Honouring Eric Itzkin – and Those Who Keep Johannesburg Working
A Career Dedicated to Johannesburg and Its Heritage
The JCA salutes Eric Itzkin on his retirement after 35 years of dedicated service to Johannesburg. From protecting historic buildings and landmarks to championing the City's blue plaque programme and preserving previously overlooked histories, Itzkin has left an enduring legacy. His career also reminds us of the many honest, capable public servants who keep Johannesburg working despite political instability. Johannesburg sees them, values them and needs them.
STATEMENT SUMMARY
The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) has paid tribute to Eric Itzkin, who retires after 35 years of dedicated service to the City of Johannesburg, describing his career as an example of what committed, knowledgeable and ethical public service can achieve.
Beginning as a research librarian at the Johannesburg Public Library, Itzkin went on to become a museum curator and ultimately the City's Head of Heritage. For more than 20 years, he championed Johannesburg's blue plaque programme, which has resulted in close to 250 heritage plaques across the city. His work helped protect historical architecture, landmarks, monuments and public art while ensuring that previously overlooked communities and histories became part of Johannesburg's public memory.
His wider legacy includes contributing to Johannesburg's heritage inventory and Online Heritage Register; preserving the heritage of the 1976 Soweto uprising and Sophiatown; protecting and interpreting Chancellor House; promoting Gandhi's Johannesburg history; and advancing public art, heritage conservation and municipal heritage policy.
For the JCA, Itzkin's retirement also highlights the thousands of honest, capable and dedicated municipal employees who continue serving residents despite political instability, weak accountability and declining public confidence.
The JCA believes rebuilding Johannesburg requires not only better political leadership, but a professional public administration where competence, integrity and institutional knowledge are valued and protected. It urged dedicated municipal employees to continue defending professional standards, protecting public resources and serving residents with dignity.