In the midst of the urban decay in Johannesburg’s inner-eastern suburbs, something remarkable is growing. A once-neglected field in Bez Valley has been transformed into a working, thoughtful and increasingly thriving urban farm known as Marais-BezValley-garden In the final days of 2025, Kensington, Troyeville and their surrounding neighbourhoods were overwhelmed by a sense of abandonment. For weeks, refuse had not been collected.
Residents received morning messages instructing them to put out their bins, only to be told later in the evening to bring them back again, with vague assurances that collection will happen “tomorrow”. Tomorrow rarely comes. The consequences are immediate and visceral.
Rubbish piles up in the summer heat, creating environmental and road hazards and an overpowering stench. Residents resort to donning masks and gloves, transferring decomposing waste into black bags and attempting to take it to the Pikitup refuse drop-off facility in Bezuidenhout Valley. That site, however, has been “under construction” for more than two months.
Read Full Article on Daily Maverick
[paywall]
It is closed, with no alternative facility identified and no guidance issued to residents. The result is predictable: informal dumping grounds mushroom across the area, rats the size of bricks run freely through the streets, and informal recyclers work bravely among the filth. What is most striking is the silence.
There has been no meaningful communication from Pikitup or the City of Johannesburg explaining what residents should do, what contingency plans are in place, or when services will be restored. This absence of accountability compounds the crisis. No service, no accountability.
The decay is not limited to refuse removal. Residents have now been alerted to the possible contamination of municipal water supplies in neighbouring Bez Valley following sewage leaks, with advisories to use bottled water for drinking and cooking until testing is concluded. The Braamfontein Spruit, which flows through the eastern suburbs, carries a foul, unmistakable smell.
Pavements are overgrown, streets are scarred by deep potholes and eroded dongas, and the detritus of daily neglect, including food waste, bones and broken glass, litters the streets and public spaces. This is not merely service delivery failure. It is a slow erosion of dignity and safety, and a clear signal that municipal systems in this part of Johannesburg are no longer functioning as they should.
And yet, in the midst of this urban decay, something remarkable is growing. In Bez Valley, a once-neglected field has been transformed into a working, thoughtful and increasingly thriving urban farm known as Ndawo Entle. In isiZulu and isiXhosa,Ndawo Entletranslates as “Beautiful Place”, a name that feels both aspirational and quietly defiant in its context.
The farm is run by Nathi Mbele, a 34-year-old urban farmer whose depth of knowledge consistently surprises visitors. With minimal formal schooling, he speaks with confidence about accumulator plants such as comfrey, which draw minerals up from deep in the soil and release them during drought. He discusses biomass creation, soil regeneration and the production of activated charcoal with ease, while also engaging thoughtfully with the social and environmental pressures of inner-city living.
[/paywall]
