
“Most of our customers are the ones who sell fake CDs, but the clean-up has removed them,” says Dube.
The JMPD officials in their bright reflector jackets can be seen at almost every corner in the in the vicinity of Park Station. To a passer-by this is an image that immediately makes one feel secure, but for most hawkers, especially those trading illegally or selling fake goods, the sight of reflectors sends them packing their goods and running in a different direction.
The officials remove and impound the goods of traders who are selling counterfeit goods or are in contravention of the by-laws.
In the City’s by-laws street trading is defined as “selling goods or supplying services for reward in a public road; selling of goods in a designated area; sale of goods or services in a public place; mobile trading such as from caravans, and light motor vehicles; selling of goods in stalls or kiosks and selling of goods at special events”.
Traders are required to trade in areas that have been demarcated by the municipality.
The demarcations are made by means of a yellow paint line which indicates the area on the pavement where one can trade. Traders are only allowed to sell on these sites if they are in possession of a lease agreement that they apply for at the municipality.
Traders who operate outside of demarcated areas often have their goods confiscated and given a fine of up to R500 or a sentence of three months in prison.
This penalty also applies when traders fail to comply with the other long list of prohibitions outlined in the by-laws, from sleeping overnight at the place where a trader conducts business to making a fire and conducting trade in a way that creates a “nuisance”.
A JMPD official who asked to remain anonymous says he personally doesn’t have a problem with hawkers in the city, given that there’s “law and order”. “Our people are surviving from selling on the streets.
Some of us, even the people in top positions, they were raised by these people who are selling on the streets.”
He nonchalantly says he does not let how he feels affect his job. “On this job I work according to instruction. If I am instructed to go there and move whoever, I just do that.”
It’s not always that easy though.
“There was a time when I was supposed to impound for a pregnant lady and she was heavily pregnant and then she just left everything there and started crying. I didn’t impound,”
“I felt bad and let her go” says he says.
The JMPD carry out their inspections sporadically, which is why the hawkers have learnt to protect their livelihoods.
“In the Bible we know that there is Judas. So among them there is Judas” say Valentine Henry (27) a Nigerian trader who sells counterfeit shoes and clothing on De Villiers Street.
Henry says they often get information about a coming clean-up from a rouge JMPD official, which gives them enough time to pack their stock and leave.
SWEPT:Traders at Joubert Park say business has not been the same since the municipalities campaign to remove them from the City. Photo: Tebogo Tshwane
Tragedy leads to South Africa
It’s Sunday night and Dube and her two cousins are eating Sunday kos in the room they rent in a flat in Hillbrow. Dube eats from the double bed that she shares with her cousins while Ndlovu and Nthombelang Tshuma, the third cousin, sit and eat at the foot of the bed in front of the TV.
The cousins share the one bedroom flat with five other people. The lounge is sectioned off into rooms using curtains for walls for the five other tenants. Dube and her cousins rent the bedroom which is furnished with a fridge, bed, a two-plate stove on a stand and a TV placed on a small room divider.
Dube scrolls through her phone to share the many pictures she took of her 13-year-old daughter, during her recent trip to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe.
Her daughter is the last of her immediate family. In 2003 her husband died after suffering from a long stomach illness which he had when he was deported back to Zimbabwe after being detained at the infamous Lindela Repartriation Centre in 2002.
Dube was two months pregnant with her daughter when her husband died. Shortly after his death her two-year-old son also fell sick with a mysterious stomach illness. She says he was sick for a long time, she even gave birth while he was sick. Eventually in March, 2004 he died. Two months after her son’s death Dube’s mother passed away too.
“Mama was not sick. I think she died of heartache from seeing her only child lose so much,” says Dube.
Thereafter she stayed with her aunt who took care of her until her daughter was a year old. Her aunt then told her to go find work. She then decided to come to South Africa in 2005.
Dube says she had to move on to save her life. “I saw that the stress was going to end up killing me. Kuyafika sometimes but ngiyakhona ukuk’ignora (The pain comes back now and then but I can ignore it),” she says.
She had to send her daughter back to her aunt in Zimbabwe when she was in Grade three because the school fees were expensive.
