The Fourways Sinkhole Teacher is back in 2022, giving us advice about how to take on the new year from his new “day spa”.
Johannesburg, South Africa (01 January 2022) – The Fourways Sinkhole Teacher has started the new year off with a new fresh approach to life… and a new use for his sinkhole, which he is now calling his very own “Day Spa”.
We first met the “Sinkhole Teacher”, as he has become known, in 2020 when the Fourways resident took a morning “bath” in the massive sinkhole outside of his house. He then made headlines again after exploring the area like Craig Foster did in “My Octopus Teacher”.
But the Joburg resident says that the idea to take silly photos using the sinkhole is really to make “light of a dire situation”, and he hopes that they might spotlight Joburg’s failing infrastructure.
And he’s back in 2022, giving us advice about how to take on the new year from his new “day spa”.
“I think the only way we can enter the unknown abyss that 2022 holds for us is with courage, hope and getting vaccinated.”
“A spa day is also a great way to reflect on the last year while focusing on what you want to achieve in 2022. And the new Fourways Sinkhole Spa is where you will find the inner courage to soldier on and push through into the new year. I believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. We can already see that the new Omicron variant is less severe than previous variants, and we can only hope this is a sign of the COVID virus is slowly weakening and eventually dissipating into a regular flu virus.”
His thoughts on Fourways and the greater Joburg area.
“Fourways, along with the rest of Joburg, has suffered years of neglect, deteriorating infrastructure, mismanagement and political corruption. One looks around the city in total dismay, wondering where our rates and taxes go.”
Highlighting the water problem in Joburg, which the “Sinkhole Teacher” says started over two years ago, the Fourways resident says that there are now over 100 reported burst water pipes and empty promises to get the problem fixed.
“It feels like the local government’s approach has been to put a bandage on top of every problem rather than working to resolve the issues the city faces. Two years later, we still have not resolved the problem in Douglasdale and Fourways, and we have not changed over to the new water pipeline that the municipality promised would be fixed by this year-end.”
But the Fourways resident says he feels hopeful.
“I feel hopeful that incompetence, corrupt tenders and deteriorating infrastructure is 2021’s problem. I believe that 2022 is the year for Joburg! With a new coalition government running Joburg, you can already slowly see things changing. Repairs are happening, proper structures and systems have been put into place, and we hope that the municipal government will be able to turn Joburg around into a world-class city that her citizens deserve in the next five years – improving infrastructure, creating employment and cleaning up the mess left from the past. Watch this space. 2022 is the year for Johannesburg. Thank you Herman Mashaba, Mpho Phalatse and all the parties involved; you definitely have to work cut out for you. We will be watching closely.”
The Sinkhole Teacher is also wishing South Africans an incredible 2022 ahead… from his new Day Spa.
Check out some of the photos below:
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