JHB LIVE — News

The R97-billion budget that funds itself by raising your bill

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Council has tabled a R97.1bn budget that closes its hole by lifting tariffs across electricity, water, refuse and property rates. Council framing: 'intensified revenue drive.' Reading: the bill at your door is the revenue drive.

Electricity minister steps into the City Power pricing fight

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Ramokgopa has been pulled in to shape a new payment framework as the City Power tariff increase lands amid resident pushback. The argument is about cross-subsidy and arrears; the timing is about cold weekends and prepaid meters.

Joburg's coalition arithmetic, two months out from the next move

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Analysis traces how the metro's coalition could be redrawn before the next sitting — and who would need whom. The maths gets interesting when ActionSA, EFF and PA each hold less than they think they do.

Rand Water maintenance: 96 hours of planned interruption, 29 May–2 June

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Bulk-infrastructure maintenance will reduce or cut supply across multiple Joburg Water systems for four days. A second window is set for 17 July. Tied to Eskom power maintenance — the same week the bulk pumps can't run.

South Africa's new xenophobia wave — and what's different this time

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Human Rights Watch documents a fresh round of anti-migrant violence across Gauteng. Jozi's response — marches, statements, silences — is part of the record being kept. The story is the response, not just the attacks.

Joburg, the in-migration city: 28% of provincial moves are about jobs

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Stats SA's latest puts a number on what Joburg already knows about itself. Twenty-eight percent of long-term provincial relocations are employment-driven — the economy still pulls, and the city's culture grows on that pull.

Rise '76 at Baxter and the Market — Soweto Uprising at fifty

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

Baxter and the Market have co-produced a docu-fictional drama timed to the fiftieth anniversary of June 16. Daily Maverick calls it 'fiercely human.' Market Theatre's Newtown room is where SA political theatre still happens with weight.

RMB Latitudes at Shepstone Gardens — Joburg's accessible-fair weekend

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:18:31 GMT

The RMB Latitudes Art Fair ran 22-24 May at Shepstone Gardens — three days, galleries from across SA, Sunday slot sold out by 11. The fair Joburg galleries can afford to ship into; the venue does the rest.

Dada Masilo's Hamlet — Two Nights Only at the John Kani

Sat, 16 May 2026 17:30:00 GMT

Dada Masilo's Hamlet runs Saturday 16 May at 19h30 and Sunday 17 May at 15h00 in the John Kani Theatre. Two performances. That's the whole window. South African dance theatre's most consistent risk-taker takes on the canon.

Troyeville Hotel

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Restaurants Review Troyeville Hotel The craving for prawns The craving for prawns overwhelmed me this week, and when thathappens, there is only one restaurant that can slake my yearning - thelegendary Troyeville Hotel.Until recently, the Troyeville Hotelhad seen better days, with d�cor and ambience befitting a betting tote. But all that's changed since the same resourceful entrepreneurs that brought you the Color [sic] Bar in Milpark, now bring you the souped-up and refurbished Troyeville Hotel. The food is superb, the crowd: decidedly eccentric, but still, the d�cor leaves much to be desired.…

Collective Supper Club

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Events Markets are beginning to seem like quintessential elements of the Joburg experience. Jozi-philes like me love them. There's something about the mix of phenomenal food, beautiful people and the opportunity to discover another corner of the city - all of which were present at Collective's Supper Club on Saturday. Collective has, since December, been popping up monthly on the rooftop of 3 Desmond Street, Kramerville, bringing us quirky and eccentric creations. To make the most of the awe-inspiring venue, we'll now be treated to evening editions with a…

Japanese-style Storytelling at Market Theatre

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Events Expectation hummed in the air as we gazed at a stage loosely arranged to resemble the inside of a nomadic entertainer's tent. We were sitting in the packed Barney Simon Theatre, waiting to watch the award-winning performance called The Epicene Butcher and Other Stories for Consenting Adults. The idea was conceived by Jemma Kahn (actor and artist) and Gwydion Beyon (writer), and directed by John Trengrove. The performance is narrated by Jemma Kahn and is presented according to the ancient Japanese form of storytelling called Kamishibai. It's easy to…

The Library Bar

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Bars This Library is open 24 hours a day but no studying is permitted, only sipping and socialising at the bar Want to review something in the city? Click here