KIDS:Infants and toddlers can be found everywhere at the market because most hawkers cannot afford childminding services. Photo: Tebogo Tshwane
The skills of the trade
Dube and her cousins do not see an alternative to their sandwiches and hot beverages business. “Uzothengisani (what are you going to sell)?” asks Ndlovu.
“AmaNigeria are everywhere, they sell shoes, buckets namahairpiece, you have to be different,” says Ndlovu.
However, the issue of a saturated market has not stopped Henry who has been selling on the streets since he arrived in South Africa in 2014.
“If I have family here and wife and children, I can take care of them,” says Henry.
He starts selling at 7am every morning and hardly takes a day off even though he has someone working with him.
Both Henry and Dube are absent on days when they have to go to church. Dube goes to church on Saturdays at 10am while Henry attends a 7am Catholic Church service on Sundays for an hour.
He is well attuned to the tricks of the trade and says it didn’t take him long to pick up on Zulu because the “gogos can’t speak English”, so he learnt to speak it.
On top of his hands-on approach, Henry has learnt to be an aggressive salesman in order to survive in this tough industry. He watches customers like a hawk, stopping anyone who even sneezes in the direction of his stall. He says the trick is to price goods with enough room to negotiate a discount.
“The minimum profit I am willing to make is R40” he says. However giving discounts is just one of his many tricks.
“I like to handle my things my own way,” he says as he shouts something in Igbo to his assistant who is struggling to convince a customer to buy a pair of red and brown Puma sneakers.
AUTHENTIC FAKES: Most street vendors buy their stock from a warehouse in Jeppe Street, only trusted customers are allowed entry. Photo: Tebogo Tshwane
“Do you know what I just said?” asks Henry. He leans forward and explains that the man wanted to know if the sneakers were real or fake.
“Customers, they can buy, you need to convince them. Look now he is putting it on because he is convinced,” he says with a smug look on his face as he pockets R250.
Henry says he has learnt to negotiate and bases his argument on what the customer says. According to him most of these counterfeit items have characteristics which make them look authentic such as stitches inside the shoe.
“You show him one without stitches and one with stitches, he will be convinced,” he says.
Most of Henry’s and Obinadda’s stock is brought in from Mozambique by second party suppliers who have a warehouse in Jeppe Street. The most authentic looking sneakers, are those brought in from Mozambique whereas the South African counterfeits look fake.
SALES:Competition is tough in these streets and often the most aggressive salesman wins. Photo:
This is not the end
Currently Dube and her cousins are hoping to raise enough money to buy a three-plate gas stove so that they can start selling “iplate”, a serving of pap/rice with meat and vegetables.
She makes her omelettes on a single plate gas stove encircled by a rectangular cardboard box with dark oil stains.
“The problem is the people [other hawkers] here, they don’t want amapapa la. They say it will make their clothes dirty,” says Dube as she points to a neighbouring stall lined with formal pants. Right behind her by her stove is a wall of travel bags and school bags belonging to another trader.
The crammed and intimate conditions of the market make it crucial for Dube to not step on people’s toes. She is aware of this. Which is why she feels her only option is to move in order to start her new business.
A three-plate stove is just a pipe dream now as Dube does not make enough money to save for it but she’s optimistic that she will get it.
“We hope that God will make things right,” she sighs.
Dube has even bigger dreams. She hopes to make enough money to build a house and a supermarket back home in Zimbabwe. “To work for another person? I can’t!” she says.
FEATURED IMAGE:Informal trading Photo: Tebogo Tshwane
On the 5th of December 2013 the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela, died at his home. When the world heard – they mourned. And in South Africa for ten days his body was kept preserved so we could say our goodbyes to his remains in person until he was buried on December 15.
This week’s episode of the weekly The Science Inside show looks at how science influenced the 10 day stretch that every South African will remember – first, what is the psychology of human grief, then how have our burial practices evolved since mummification and what is the chemistry behind keeping a body preserved for ten days in the South African summer heat?
Listen to the full podcast here to gain a deeper understanding into what those ten days signified in a uniquely South African context.
