Johannesburg road explosion R19m tender vanished – Report

In July 2023, an explosion on Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg’s CBD rocked the city and made global headlines. The then mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, City Manager Floyd Brink and Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi promised swift action and an urban upgrade that would be a benchmark for the historic part of the city that suffers from urban blight. More than a year later, investigations reveals that the 500m explosion site remains a red gash — broken and unusable, hindering a pan-African trading economy that generates R10-billion a year for SA. The tender to fix the road is set at R196-million, while R19-million has vanished from a contractor that has previously botched massive infrastructure tenders in Johannesburg. Phemelo speaks to Associate Editor at the Daily Maverick, Ferial Haffajee.