Joe Slovo Park

Last updated
Joe Slovo Park
South Africa Western Cape location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Joe Slovo Park
South Africa adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Joe Slovo Park
Coordinates: 33°52′27″S18°30′38″E / 33.87417°S 18.51056°E / -33.87417; 18.51056 Coordinates: 33°52′27″S18°30′38″E / 33.87417°S 18.51056°E / -33.87417; 18.51056
Country South Africa
Province Western Cape
Municipality City of Cape Town
Main Place Milnerton
Area
[1]
  Total0.25 km2 (0.10 sq mi)
Population
 (2011) [1]
  Total12,629
  Density51,000/km2 (130,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
   Black African 95.2%
   Coloured 3.3%
   Indian/Asian 0.1%
   White 0.1%
  Other1.3%
First languages (2011)
[1]
   Xhosa 66.3%
   Afrikaans 4.3%
   English 3.8%
   Sotho 2.4%
  Other23.2%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
6665

Joe Slovo Park is a township located between Milnerton and Montague Gardens near Cape Town, South Africa.

Contents

History

Joe Slovo Park is a small township which was designed to replace the shack settlement of Marconi Beam with an orderly working-class suburb. However it is now barely distinguishable from the informal settlement it was meant to replace. [2]

One section of Joe Slovo Park is known as Mshini Wam, named after the struggle song Umshini wami which was often sung by Jacob Zuma in the run up to his election as president. It was founded in 2006 when it was erected in an open space ringed by formal RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) houses. Mshini Wam was plagued by fire and flooding. A re-blocking process was started in 2012 which will provide access to emergency services. [3] [4] [5]

It was named after Joe Slovo, the anti-apartheid activist and former South African Minister of Housing.

It is not to be mistaken with Joe Slovo (in Langa, Cape Town).

Geographic Distribution

A typical shack in Joe Slovo Park. Photographed 2013 Shack in joe slovo.JPG
A typical shack in Joe Slovo Park. Photographed 2013

It is a mixture of fixed houses and shacks next to Montague Gardens in Milnerton.

Joe Slovo Park is near Canal Walk an upmarket shopping centre [6] among some of the areas found in Milnerton.

Controversies

There is great pressure from people wanting to build structures on open pieces of land. In October 2012 this led to protests when the City's Land Anti-Invasion Unit arrived to pull down structures built on city owned land. [7]

Again in March 2014 residents of Joe Slovo Park started building an informal settlement on an open piece of land on Freedom Way in front of the Assemblies of God church and Sinenjongo high school.

The City of Cape Town had successfully applied for an interdict to prevent further structures being built on this land and when people refused to move the police arrived and dismantled the structures.

Later that day the affected community gathered and anger boiled over. The Assemblies of God church was petrol bombed as it was assumed that they were the ones who ordered the demolition. Threats were also made against the principal of Sinenjongo high school, Mrs Nopote. A series of meetings was subsequently held to clarify the situation.

Structures have subsequently been rebuilt and this piece of land is now fully occupied by shacks. [8] [9]

Facilities

a woman in her shack home washing clothes by hand in a plastic container. This is typical in Joe Slovo Park Washing the clothes in joe slovo park.JPG
a woman in her shack home washing clothes by hand in a plastic container. This is typical in Joe Slovo Park

Educational

It has two schools of which one of them is a secondary school Sinenjongo High School and the other is a primary school Marconi Beam.

The nearest local library is almost a kilometre away from it, the Milnerton Library.

Health care services

The nearest health-care service providers are Albow-Gardens Clinic (public clinic) in Brooklyn Milnerton which is about 4 kilometres away and Medi-Clinic in Milpark, Milnerton (private hospital) which is about 800 metres away.

Safety and security

There are many street dogs in Joe Slovo Park Dogs in Joe Slovo.JPG
There are many street dogs in Joe Slovo Park

Some of the houses have security protection from security companies. However the vast majority depends on the local police's intervention. There is an almost 24/7 police patrol service for the community.

There is no police station. The nearest police station, a kilometre away in Milnerton. There is also no fire-brigade station except for the neighbouring Milnerton Fire Station.

Utilities and Government Offices

There is a community hall in Joe Slovo Park. A colourful mural was painted on the wall next to the hall on Mandela Day 18 July 2013. [10]

There is a Municipal office close to Joe Slovo Park; it is near the Milnerton Library.

Related Research Articles

Soweto Suburb in Gauteng, South Africa

Soweto is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, Suburbs of Johannesburg.

Cape Cod National Seashore Protected area on Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS), created on August 7, 1961 by President John F. Kennedy, encompasses 43,607 acres on Cape Cod, in Massachusetts. It includes ponds, woods and beachfront of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion. The CCNS includes nearly 40 miles (64 km) of seashore along the Atlantic-facing eastern shore of Cape Cod, in the towns of Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans and Chatham. It is administered by the National Park Service.

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada

Cape Breton Regional Municipality is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The municipality was created in 1995 through the amalgamation of eight municipalities located in Cape Breton County.