Pre-recorded videos and live-streams from the other provinces were projected onto the wall behind the panel. From left to right: Khadija Patel, DJ Fresh, Kagiso Lediga, Shaka Sisulu and facilitator Tumelo Mothotoane. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
For a group of people largely labelled apathetic, the youth in attendance at a debate on a Tuesday morning, braving the temperamental and rainy Joburg weather – were anything but apathetic.
Yesterday, JoziHub in Milpark was the venue for the To Vote or not to Vote debate aimed at so-called ‘born-frees’.
Bornfrees stand up
There is a particular fascination with this year’s youth vote as this year the “born-free” generation, children born in 1994, when South Africa became a democracy, will vote for the first time. How they vote and who they plan on voting for are of particular interest because they have grown up in a democratic South Africa.
Lesedi Molefi of the organisers Live magazine said in the past three months they have interviewed a number of born-frees and found that, “we’re not apathetic and have an incredible role to play,” not only in these elections but in steering the country’s future.
The panel consisted of comedian Kagiso Lediga, journalist Khadija Patel (@khadijapatel), DJ and tweleb DJ Fresh (@DJFreshSA) and social activist Shaka Sisulu (@shakasisulu). The panelists were chosen because they are seen as accessible to the youth and their ideas.
[pullquote]”we’re not apathetic and have an incredible role to play”[/pullquote]
Why should born-frees vote?
Addressing the question, why should born-frees vote, Lediga said: “If you’re not voting, you’re not participating.” DJ Fresh added that participation goes beyond just voting, part of that civic duty is to hold politicians accountable. Sisulu provided an anecdote to explain further: “If you’re dating someone, you can’t see them once every five years – it won’t work, it’s a one night stand then. Put your ballot in the box but make sure to maintain and nurture that relationship over the five years coming.”
The debate was live streamed from Johannesburg to Cape Town and Ginsberg, King Williams Town with questions coming from all three places to the panel. A common complaint from all three provinces was that the youth were never heard. DJ Fresh responded by saying the onus was on political parties to appeal to the youth on their level through channels like twitter and instagram: “Politicians talk at young people and not to them.”
The focus in the latter part of the debate was on what the born-free vote can achieve and individual agency. Patel said, “agency is important – it means having the power within yourself to do something.” The crowd responded well to this and the conversation started to look at ground level solutions and social activism that gear them in that direction.
Lethabo Bogatsu, a self proclaimed born-free said the talk left her feeling empowered and keen to be an active citizen, “I was always going to vote but now I’m not going to stop there. It’s not just the vote and then I’m done. I’m going to work on the relationship, my man is going to be my vote, my political involvement is going to be my man. I’m going to have a relationship there because being single is rough.”
The South Arican Union of Jewish Students (SAUJUS) have erected what they call a peace tent on the library lawns. Not much foot traffic under the tent today on account of the rain. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
Walking on the library lawns today Witsies were met by two separate installations across from one another symbolic of each side of the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict.
On the eastern most side of the lawns stood spray-painted signs heralding the start of “Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) 2014”. On the western most side stood a big beige “peace tent” erected by the South African Union of Jewish Students (SAUJS).
The peace tent remained deserted during lunch, as the persistent rain kept students from walking across the water-logged lawns to the tent and its contents. Inside they would have found notice boards with information on how to fold peace doves and “images that show the positive and peaceful side of life in Israel,” said SAUJS chair, Ariela Carno.
Mpho Sibiya, 2nd year BA said: “I actually just came to find out more about the whole Israel/Palestine thing. I don’t know if I can say I support the cause or not.”
PSC president Tasneem Essop and deputy chair Alex Freeman addressed the students before the screening.
Contested peace
Israeli Apartheid Week 2014 is the biggest yet, garnering international support from various political and social players. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
Essop explained that IAW is an effort to highlight apartheid in Israel and with the help of a global boycott movement to drive the boycotted state into negotiations, as was done in South Africa not so long ago.
In response to the lack of an official stance by Wits University, Essop said: “The university should have a stance,” and this is why the PSC will be having a debate with vice chancellor, Adam Habib this coming Friday to try and challenge the “free space for all” view they currently hold.
In response to a question about the peace tent, Freeman said: “They (SAUJS) don’t really want peace”. He added that at present SAUJS has a Zionist stance and this is the reason he will never join them, even though he is Jewish.