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Outdoor It's my pool. Don't you dare soak up my sun, bathe in my water, or wear that draped sarong you picked up in Bali. I've been going to the Zoo Lake Pool since I was old enough to make urine donations in the kiddie's section. Now it's my happy place, my favourite spot in Joburg, so don't come here. You don't want to spend time at this hidden gem that's frequented mostly by the Parkview and Westcliff old money jollies and testosterone-stuffed water polo heavies. This 8-bucks-a-swim, 30-by-30-metre open air pool that's stuffed between Joburg's Parks bo…

Casalinga Country Restaurant

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Restaurants Sample the kind of delicious food you've only ever seen on BBC Food before. Want to review something in the city? Click here DJ Kevin Saunderson kept in beat with the pulse of another hot Toy-Toy party. See you there this Friday again? 1) How does the South African electronic music scene compare with the rest of t…

ALIGHT in the Living Room

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Events Want to review something in the city? Click here

Want to review something in the city? Click here Linked Venue The Loft The loft is a restaurant / bar situated in the famous 7th street of Melville. It's a small cozy location with an upstairs loft serving a romantic hideaway with low tables and couches.Their menu varies as per seasons. You can expect to find anything from East Indian Fish Carry to leg...…

'86 Public

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

’86 Public Nicole Samakosky checks out a new and much\needed pizza joint in Braamfontein\. Yes, it’s open at night\. Despite the name, ’86 Public is actually located at 87 Juta Street, , which can be a tad confusing \and not just for people whose sense of direction is as terrible as mine\\. Maybe not\. Anyway… This brand new and much\needed pizza\only place has opened up in The Grove, Braamfontein \right next\door to Velo\\. First impression: sleek\. The checkerboard walls, high stools with bars as foot rests and unique\looking light fixtures are a winner\. Add the visible pizza oven in the ba…

Maria McCloy, publicist and fashion creative, dies at 50

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Maria McCloy — Joburg-based publicist, DJ, and fashion creative — has died at the age of 50. She passed at Milpark Hospital on Tuesday evening, her family said, following heart failure. McCloy worked across South African music and fashion for more than two decades — moving artists into rooms they wouldn't have got into without her, dressing scenes that wouldn't have looked the way they did without her eye. The tributes have come in from across the local music and creative industries since the news broke. There's an obituary to be written; this is a notice. We'll do the full piece.

CCMA finds RAF exec guilty over Joburg disciplinary disclosure

Tue, 12 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Sefotle Modiba, acting chief investment officer at the Road Accident Fund, has been found guilty by the CCMA of failing to disclose his disciplinary issues at the City of Johannesburg when he applied for the RAF role in 2020. The commission has recommended his dismissal. The City of Joburg's name appearing in this story is the part to note — it reflects how senior moves between municipal and parastatal roles get scrutinised when something else goes wrong. Whether RAF acts on the CCMA recommendation is the next beat.

SA CIOs say AI in software is a power tool, not a crutch

Mon, 11 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

At the 2026 CIO Day at the Marriott in Melrose Arch this week, South African technology leaders pushed back on the AI-everywhere narrative. The pitch: AI in software development is a power tool for skilled engineers, not a substitute for them. The room also called for more locally-built models — the implicit critique being that SA tech depends on imported infrastructure that doesn't reflect local context. Whether the call moves any actual procurement or hiring is the open question. The CIOs are saying it; the budgets will tell us whether the country is listening.

Calls grow to probe who's funding SA's anti-migrant protests

Mon, 11 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Anti-migrant protests have intensified across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal ahead of next year's local government elections. Political analyst Gideon Chitanga and others are asking the obvious question: who is funding the organising? The protests don't happen for free — buses, signs, food on protest day, social media coordination. There is a money trail, and the call is for the security agencies to trace it. This is a story that will only get louder as the elections approach. Joburg residents — particularly in inner-city precincts — are already inside it.

The mustache wall on the 50th floor

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Kelly Kidson finds Joburg's 1920s soccer team — and their snors — hiding above the city. On a tour through the Carlton Centre, Kidson discovered a wall of historical artefactual photographs of Joburg's earliest sportsmen, all of them competing for the most intimidating mustache. The 50th-floor view of the city is the second find; the men with snors are the first. A small, funny piece about how Joburg's history surfaces in unlikely rooms — and how the tallest building in the city, on its highest floor, points back at the smallest details of the people who built it.

