In response to a critical Wall Street Journal article, Johannesburg's tour guides emphasize curiosity, action, and understanding to highlight the city's complexities. Their perspectives challenge the notion that the city has 'given up' amid infrastructure challenges. As the G20 summit approaches, these voices underscore Johannesburg's vibrant diversity and resilience.
A October 2025 Wall Street Journal article titled 'Welcome to Johannesburg. This Is What It Looks Like When a City Gives Up' has sparked backlash among residents, with social media comments labeling it a smear campaign. The piece, which quotes an ex-Joburger now in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, portrays the city as abandoned, ignoring its diverse neighborhoods like Fourways, Midrand, Parkview, Parkhurst, inner city, Sandton, and Alex. Locals acknowledge infrastructure decline since 2010 but reject the oversimplified narrative, especially with the upcoming G20 summit focusing attention on this 'world-class African city'.
Drawing from PhD research on walking tour guides, the analysis reveals three key lessons: be curious, be active, and be understanding. Kennedy Tembo of MicroAdventure Tours, a former corporate worker, leads foot and bike tours connecting historical dots. 'I’m so passionate about this city,' he says. 'When you dive into the details, into how interesting it all became, it gave me a different love and passion for the city.'
Charlie Moyo of LocalPlaces collects neighborhood stories, noting, 'it’s hard to connect the city… it’s separated, yet it still feels very close.' He encourages exploring areas like the Ethiopian Quarter, where visitors overcome fears of judgment to share cultures: 'They want to share their culture, their food, their stories.' Ayanda Mnyandu of City Skate Tours, raised in Troyeville, rejects a 'victim mentality': 'Nothing will change if people see themselves as helpless victims… you fundamentally shift the way you see everything.' He contextualizes issues, distinguishing government responsibilities like infrastructure from individual actions against littering or noise.
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation exemplifies collective action, with volunteers reopening the Johannesburg Library through protests. Fragmentation plagues systems like Rea Vaya, managed by two companies. Gilda Swanepoel of Eenblond Tours observes, 'Part of the problem is that people want to share the worst of what they saw in Johannesburg… What do people post? The hijacked buildings and the dirty streets.' Historically, Johannesburg evolved from a 'wild, wild West' mining camp into a melting pot of resistance, as noted by Loren Kruger in Imagining the Edgy City (2013), swinging between 'the heights of enthusiasm and the depths of condemnation'.
Guides affirm the city's contradictions—beauty amid decay—and its capacity for reinvention, urging participation over complaint.