Once the 2006 documentary directed Abdallah Omeish and Sufyan Omeish got started the information given by Essop and Freeman came to life onscreen through the lived experiences of people in Israel.
The documentary was originally made with the express purpose of debunking misrepresentations of Palestinians to the American public, said Essop.
Sibiya said she had been moved by what she had seen, “I didn’t understand the extent of the problem.”
In light of the increased incidents of crime on campus and in the surrounding areas, Wits Campus Control released a statement to inform students on what has been happening and more specifically what they should be looking out for. Wits Vuvuzela captured this information in an easy to use safety infographic.
Skin lightening treatments, reviled as part of an apartheid mindset pre-1994, have come back into fashion on campus .
YELLOW FEVER: Wits Vuvuzela journalist, Nomatter Ndebele, took one for the team to explore new frontiers of yellow-boneness in this photo illustration. Image: Luca Kotton
“Yellow-bone”, the hip-hop term for light-skinned black people, has become the latest unattainable beauty standard to meet – along with size 32 hips, a DD cup size and a bulbous bum.
Posters for a company, “The Yellow-bone Factory”, have recently appeared on campus offering skin-lightening treatments to students.
Wits Vuvuzela called the number on the poster. Company founder Neo Mobita said the reason for the demand was simple: “Students want to be yellow-bones.”
How does it work?
Mobita said three treatment options were available: “Skin renew” body and face creams, pills and injections.
These treatments range in cost but even the cheapest and mildest of the pills – vitamin C prep – comes in at between R150 for the smallest bottle, and R1300.
Kojic acid was “more responsive”, said Mobita, because it “stops melanin from making skin darker”. These pills range from R1000 to R2000, depending on the size of the bottle.
Be warned
General practitioner at the Execumed clinic in Killarney, Dr Safeera Kholvadia, warned against making use of any injectibles for “skin brightening” as they were “not regulated in South Africa”. People should be wary of products sold on posters and even online. Using unregulated dosages of any skin brightening treatment “could be deadly”.
“There is no cure for pigmentation, no matter what you use,” said Kholvadia. She explained that pigment cells dictated people’s colour. As soon as they stopped using the treatment, those pigment cells would override its effects. “Everyone is trying to tap into the market at the moment. Consumers should be very wary.”
Aside from being extremely expensive, skin lightening products – through making unnatural adjustments – were harmful not just to the skin but also to the mind and emotional states of users, Kholvadia said: “Usually there are deeper underlying issues for people who do this.”
What do Witsies say?
Although “The Yellow-bone Factory” targets students, the general sentiment among Witsies approached by Wits Vuvuzela was that skin lightening is unnecessary. Students were bold in their criticisms. David Manabile, 2nd year Education, said skin lightening was a ridiculous concept.
“When women do it, it means that they aren’t proud of their skin colour and their roots. I would never do it, because I’m proud of who I am and where I come from. I was born this way, I don’t feel the need to change who I am, to be something or someone else.”
Liveni Ndlovu, 1st year BA, said because “yellow-bones are seen as hot”, darker people are left being very self-conscious and not very confident about their looks.
Engineering PhD student Ntando James said: “I understand why women want to do it, because of the misconception they have that light skin is what all men are attracted to… If someone I was dating, or knew, wanted to do it, I would discourage them. There are serious repercussions and side-effects.
“You can get skin cancer and have bad reactions to all those chemical treatments and lightening cream(s). People just don’t think about it, but they do it because of an identity crisis, to fit into a ‘fake’ society.”
[pullquote]“All women are or have the potential to be yellow-bones.”[/pullquote]
Amanda Dyandyi, 1st year Fine Arts, said skin lightening “puts people in a box. It’s like racism all over again but between black people.”
The official website of Mobita’s company contains a post that says: “All women are or have the potential to be yellow-bones.”
But the demand goes beyond gender and race, apparently. She said there were people who wanted to get darker too. “The Yellow-bone Factory” was currently experimenting with “crossing racial lines,” she said. “We can make you whatever you want to be, white, coloured, whatever.”
