{
  "id": 10297428,
  "title": "IN THE MUD: Kensington businesses suffer 70% decline as Joburg Water rips up Queen Street",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/27/in-the-mud-kensington-businesses-suffer-70-decline-as-joburg-water",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-27T21:54:53.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-27-kensington-businesses-suffer-70-decline-as-joburg-water-rips-up-queen-street/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Kensington community group in Johannesburg, South Africa, has been striving to revitalize the historic neighbourhood, but residents and businesses have been grappling with months of mud, dust, and obstructed access as Johannesburg Water replaces pipes. Queen Street, the main commercial thoroughfare in Kensington, has been uprooted for six months, causing vehicles to become mired in mud, businesses to struggle with restricted access, and traffic to spill onto adjacent streets. The road is part of Johannesburg's M33 metropolitan route, traversing Kensington from Malvern to Bruma and serving as a major corridor in the city's eastern suburbs. About 400 meters of pipeline have been replaced since the start of the work in March, yet residents and businesses have endured months of disruption, with some businesses reporting declines in customer numbers and sales ranging from 40% to 70%. Local entrepreneurs have implored authorities for swift action, warning that jobs and businesses could be jeopardized. The ongoing gridlock is also vexing community efforts to rejuvenate Kensington, a historic suburb on the eastern fringe of Johannesburg's inner city, where residents and businesses have been diligently cleaning streets, eliminating illegal dumping, planting greenery, and restoring neglected public spaces. Kevin Pass, a representative of Better Kensington, a recently founded initiative to unite the community for the suburb's upliftment, lamented that the City's failure to mend Queen Street is wreaking terrible consequences for both businesses and residents. Despite the community's ongoing clean-ups and planting initiatives, this disruption is not only damaging the suburb but also the morale of those who are striving to improve it. There is no end in sight to the predicament. Joburg's inner eastern suburbs have been grappling with frustration among residents who have united to combat the terminal decline. The utility company, Johannesburg Water, informed the Daily Maverick that an additional segment of pipeline still needs to be replaced, and work will continue once adequate material is procured. Meanwhile, the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) is still deliberating on the quotation to permanently restore Queen Street, with no confirmed date for when the road will regain its original surface. Ward 118 councillor Neuren Pietersen has implored the City's mayoral committee members to intervene, citing the R13 million quotation from JRA for a full reinstatement of the road. Pietersen warned that the prolonged deterioration of the road is impacting businesses, residents, commuters, and the broader local economy. He also cautioned that further infrastructure failures could surface beyond the phase 1 scope of works, posing risks of additional costs and disruption.",
  "summary": "A Kensington community group has been trying to revive the historic Joburg suburb, but residents and businesses have endured months of mud, dust and disrupted access as Johannesburg Water replaces pipes.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}