The Stranger in My Mirror

The Stranger in My Mirror When I was a child, my grandmother used to say, "The border is something people draw on maps. Hunger, hope, and grief don't stop to check passports." I nodded whenever she said it, but I never truly understood. Years later, I found myself standing outside a small grocery shop in Johannesburg, watching a crowd shout at a man with a Zimbabwean accent. They called him names. They told him to go home. Some threw stones. I stood there and did nothing. In my mind, I justified it. They're taking jobs. They're making life harder. They don't belong here. I was Black. I was African. Yet somehow, I believed another Black African was less deserving than I was because he had crossed a border. A week later, load shedding hit our neighborhood. The only shop still open was the same Zimbabwean man's store. I went in because I needed bread. He greeted me with a smile. "How are you, brother?" Brother. Not stranger. Not South African. Not c...

Giant sinkholes leave roads disfigured in Gauteng and Western Cape

 10 May 2021 - 13:56

A metro police officer demonstrates the severity of the damage to the road in Soweto. Both lanes have been closed and motorists are using the Rea Vaya lane.
A metro police officer demonstrates the severity of the damage to the road in Soweto. Both lanes have been closed and motorists are using the Rea Vaya lane.
Image: Twitter: Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD)

Collapsing infrastructure and heavy downpours have led to the closure of two major roads in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency has announced the closure of a section of Klipspruit Valley Road in Soweto due to a sinkhole.

The agency said in a statement that stormwater infrastructure had collapsed, causing the road to cave in. Two lanes were affected.

“Plans to repair the stormwater and road infrastructure are under way and further developments will be communicated in due course,” it said, adding that traffic had been diverted to the Rea Vaya Bus lane. 

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Motorists in Johannesburg have also reported a sinkhole on the M1 north just after Booysens but the road has not been closed yet.

Some roads were washed away after heavy downpours lashed parts of the Western Cape last week.

The rain saw some residents being evacuated from their homes. The road linking Robertson to Bonnievale collapsed in the Langeberg municipal area.

TimesLIVE

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