BMI Drive: Karin vander Walt, senior catering manager calculating student’s BMI to make them aware of the health implications of the food they eat. Photo: Nqobile Dludla
“BMI is basically the ratio that you use, if you’re a certain height you should ideally be a certain weight,” said dietician Neroshnee Govender.
“We weigh their weight and measure their height, we take that down and use a calculation method and then we let them know whether they are within the normal range for their height or whether they are overweight, obese or underweight,” she said.
The testing left Witsie Sannie Baloyi smiling at the paper holding his results.
He said learning a BMI could be “traumatic”. Though Baloyi was happy with his results he said would still try to improve his lifestyle.
“It’s [BMI] somewhere along the lines of being accurate but it traumatizes people. Now I’m going to try eating healthy food and I’m going to start exercising.”
Royal Mnandi liason officer Bontle Mogapi said the health awareness drive was put in place to provide students with information and the means to lead healthier lifestyles.
While students were queuing, waiting to be measured and weighed, Zazele Mabaso expressed a different opinion as he dodged the weigh-in.
“It’s a waste of time really. What do I gain from knowing my BMI?” Mabaso asked.
[pullquote]BMI “doesn’t look deeper” because it doesn’t give an accurate reading of muscle mass and body fat.[/pullquote]
Is it useful?
The calculation of BMI is contentious and there are different views of its validity. The intentions of the calculation, to correct unhealthy lifestyles is not in question but the methods of the calculation are in dispute.
For example, a rugby player who weighs 100 kilograms and measures 1.8 metres tall has a BMI score of 30.9, which would fall on the obese side of the BMI scale.
The calculation fails to factor in muscle weight, which is much heavier than fat, so people who are fit and muscular are not catered for in the calculation. “The body mass index becomes worthless when it is used on a general population,” said sport science lecturer Marc Booysen.
He suggested making use of other measurements like hip to waist ratio, in conjunction with a body fat caliber to measure such a diverse population.
He added that BMI “doesn’t look deeper” because it doesn’t give an accurate reading of muscle mass and body fat. Given the example of the “obese” rugby player, he said it would be more accurate to measure body fat in that situation with caliphers.
In a case where the population group being measured is fairly similar, like a soccer or rugby team, the BMI could then be useful because those people have a fairly homogenous BMI score said Booysen.
The Boytjies played valiantly this week against the NMMU, another tight match with a very close score margin.
DRENCHED: Both teams had to focus on ball handling due to slippery weather conditions on Monday evening. Photo: Luke Matthews
Where do we stand?
Wits is still at the bottom of the log with two points and only two more games left. If the Witsies don’t manage to get themselves even one place higher on the log, they will find themselves relegated back to the Varsity Shield tournament, having to fight their way to the top of that log to make a Varsity Cup return.
Coach Andrew Royale said that their matches this season have been very competitive and that there’s a vast “improvement, considering where we’ve come from”. This is only the second year that the Wits team has been competing in the Varsity Cup tournament, last year the team was “blown away” by much more experienced teams in their first appearance in the Cup, said the coach.
Royale said the improved performances this year have to do with the players “having confidence in their abilities”, no drastic changes have been made to the team – with the core team from last year remaining the same.
Toeing the line
The Varsity Cup rules for this year stipulate that only 3 players on the team may be non-students, to ensure the integrity of the student based tournament. This rule was implemented after rumours of some teams cheating by having older, more experienced players in their teams emerged.
Last year’s winners of the tournament, Tuks have been accused on more than one occasion of this kind of “cheating”, and as punishment the team received a “strong reprimand”.
Wits is historically an academics-focused institution and this could account for the way the team is structured to their disadvantage. “Other teams are running full professional clubs with students who study on the side. Our players are students who play a little rugby on the side,” explained Royale.
[pullquote align=”right”]”All we can do is keep on keeping on”[/pullquote]
In the Wits team only one player is a professional player, who has a contract with the Lions. Royale said: “we don’t want to put money into non-students, our highest priority are Wits students.”
With regards to relegation Royale said that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world and in fact would give the Boytjies the opportunity to nurture new, young talent. “Everyone understands our position, all we can do is keep on keeping on,” said the optimistic Royale.
