Ruminations on living in 3rd world Johannesburg

Aweh fellow Ruminants & Groupies in day 402 of Re-Modified Lock Down Currently Level 1.

Period as a semi-retired pensioner: 30 days

This week the topic for Ruminant Pink Friday™ relates to some ruminations about living in Johannesburg. Twenty years ago, I used to describe South Africa to foreign visitors as 20% first world and 80% third world. For a visitor it may be possible to live only in the first world component and not be exposed to the third world component.

Today I would describe South Africa as 15% first world and 85% fourth world. My family and I inhabit the first world component 85% of the time but are forced to deal with the fourth world component 15% of the time. The first inklings of the arrival of the fourth world was in 2008 when “load shedding” commenced. Load shedding is when there is insufficient electricity, and you are subjected to scheduled power cuts of several hours. In 2021 load shedding is still with us and will be with us for many years more.

The first world component of South Africa is a gated community where you buy world class products and services provided by the private sector comparable to the best the first world has to offer. The sole entry criteria is money. This sector is innovative and keeps track of global developments. You have excellent private security and broadband fibre to your house. You can have your groceries delivered to your doorstep within 60 minutes. Food and restaurants are abundant. If you do not want to drive you can Uber anywhere for exceptionally low tariffs. Property prices are cheap by first world standards. You have access to world class medical care and Johannesburg has one of the best climates in the world.

For those people who cannot afford the gated community life is a great deal harsher. A visit to a clinic can involve a whole day off work with most of it spent in a long queue.  The quality of care is extremely variable and patchy. The risk of dying from an easily treatable ailment is an order of magnitude higher than the private sector. Government sector employees use private medicine. Today is month end and I drove past the Parkview Post Office and there was a queue of several hundred snaking up the street manually collecting social grants. Many hours to get to the front of this queue. I have not been to the Post Office for two decades.

For fortunate people like myself the 15% of my time I spend in the fourth world all has to do with dealing with local or national government where they are monopoly service providers.

Everyone in Johannesburg can tell you about the rim destroying potholes and the notoriously unreliable traffic lights causing gridlock.

I will relate some of my personal experiences.

In September 2019 I suddenly got a R75 000 water bill. I am still trying to resolve this with the City of Johannesburg. I have hired one of the many specialist facilitators who work full time on resolving the thousands of billing disputes in Johannesburg. The COJ billing system is known to be chaotic. https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2020-09-28-residents-up-in-arms-over-huge-bills-from-city-of-johannesburg/.

Water supply from COJ is erratic and the ageing water reticulation infrastructure has not been maintained leading to many unplanned water outages.

I do my best to be tax compliant with the South African Revenue Service (SARS). This year I am being audited for the fifth year in a row. There were no findings in the previous four audits. Refunds were delayed until the audits were completed. Fortunately, my very patient and reasonable tax practitioner deals with this for me. Worth every cent.

My driving license, which is valid for five years, expires in May 2021. You must go in person to renew your driver’s license. After being unable to get a booking online I paid a facilitator. I arrived at the appointment at the very dilapidated Randburg Municipal offices with all the required paperwork and photographs in mid-February. Everything went smoothly until I was directed to the cashier’s queue to pay R268. This snaked along the corridor, down the stairs and filled the corridor downstairs.  There was a single cashier processing one person per 10 minutes. I spent 3 hours in this queue.

As I was getting to the front of the queue a woman in front of me complained about this situation. The supervisor was called, and the woman was told she had an attitude problem and was demoted to the back of the queue. At this stage she went postal, and a screaming match ensued, and she was removed by security threatening to bring her lawyers the next day. I, and everyone else in the queue, stared very intently at their shoes. I made a mental note that perhaps it was time for a new pair.

In mid-April I went to collect my license. Not ready. Two months is not sufficient time to produce the plastic license card. So, I had to get a temporary drivers license which is valid for 6 months. Perhaps this will be sufficient time to produce the license. With one phone call answered within three rings I can get a new credit card delivered to my door within 48 hours. Go figure.

Perhaps it is character building not to live in a gilded cage. Nothing like spending time in a long queue and remaining unfailingly polite and smiling while a surly and aggressive official does his absolute best to rattle you so that you can be punished and sent to the back of the queue.

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions and comments. Please keep them up.

Regards

Bruce