Joe Slovo South African politician

Joe Slovo was a South African politician, and an opponent of the apartheid system. A Marxist-Leninist, he was a long-time leader and theorist in the South African Communist Party (SACP), a leading member of the African National Congress (ANC), and a commander of the ANC's military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).

Masiphumelele Suburb of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Masiphumelele is a township on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village and Noordhoek.

N2 (South Africa) National road in South Africa

The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of 2,255 kilometres (1,401 mi) makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.

Mthatha Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Mthatha, or Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known by the name K. D. Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima. Mthatha derives its name from the nearby Mthatha River which was named after the Sneezewood (umtati) trees, famous for their wood and medicinal properties.

Khayelitsha Suburb of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa

Khayelitsha is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town. The name is Xhosa for New Home. It is reputed to be the largest and fastest-growing township in South Africa.

Milnerton seaside suburb of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa

Milnerton is a seaside suburb on Table Bay and is located north of central Cape Town in South Africa. It is located 11 kilometres to the north of the city's centre.

Sbu Zikode

Sibusiso Innocent Zikode is the current president of the South African shack dwellers' movement, which he co-founded with others in 2005. Abahlali baseMjondolo claims to have an audited paid up membership of over 80 000 across South Africa. His politics have been described as 'anti-capitalist'. According to the Mail & Guardian "Under his stewardship, ABM has made steady gains for housing rights."

Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign

The Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign was a non-racial popular movement made up of poor and oppressed communities in Cape Town, South Africa. It was formed in November 2000 with the aim of fighting evictions, water cut-offs and poor health services, obtaining free electricity, securing decent housing, and opposing police brutality.

Delft, Western Cape Place

Delft is a township on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated next to the Cape Town International Airport, Belhar, Blue Downs, Ikwezi Park, Mandalay,Luzuko, Phillipi East and Site C, Khayelitsha. It is known for its recreational events, youth empowerment organizations such as Enkosi Foundation and the community has establish a motherbody organisation, the Delft Community Development Forum. Delft is a community that consists of numerous government built housing projects such as the N2 Gateway.

Symphony Way Pavement Dwellers

Symphony Way Informal Settlement was a small community of pavement dwellers that lived on Symphony Way, a main road in Delft, South Africa, from February 2008 till late 2009. They were a group of families that were evicted in February 2008 from the N2 Gateway Houses.

The N2 Gateway Housing Pilot Project is a large housebuilding project under construction in Cape Town, South Africa. It has been labelled by the national government's former Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu as "the biggest housing project ever undertaken by any Government." Even though it is a joint endeavour by the National Department of Housing, the provincial government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town, a private company, Thubelisha, has been outsourced to find contractors, manage, and implement the entire project. Thubelisha estimates that some 25,000 units will be constructed, about 70% of which will be allocated to shack-dwellers, and 30% to backyard dwellers on the municipal housing waiting lists. Delft, 40 km outside of Cape Town, is the main site of the Project.

Protests in South Africa

South Africa has been dubbed "the protest capital of the world", with one of the highest rates of public protests in the world.

Lansdowne, Cape Town Suburb of Cape Town, in Western Cape, South Africa

Lansdowne is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa. situated 10 kilometres southeast of Cape Town City Centre, surrounded by the suburbs of Rondebosch East, Crawford, Wetton, Claremont, Kenwyn and Athlone. Lansdowne is served by a railway station of the same name, on the Cape Flats Line.

Sinenjongo High School Public high school in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa

Sinenjongo High School is a high school in Joe Slovo Park, Milnerton, Cape Town, South Africa.

Marikana land occupation (Durban)

In March 2013 around a thousand people occupied a piece of land in Cato Crest, Durban and named it Marikana after the Marikana miners' strike. Mayor James Nxumalo blamed the occupation on migrants from the Eastern Cape. He was strongly criticised for this by the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo who said that "The City Hall is red with blood".

Dunoon, Cape Town Suburb of Cape Town, , South Africa

Dunoon is a large township in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The first erf for Dunoon was surveyed in 1996. As formal housing was built, shacks developed rapidly.

Outline of Cape Town List of links to articles about Cape Town on Wikipedia

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cape Town:

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sub Place Joe Slovo Park". Census 2011.
  2. Freedman, Morris (1960). "The Proper Place of Creative Writing Courses". College Composition and Communication. 11 (1): 22–26. doi:10.2307/355670. JSTOR   355670.
  3. "No more white elephants: Mshini Wam community architects assisted by University of Botswana planning students". South African SDI Alliance. 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  4. "Preparation Phase Website". Wp.wpi.edu. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  5. Charlton Ziervogel (2012-07-13). "Re-designing the city one shack cluster at a time". Sdinet.org. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  6. digitalpro. "Blog | Fives Futbol Corporate League Launches". Century City. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  7. "Residents protest against shack demolitions". West Cape News. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  8. "City acts to protect land in Joe Slovo Park earmarked for development". Capetown.gov.za. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  9. "Joe Slovo Fires". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2014-06-14.
  10. "Rainbow Nation Mandela Day wall painting project part 2". YouTube. 2013-07-18. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2014-06-14.