Before Illovo, Wanderers was in town

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Marc Latilla on the first Wanderers Stadium — and how the railway slowly ate it. Little known fact: Wanderers used to be in town right next to the railway line. During these gold rush years, town planning was haphazard and short-sighted, mainly because the ZAR government believed the rush would be short-lived and leave Joburg a ghost town. As the reef proved almost never-ending, however, the town grew rapidly and many early land allocations had…

How Braamfontein got its second life

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

From 1853 farmland to Kitcheners' Carvery — Marc Latilla on the suburb that won't sit still. Braamfontein today is largely unchanged from 30 years ago. It seems like it's always just been this way, but it started off as a farm around 1853 and became a residential suburb from 1890s lasting right up to the 1970s. During the economic and building booms of the 1930s and 1950s, businesses relocated to the area, and blocks of houses…

The lost tower at Plein Park

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Marc Latilla on Joburg's first telephone exchange, demolished and half-remembered. Telephone tower showing grids Up until 1 September 1894, Joburg had no telephones. The first telephone exchange was in a red bricked Dutch-style hexagonal tower built that year and situated between Plein and De Villiers streets in Plein Square, where it initially housed less than 200 lines. There were no underground cables back then so all the lines were carried…

The night Doors decided what counted as a club

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Duncan Arthur on the venue that taught a generation of Joburgers what a Tuesday could be. Once upon a time in a place that exists only in memory, in a city that looks pretty much like ours, there was a club called The Doors. But The Doors was more than a club. Any place that managed to somehow cater to both skinheads and wannabe Rastafarians had to have something special going for it. That 'something special'…

A walk through Triomph, looking for Sophiatown

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

What's left when a neighbourhood is bulldozed and a suburb built on top. The Ghosts of Sophia Town – JHBLive Tours Triomph

Abdullah Ibrahim, in the Marabi halls

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Dror Cohen sits with the South African jazz piano voice that wrote a country's soundtrack. I recall a concert of Abdullah Ibrahim's that I attended in Joburg in 2012, where he was accompanied by his brass band Kaya. The Cape born maestro received a standing ovation before he even played his first note. It was as if the crowd were acknowledging that, regardless of his forthcoming performance, the composer once known as Dollar Brand had…

Kliptown, the town we keep forgetting

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Lebo Tshetlo walks the multicultural heart of Soweto that the city left behind. I drive through Kliptown every day when coming to work, it's literally a five-minute drive from my place. Yet like many of my fellow South Africans I know very little about it, apart from it being home of the Soweto Hotel and Congress of the People (please note I'm not talking about the COPE based in Braamfontein) which saw the…

Did Maboneng eat Newtown?

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Quaz on what happens to a precinct when the next one's name goes louder. Did Maboneng eat Newtown? For a good while I wanted to believe it did. Many of my friends and fellow Newtown natives agree. But wait. Easy there, Captain Conspiracy Pants. Before you shoot off that "gentrification and evil white men" rhetoric, consider this: Newtown, like many other urban landscapes, is constantly evolving. It has always been a victim of urban…

The clubs that taught us what going out meant

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Daniel Friedman and Matthew Hill name the rooms where 2000s Joburg got its subcultures. Jozi Club Nostalgia By Daniel Friedman and Matthew Hill

Joburg's pavement salons

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Mamello Sejake on the streetside stylists who turn a strip of pavement into a chair, a mirror, a livelihood. If ever you've taken to Jozi's streets by foot and had a good walk around then you will know that nothing can come as a surprise to you. Hearing "Hello nice, woza sisi, woza uzoluka" are just cat calls one must endure on a daily basis. Having somebody persistently call after you, whether or not your hair looks like it…

Out at night with Deadbeat

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Shawn Greyling tags along with a Joburg graffiti writer for an undercover walk. JHBLive Goes Graf Bombing

Knowing what 'sharp' means

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Lebo Motshegoa on the lingo every Joburger half-uses without admitting it. Riding in a G-string with my cherry, sipping on Jesus & his Brothers and on our way to Chisanyama. Forming the convoy is Kentucky rounder, Gusheshe, Matchbox, Vora Virus, Cara Cara, Roto and Dombolo. You'd be forgiven for assuming that the above sentence is about food. Maar actually it is about cars and alcohol. Jesus and brothers is J&B, Kenty…

