We attended the ‘Johannesburg – A City in Crisis’ summit on Saturday. The event was hosted by Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, in conjunction with OUTA and JoburgCAN and was attended by a number of other NGOs and activist organisations, media including the Daily Maverick, along with other local residents’ associations.

It was, to say the least, an eye opener, both about the current precarious state the city administration is in, but also the number of decent people and groups, doing what they can to fill the gaps.

Also, to give some perspective, while we know there are many issues facing Rivonia, several communities represented at the event are in a worse state. And as we write this under the spectre of loadshedding, be prepared for ‘Water Shedding or ‘Water Shifting’ as it’s being termed, which is already affecting some suburbs, and is expected to start affecting broader areas sooner, rather than later.

It’s clear that the City is in dire straits, and we as residents cannot stand idly by. We can take the ostrich approach and pretend it won’t affect us, or be like the impala with its flight response and move to other suburbs in the City, or even other cities. But really, it became clear that hoping others will fix this is a pipe dream. We need to be like the rhino and face this head on (can you tell we’re desperate for our next trip to the bush?).