The View From London Road

By Rick Powell
(Johannesburg, South Africa, May 15) The only thing that has changed since I was last in Johannesburg is that eight years have passed. The view from London Road is pretty much the same as it was in 1999 when I was here to observe the second national election for President and members of Parliament. London Road runs through a microcosm of the society, from the oldest black township in South Africa through a new upper-class white suburb. At the bottom of the hill is Alexandra, where some of the most famous freedom fighters – including Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo – lived. Workers who live in modest homes and tin roof shacks, most without running water or toilets, gather to walk or take the mini- busses up London Road to Sandton City at the top of the hill, where they work in places like the five-star Michelangelo Hotel, whose famous golden tower can be seen from the bottom of London Road, or in Sandton City’s Mandela Square, whose upscale shops would rival Tyson’s Corner. Most of the workers are represented by unions, which are still strong in this country, but the social environment is quite different. Many of the black workers of Alexandra have been on waiting lists for as long as ten years to get new houses with running water and toilets. A young worker who lives in Alexandra told me on the drive to the airport that most of his neighbors are on the list and have never gotten the houses the government promised them. “We ask the government when will our houses be ready,” he told me, “and we are told that we will have to wait. The government has been telling us that for years.” Meanwhile, he said, “We have seen other people that we do not know get houses and when we ask them how long they have waited they tell us that they just signed the documents a few weeks ago. This is not right. When the next election comes I do not think that I am voting for the ANC. What should I do?” he asked me. I wanted to give the typical revolutionary response I thought a good progressive trade unionist would give but I thought better of it. “I don’t know,” I said, and we drove on. Powell, the Metro Council’s Political Coordinator, is traveling in South Africa. Photos by Rick Powell