Johannesburg’s revival: From South Africa’s crime hub to comeback city

The view is spectacular from the top of Ponte Tower, one of the most famous buildings in the South African city of Johannesburg.

Built in 1975, standing almost 200m (656 ft) tall, it’s a long-established feature of the city skyline, once the tallest residential building in Africa.

But like the city, it’s had its ups and downs. In the 1980s it was taken over by criminal gangs, and its hollow core filled with rubbish up to 50m deep.

“The building got hijacked. There were no utilities, so most of the people were actually throwing their trash right inside the building, until it reached the 14th floor,” said Delight Sithole, who runs tours of the building.

He added: “There were some dead bodies here, illegal firearms, drugs. The smell, I’m sure it was just horrible, just really like, hell on earth.

“If you asked anybody what happens in that round building, somebody would have something interesting or scary to say about it,” said Sifiso Zikhali, who works with Mr Sithole in an organisation called Dlala Nje, which means “just play” in Zulu.

“People were scared of the neighbourhood,” he said.

Johannesburg was seen as being one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

But the building turned itself around 15 years ago in the wake of the Fifa World Cup hosted in South Africa, and people started moving back in.

After Covid, people returned and the building is now around three-quarters full.

There is no escaping the issues that Johannesburg, and South Africa, face.

Despite signs of improvement in the most recent statistics, crime is still a major issue.