Mill Junction in Newtown is an example of creative, low cost housing in the city. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
Distinctive green and red rectangles and circles that can be seen from miles away are part of a new off-campus residential building for students.
Built on 25-year grain silos, the low-cost, environmentally friendly and close-proximity living space known as Mill Junction has quickly become an iconic building in Newtown.
Turning the old into new
The residence is at its core made from the abandoned grain silos and re-purposed shipping containers. An interesting exploration of architectural creativity and ingenuity, which provides affordable housing to students.
The diverse colour palate on the exterior of the building bleeds into its interior, which each of the 14 floors of the 40 million rand building painted a different colour to add to its overall “funk”.
CEO of Citiq Property, Paul Lapman, explained that there are ten silos in total, two rows of five which go up ten floors, the remaining top four floors are made from shipping containers. “We’ve actually used the inside of the silos to lay out the corridors, put the lifts in, put the stairs in and everything else,” he added.
The middlemost silos on each floor are painted a different colour and host a different recreational area – every second floor has a communal TV room, others are study rooms, computer rooms and one is a gym. Along with this each floor is fitted with two communal kitchens, communal bathrooms and private bathrooms for those who need their privacy.
Up in the air
After a year of construction, the building signed up between 260 and 270 of the 374 spaces available within their first month of opening, the top most floors filling up first because of the exceptional city views provided by the skyscraper. The huffing and puffing from walking up the 14 floors with Lapham abated as soon as the panoramic beauty of Johannesburg came into view.
A view from the eastern most side on Mill Junction’s rooftop. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
The rooftop is still a work in progress but when it is done it will provide students with a rooftop braai area and another space to socialise – fitting considering the boom of rooftops as social spaces in the inner city at the moment.
Green living
The motion sensor lights, magnetic stoves and double glazed windows are some of Mill Junction’s environmentally conscious elements. “We’ve sourced quite a lot of the materials from China,” leaving them with enough money to provide energy efficient facilities said Lapham.
Making use of the old silos was also another “green” feature, Lapham said they could have easily chosen to knock down the silos and build from scratch but they had chosen to “preserve some of Joburg’s history and do something different”.
Thomas Revington is an indie-rocker and resident Witsie who forms part of the band Shortstraw, was recently featured in Marie Claire’s annual naked issue using his derriere for the betterment of humanity.
This year Marie Claire’s naked issue has caused a bit of a stir on social media and led to the issue flying off the stands in no time. Photo: Pheladi Sethusa
Marie Claire brought together 36 South African celebrities, to raise funds for the non-governmental organisation (NGO) the Lunch-Box Fund. This year’s naked issue comprises a spread of celebrities whose naked bodies have become a talking-point on social media.
Actress and TV presenter Boity Thulo has been trending on Twitter all week because of her risqué pose. The celebrity’s naked frame brought about the most entertaining reactions under the hashtag #BoityReaction.
Wits University has also claimed its stake in the issue, having one of their own baring it all in the name of a good cause.
Revington holds a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts degree from Wits and is also a guitarist. He and his band were approached by Marie Claire after performing at their trunk show last year.
After grudgingly accepting to feature in the naked issue, Revington attributed the charitable impacts as the primary reasons for agreeing to do the shoot.
“At first we were all a bit hesitant, but we got into it. Tons of awkward laughs,” the guitarist said about being naked with his band mates and other celebrities.
Now that the magazine is in store, we imagine fellow students will have a lot to say regarding their fellow peer’s good deed.
Revington foresees ‘lols’ from his friends but the musician doesn’t think it will be awkward, “I’m still Jenny from the block,” he joked.
Earlier today an article profiling Zareef Minty of the Patriotic Alliance was met with accusations flung at both Minty and Wits Vuvuzela.
Several Witsies took to Twitter to contest some of the positions Minty said he had held in the Student Discipline Committee (SDC) and within the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) some time ago.
Minty had said he was currently chair of the Student Discipline Committee and had previously been a treasurer for the Wits ANC Youth League. His statements were contested. Image: Twitter
Image: Twitter
In response to the allegations, Minty apologised on Twitter and clarified what he meant to say to Wits Vuvuzela reporters.
