I regularly write op-eds and media articles aimed at the general public, on topical issues relating to urban governance and constitutional law in South Africa. Some of these are featured below.
Local government in South African is broken: but giving the job to residents carries risks (The Conversation Africa, 25 February 2021)
What’s needed to fix collapsing coalitions in South Africa’s cities (The Conversation Africa, 10 December 2019)
https://theconversation.com/whats-needed-to-fix-collapsing-coalitions-in-south-africas-cities-128526
We need to talk about Joburg’s rising tide of filth (Daily Maverick, 17 April 2019)
How structural flaws contribute to the crisis in South Africa’s municipalities (The Conversation Africa, 29 August 2018)
Cape Town water crisis: Crossing state and party lines isn’t the answer (The Conversation Africa, 31 January 2018)
Are South Africa’s opposition-led coalition metros flexing their muscles? (The Conversation Africa, 13 August 2017)
There are dangers behind giving South African MPs the right to a secret ballot (The Conversation Africa, 22 June 2017)
Urban Joburg 2012-2014
From June 2012 until December 2014, I was a contributing editor to Urban Joburg, a popular blog interrogating various aspects of Johannesburg life from a rights-based perspective. Urban Joburg, which has since gone offline, was at the time listed as one of The Guardian Cities‘ “Global Voices”. My posts for Urban Joburg covered a large range of issues, from city responses to homelessness and “loitering”, to the City of Johannesburg’s much maligned “Operation Clean Sweep”, a brutal crackdown on informal street traders in late 2013.
Marius Pieterse 