Inside Soweto's shebeens, room by room

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

A 2004 tour of the houses-turned-bars that ran Soweto's social life when the law said they couldn't. Township Taverns –The Spirit of the Shebeen For JHBLive news: Lebo Motshegoa, reporting from Soweto. The weather gets colder, the days get shorter, leaves change colour and fall off, animals migrate and some hibernate. But, thank god life in Jozi goes on, especially in places where the liquor is cheaper. No bouncers. No bookings. No parking lot. No entry fee.…

Bongeziwe Mabandla, before everyone knew

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Tessa Cunliffe meets a folk musician at home in Melville, first album finished, the rest of the country catching up. Umlilo - The Melville Musician Sings

Soweto, in the everyday

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Lebo Motshegoa on the language, the daily flow, the things you only learn by living there. Last year I found myself wandering around my hood researching words and phrases used in the townships around GP. I compiled a Township lingo glossary, titled ‘Scamto Dictionary’ and the book got surprising rave reviews, even won an award...Stru! There’s something about living in Soweto that brings me endless inspiration. Born, raised and kicking it live ko Kasi, I still…

Down the old mines, looking for gold dust

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Ihsaan Haffejee meets the zama-zamas who work Joburg's abandoned shafts when there's nothing else. As I motor along Main Reef Road on the outskirts of Joburg and head in a westerly direction I observe the huge hills of yellow coloured dust that serve as a constant reminder of Jozi's famed mining history. Joburg's mine dumps are a quintessential element of its landscape and tell a story of a city founded on gold. But the…

A night out with the Mondeor cops

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Daniel Friedman expected a story. Daniel Friedman got the patrol that mostly waits. Out on Patrol – My Night As A Cop By Daniel Friedman

Tumi, between Dar es Salaam and Soweto

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

An MC who carries two countries' worth of voice into the South African beat. Born in Tanzania, Tumi lived in exile with his parents until 1992 when he arrived in Soweto, SA. His parents were involved with the ANC and always traveling. “My upbringing was a blessing and a curse.” A blessing, because Tumi was raised to embrace different things and considers himself to be a richer person because of it. A curse, because…

Trevor Noah on Leno's couch

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Nolan Stevens on the night a Soweto-raised comedian sat on a US late-night sofa for the first time. Local comedian Trevor Noah has given us another reason to feel proudly South African as he takes the US stage by storm

What's left of the Carlton Sky Rink

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Inside the abandoned ice rink under the city — the bones of Joburg's tallest building still hold stories. Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Other

A walking tour of Joburg's Jewish cemeteries

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

The plots that hold a century of Jozi's Jewish community — who lies where, and why it matters. Jewish Cemetery Tour Go on a tour of the Jewish section of Braamfontein Cemetery, with the Parktown & Westcliff Heritage Trust. Learn about the people and stories of the early mining town, like Solly Joel who has two graves - one in London and one here.

The Sophiatown walk, after the bulldozers

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

A formal walking tour through what's left of the old Sophiatown — and what was deliberately removed. Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Events

Inside the Bus Factory

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

The repurposed bus depot in Newtown that quietly houses Joburg's cultural and arts organisations. Johannesburg City Bytes : City Bytes / Art

Walking The Wilds, anyway

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

A first-person walk through Joburg's most-dreaded heritage park — and what's actually there. Will I Be Killed At The Wilds The Wilds used to be a great public space. Then it became unsafe and people stopped going. But what's it like now?

Abdullah Ibrahim, Part 2 — on composition and time

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

Dror Cohen continues the conversation. Ibrahim on the piece-by-piece logic of his sets, and on returning to Joburg. A Talk With Abdullah Ibrahim [Part 2] We spoke to the legendary composer about changing himself, writing his first song at age 10, and The International Jazz Police.

Yiull Damaso, after the death threats

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:00:00 GMT

The Joburg artist on what happens after you paint the country's most powerful man and the threats start arriving. Yiull Damaso, After the Death Threats His painting of SA's political leaders gathered over Madiba's corpse sparked expected controversy and gasps. We caught up with Yiull Damaso.