Image: Twitter
In a telephonic interview with Wits Vuvuzela earlier this evening, Minty he said, “I refuse to apologise for the SDC chair statement,” he added that he didn’t realise he needed to differentiate his position as chair of SDC representatives.
With regards to being a treasurer for the ANC Youth League he said he was willing to concede the error and apologise because he should have pointed out that he was “asked to assist as treasurer for a period of time”. He said the person who held the position at time was under review for non-performance, this person being Klaas Mokgomole (@Brainwasher1).
Minty said the complaints hurled at him were “really silly.” He also told Wits Vuvuzela that he would provide a statement but none has been received.
“I don’t mind women in general wearing crop tops or short shorts, but I don’t want my girlfriend wearing those things because they make me feel uncomfortable,” said a male friend.
He considers himself sympathetic to feminism. This conversation occurred after I had accepted the label, feminist. If it had happened two or three years ago I might have “understood” where he was coming from, now I don’t. It took me quite a while to come to terms with feminism, to understand it and identify with it. To me feminism simply means the freedom to choose who I want to be.
[pullquote]”I don’t mind women in general wearing crop tops or short shorts, but I don’t want my girlfriend wearing those things because they make me feel uncomfortable.”[/pullquote]
I’m out
In the past I’ve labeled myself as a “laissez-faire feminist” and described myself as such in social conversations. What I meant was that I do recognize that patriarchy is real and is at work 24/7 to undermine people of my gender. What I was saying along with this at the time is that I prescribed to the gender roles dictated to us by society, and that I was comfortable with this status quo.
The attitude has fallen away to be replaced by a more precise concept “black feminism”. I am out. Loud and proud. I have successfully rid myself of the fear of discrimination for being vocal about feminism.
A lot of people have a stereotypical image of an unshaven, angry, man-hater when they think of the word “feminist”. I was scared to associate with the feminist struggle because of this negative stereotype.I now realize one can shave, like to cook, love men and still be a feminist.
The problem with patriarchy
People are uncomfortable with accepting certain truths, especially if they somehow benefit from whatever it is you are speaking out against.
Men, whether they like it or not benefit from the patriarchal shield that makes their lives a little sweeter. God forbid he cook and clean, domestic chores are for girls. He should sit on the couch, have beers and snacks delivered as he shouts at the TV in front of him. This kind of behavioural conditioning in the media and in our homes provides a breeding ground for the next generation to play into the same kind of zombie like fixation with gender roles. [pullquote align=”right”]”Patriarchy is the reason we have a rape culture here and elsewhere.”[/pullquote]
The problem with patriarchy is that it makes men believe they are rightfully entitled to certain things where women are involved, women’s fashion choices among them. It makes women believe that they have to do certain things, look a certain way, say certain things to win them the “real women” label. Being desirable trumping other pursuits, overshadowing other attributes of their womanhood.
Patriarchy is the reason we have a rape culture here and elsewhere, it allows for the pathological thinking that says a woman can be owned, domineered and conquered at will. That a woman’s body can be seized, forcefully if all else fails.
What feminism says
Feminism stands up and shouts “NO!”. It says women are more than their boobs and their bums, more than the scrubbing their hands can endure, are more than the nappies they can change. It says women are capable of more than they are given credit for. It says that women deserve to be treated justly, that they have a place outside of the kitchen. It says gender roles are bullshit, archaic and oppressive.
[pullquote]”I don’t have to be an emotionless “bitch” to be respected, that independence is not about being alone, that my sex life is no one’s business but mine.”[/pullquote]
Feminism has taught me to ignore the cues given to me by society about what kind of woman I should be, because they say so. I should be the kind of woman I choose to be, because I say so. I don’t have to cook and clean to be “wifey material”, a man who thinks like that has no business looking for a wife because clearly all he needs is domestic assistance, which is fairly easy to find in a want ad.
Feminism has also taught me that I don’t have to be an emotionless “bitch” to be respected, that independence is not about being alone, that my sex life is no one’s business but mine. It’s taught me that justice and equality aren’t the same, that sometimes justice does mean giving someone an opportunity based on their gender or race – because equality tends to ignore the existing imbalances between two people when handing out the so called same opportunity or advantage.
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
