Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) and Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) hosted a series of seminars under the theme ‘Rebuild’. This comes in the wake of the recent turmoil in KZN and Gauteng; the devastating impact of Covid 19 on lives, livelihoods and our democracy generally; the low economic growth SA was experiencing before the pandemic, and which worsened in 2020; and the challenges the state has been facing generally post the period of state capture.