The storm hoax provided a funny reminder of how gullible some of us streetwise Jo’burgers can be. However, there was a real storm and real storm damage in parts of Johannesburg a few days before.
In Lenasia — where I stay — the storm on Saturday evening left some parts of our suburb with substantial damage. The pictures show some of the damage. The City of Johannesburg responded almost immediately. The most dangerous situations were dealt with that same evening, and trees that had fallen were beginning to be removed at six in the morning.
For the whole of Sunday the workers from City Power and Johannesburg Water proceeded to clear trees, replace light poles and restore water and electricity. At the end of the day, pretty much all the damage to municipal services and roads had been restored. We complain so much that we sometimes forget to recognise when the public service has done a good job. And in this instance the City of Johannesburg has performed well. And that is no hoax.
On Monday morning, driving past the many informal settlements on the N12, I wondered if the city council had responded as efficiently in the informal settlements as in the suburbs?