Johannesburg is the most populous city in South Africa with 4,803,262 people, and is classified as a megacity; it is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. Johannesburg is the seat of the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa. Most of the major South African companies and banks have their head offices in Johannesburg. The city is located within the mineral-rich Witwatersrand hills, the epicentre of the international-scale mineral, gold and (specifically) diamond trade.
The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, taking place in 1952, were the first "large-scale, multi-racial political mobilization against apartheid laws under a common leadership."
The Carlton Centre is a 50-storey skyscraper and shopping centre located on Commissioner Street in central Johannesburg, South Africa. At 223 metres (732 ft), it was the tallest building in Africa for 46 years from its completion in 1973 until 2019. It is today the continent's fifth tallest building after The Leonardo, the Mohammed VI Tower in Morocco, the Great Mosque of Algiers Tower in Algeria and the Iconic Tower in Egypt. The foundations of the two buildings in the complex are 5 m (16 ft) in diameter and extend 15 m (49 ft) down to the bedrock, 35 m (115 ft) below street level. The building houses both offices and shops, and has over 46 per cent of the floor area below ground level.
The Eskom Centre is a office tower in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was built in 1955 to a height of 61 metres. The building was the headquarters of Eskom from 1958 until the company relocated to Sandton in the mid-1980s. The building was the tallest building in Johannesburg when it was finished in 1958. The building was so high compared to other buildings in Johannesburg that it was the only one that could be seen from the patch of veld that is now called Kensington B.
The Shell House massacre was a 1994 shooting incident that took place at Shell House, the headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC), in central Johannesburg, South Africa in the lead up to the 1994 elections.
Derek Andre Hanekom is a South African retired politician, activist and former cabinet minister currently serving as the interim Chairman of South African Airways.
John Henry Steenhuisen is a South African politician who has served as the twentieth leader of the Opposition since October 2019 and has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance since November 2020, having served as the interim leader for one year from November 2019. He was chief whip of the official opposition from May 2014 until October 2019. Ideologically, Steenhuisen has been described as a classical liberal, a supporter of non-racialism and a firm believer in racial equality.
Mpho Franklyn Parks Tau is a South African politician who has been a Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs since March 2023 and a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since February 2023, representing the African National Congress. Before becoming a member of Parliament, Tau had been a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature where he served in the Gauteng Executive Council as MEC for Economic Development from December 2020 to October 2022. Prior to that, he was Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs between May 2019 and December 2020.
Edward Senzo Mchunu is a South African politician currently serving as Minister of Water and Sanitation since 5 August 2021. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he was formerly the Minister of Public Service and Administration from 30 May 2019 to 5 August 2021 and the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal from 22 August 2013 until 23 May 2016.
The Rand Water Board was established in 1903, tasked with supplying the water needed to support mining activities and sanitary living conditions for those living in the developing urban area of Johannesburg.
The Carlton Hotel is a historic hotel in the Central Business District of Johannesburg, South Africa. It opened in 1972 as part of the enormous Carlton Centre complex, and has been closed since 1998. Its closure has been attributed to the decay of the Central Business District, resulting in a severe crime wave and the flight of the city's corporate offices north to areas like Sandton and Rosebank. This created a plethora of vacant rooms that were unable to be filled. The main hotel tower was closed in December 1997.
General elections were held in South Africa on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Shell House is an office building located at 51 Plein Street, Johannesburg. It is the former head office of South Africa's African National Congress (ANC), which has governed the country since 1994. It was the scene of the Shell House massacre on 28 March 1994, when ANC security guards opened fire on a crowd of about 20,000 supporters of the rival Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), killing nineteen people. The ANC relocated its head office from Shell House to Luthuli House in 1997.
Sindisiwe Lydia Chikunga is a South African politician who is serving as the Minister of Transport since March 2023. A member of the African National Congress, she has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since 2004. Chikunga had previously served as Deputy Minister of Transport twice, from 2012 to 2019 and again from 2021 to 2023, and as Deputy Minister of Public Service and Administration from 2019 until 2021. She is a midwife by profession.
Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko is a South African politician and a member of the African National Congress. She has served as the Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness since October 2022. She was the MEC for Finance and e-Government from May 2019 until October 2022. Nkomo-Ralehoko was elected to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in June 1999.
Nompendulo Thobile Mkhatshwa is a South African politician, former student leader and former #FeesMustFall activist currently serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the African National Congress (ANC).
Ncediso Goodenough "Zizi" Kodwa is a South African politician and communications strategist who is currently serving as the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture since March 2023. Before that, he was the Deputy Minister of State Security from 2019 to 2023. He was formerly the national spokesperson of the African National Congress (ANC) from 2014 to 2018.
Sello Enoch Dada Morero is a South African politician who served as the Mayor of Johannesburg for 25 days, from 30 September 2022 until 25 October 2022. Morero is the regional chairperson of the African National Congress in Johannesburg.
Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule is a politician from Eastern Cape, South Africa. She has held various positions in public entities and in her political party, the African National Congress (ANC).
Ignatius "Nash" Jacobs was a South African politician and strategist who served in the Executive Council of Gauteng, including as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Education from 1999 to 2004 and as MEC for Public Transport, Roads and Works from 2004 to 2009. After he left the provincial legislature in 2009, he was the General Manager of his political party, the African National Congress, until 2017.
