I’m talking business here — not the endless hand-wringing about the municipality, the overcrowded parts of the city centre, or the slummification of certain suburbs. We all know those problems exist. What I’m interested in is something else entirely: how Johannesburg businesses quietly get on with innovating, improving, and delivering genuinely good service to customers, largely in spite of the environment they operate in.
When you drive around Johannesburg — and I mean really drive around — and take in the sheer number of homes, apartment blocks, townhouse complexes, and estates, two things become clear very quickly. First, just how many people actually live here. And second, how much private enterprise must be happening every single day to support that many lives. Well over six million people live in the greater Johannesburg metropolitan area. The overwhelming majority of their livelihoods are supported by business, not local government.
The other day we visited the Lifestyle Centre in north Johannesburg, and it struck me again how often this city’s business story is ignored. The Lifestyle Nursery has been revamped and upgraded to such an extent that I’d be surprised if there’s a better nursery anywhere in the country. It includes extensive outdoor and indoor sections, a hardware offering that outperforms many specialist outlets, and an art and craft shop that is as good as — if not better in some ways than — many dedicated art shop offerings. Next door, in the same centre, is Value & Co, a newly opened value and co-outlet. It’s a huge, warehouse-style store filled with housewares and associated goods. That kind of investment doesn’t happen in a city that’s supposedly “dead”.
Now, we all know about the ills that have been afflicting Johannesburg for many years. The city deserves far better, particularly from a politicised local government that has struggled to run things effectively. Yes, some things work, of course they do, but in the greater scheme of things the decay is evident — especially in busy nodes such as the Randburg CBD.
But then you turn off the main roads and drive through the suburbs — I don’t even need to name them — and the houses are still there. Most are well maintained. Structures are painted, gardens are cared for, and roofs are intact. I mention roofs deliberately, because when you drive through other cities and suburbs around the country, you can’t help noticing how many properties are visibly neglected. That kind of quiet upkeep tells its own economic story.
What frustrates me is how much of the commentary about Johannesburg is driven by selective images and alarmist narratives pushed on social media, particularly on platforms like TikTok. These clips and photos are often presented as if they represent the entire city. In many cases, they’re shared by people who have never lived in Johannesburg and, quite often, have never even visited for any meaningful length of time.
Yes, Johannesburg has had a rough 10 to 15 years. There’s no denying that. But every major city has its unsavoury areas and serious challenges. You can go to Cape Town, for example, and find areas in deep distress too. The difference is that Johannesburg’s problems have become a kind of spectacle — something people outside the city seem to gloat about — while the everyday reality of millions of people living, working, and doing business here is conveniently ignored.
The reality on the ground is this: Johannesburg businesses are still thriving. They’re still innovating, still investing, still employing people, and still providing goods and services to a massive population. Despite infrastructure failures, governance issues, and years of decline in certain areas, private enterprise remains the engine of this city.
And for many people, those businesses continue to support a quality of life that others would envy, regardless of which city they happen to live in right now. Johannesburg may not shout about its successes, but if you take the time to look — really look — you’ll see that its businesses are still quietly outshining the rest.
