Perhaps I’ve been living in Joburg for too long, or it could just be that Helen Zille and her team have actually got it right. If I’m honest, it’s probably a combination of both. I was down in Cape Town last week and maybe it was “like the mountain, bru”, but after leaving I found myself thinking that I could see myself permanently nestled somewhere between the Atlantic ocean and the foot of that old tafel.

But it was more than just the mysterious charm of the mountain that appealed to me. I could see glaringly obvious differences between Joburg (City of Gold) and Kaapstad.

So, in no particular order here are 6 things I think Aantie Helen Zille has got right in CPT:

1. The streets are clean (like eat your lunch off the curb clean)

2. Everybody seems to obey the rules of the road (doing 100km on the highway is good enough)

3. Public transport works

4. Family and friends actually hit the open spaces in the city

5. Perhaps they have been hidden, but I didn’t see a beggar on a street cnr (or one of those idiot window wiper dudes I need to negotiate with daily)

6. Not one robot out of order or a pothole to be seen

Look, these are quick observations made from the inside of a rental car over two days.

But, it’s got me thinking.

Has Joburg slipped so badly that as soon as you are out in other parts of the country it becomes so obvious we should all be migrating towards the ocean?

SLEB