Khayelitsha | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 34°02′25″S18°40′40″E / 34.04028°S 18.67778°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Western Cape |
Municipality | City of Cape Town |
Area | |
• Total | 38.71 km2 (14.95 sq mi) |
Population (2011) [1] | |
• Total | 391,749 |
• Density | 10,000/km2 (26,000/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 98.6% |
• Coloured | 0.6% |
• Indian/Asian | 0.1% |
• White | 0.1% |
• Other | 0.6% |
First languages (2019) | |
• Xhosa | 90.5% |
• English | 3.2% |
• Sotho | 1.4% |
• Afrikaans | 1.1% |
• Other | 3.8% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 7784 |
PO box | 7783 |
Khayelitsha ( /ˌkaɪ.əˈliːtʃə/ ) is a township in Western Cape, South Africa, on the Cape Flats in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name is Xhosa for New Home. [2] It is reputed to be one of the largest [3] and fastest-growing townships in South Africa.
Cape Town initially opposed implementing the Group Areas Act passed in 1950, and residential areas in the city remained unsegregated until the first Group Areas were declared in the city in 1957. [4] When Cape Town finally started implementing the Group Areas Act, it did so more severely than any other major city; by the mid-1980s, it had become one of the most segregated cities in South Africa. [4]
Plans to build Khayelitsha were first announced by Dr Piet Koornhof in 1983, then Minister of Co-operation and Development. By 1985, the suburb Site C had 30,000 people. Khayelitsha was one of the apartheid regime's final attempts to enforce the Group Areas Act and was seen as the solution to two problems: the rapidly-growing number of migrants from the Eastern Cape and overcrowding in other Cape Town townships. [5]
The discrimination and black population control by the apartheid government did not prevent black people from settling in the outskirts of Cape Town. After the scrapping of pass laws in 1987 many black people, mainly Xhosas, moved into areas around Cape Town in search of work. By then, many black people had already illegally settled in townships like Nyanga and Crossroads. In 1983 and 1984, conditions in squatter camps like Crossroads and KTC worsened and exacerbated by official policing policy in which homes were destroyed [6] and the emergence of the Witdoeke, led by "Mayor" Johnson Ngxobongwana. [7] The Witdoeke were actively supported by the apartheid government in its fight against the ANC-aligned UDF, which had actively opposed plans for people to be moved to the new township of Khayelitsha. [8] As the black population grew, the apartheid regime sought to solve the "problem" by establishing new black neighbourhoods. Khayelitsha was established in 1985 and large numbers of people were forcefully relocated there, [9] mostly peacefully [10] but occasionally with violence. [11]
The Western Cape was a preference area for the local coloured population, and a system called influx control was in place to restrict Xhosas from travelling from the Transkei by requiring a permit. After the historic 1994 elections, hundreds of thousands moved to urban areas in search of work, education or both. Many of them erected shacks made of tin, wood and cardboard.
According to the 2011 census, Khayelitsha has a population of 391,749. [12] In 2018, according to Dr Gio Perez, Chief Director for Metro Health Services it is estimated the population has grown just under 500 000 people. [13] There is a lot of controversy around Khayelitsha demographics data with some inaccurate claims that it is inhabited by in-between 1M and 2.4M people. [14] During a commission of inquiry in 2014, Professor Charles Simkins, a leading South African demographer who served on the Statistics Council for a decade, defended the census data and its methodology which evaluated the number of inhabitants was between 370 000 and 426 000 in 2011. With the support of Professor Jeremy Seekings and by corroborating this data with the numbers of paid social grants provided by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), they concluded that their figures should be accepted as “substantially accurate”. [15]
The ethnic makeup of Khayelitsha is approximately 99.5% Black African, 0.47% Coloured and 0.03% White, with Xhosa being the predominant language of the residents. [12] Khayelitsha has a very young population, with fewer than 7% of its residents being over 50 years old and over 40% of its residents being under 19. In 2011, around 62% of residents in Khayelitsha were rural to urban migrants, [16] : 6 most coming from the Eastern Cape. In the communities of Enkanini and Endlovini, over 85% of the residents were born in the Eastern Cape. [17]
About 75% of residents identify themselves as Christian, and about 20% follow traditional beliefs; a small minority of residents identify themselves as Muslim. [18]
Khayelitsha is one of the poorest areas of Cape Town, with a median average income per family of R20,000 (US$1,872) a year, compared to the city median of R40,000 (US$3,743). [19] Roughly over half of the 118,000 households live in informal dwellings. [17]
Gender | Population | % |
---|---|---|
Female | 170,908 | 51.95 |
Male | 158,094 | 48.05 |
Race | Population | % |
---|---|---|
Black | 327,322 | 99.49 |
White | 87 | 0.03 |
Coloured | 1,556 | 0.47 |
Asian | 33 | 0.01 |
First language | Population | % |
---|---|---|
Zulu | 1,176 | 0.36 |
Xhosa | 318,389 | 96.77 |
Afrikaans | 2,297 | 0.7 |
Northern Sotho | 135 | 0.04 |
Tswana | 427 | 0.13 |
English | 784 | 0.24 |
Sotho | 4,753 | 1.44 |
Tsonga | 61 | 0.02 |
Swazi | 348 | 0.11 |
Venda | 117 | 0.04 |
Southern Ndebele | 155 | 0.05 |
Other | 361 | 0.11 |
Khayelitsha is one of the top five largest slums in the world. [21] [22] Since the ruling ANC came to power in the country in 1994, the party claims that living conditions in the township have improved markedly. There have been many developments, such as new brick housing and new schools being built and the creation of a central business district in the township. However, many residents strongly dispute the claim that the quality of life has improved and claim that crime rates remain very high and that only a few residents see improvements as a result of infrastructure and welfare interventions. [ citation needed ] The Khayelitsha Commission was established by the provincial government to investigate allegations of inefficient policing in Khayelitsha and a breakdown in the relationship between the police and the community.
Around 70% of residents still live in shacks, Around 53% of Khayelitsha's total working-age population is employed. The five most common forms of employment are domestic work (19.4%), service work (15.2%), skilled manual labour (15.2%), unskilled manual labour (11%) and security services (10.4%). [16] : 7 Some 89% of households in Khayelitsha are either moderately or severely food insecure. [16] : 13
The 2001 census recorded that two thirds of residents lived in shacks. By 2011, the number of people living in formal housing had increased to almost half of them because of roughly 25,000 new houses being built between 2001 and 2011. [23]
in 2013, on New Year's Day, the township experienced a fire that resulted in the deaths of three people, with 4000 residents being left homeless as their shacks were burned to the ground. [24] [25] In March 2020 the Khayelitsha tavern shooting took place in the area resulting in 7 deaths and 7 injuries.
Khayelitsha is located on the Cape Flats, between Table Bay and False Bay.
Khayelitsha has been split into about 22 areas, depending on how one divides them. It is made up of Makhaza, Kuyasa, Harare, Makhaya, Town Two, Ilitha Park, Site B (consisting of the newer K-Z sections) and Site C.[ citation needed ] Khayelitsha is made up of old formal areas and new informal/formal areas. The old formal areas were built originally by the apartheid government and are known as A-J sections also called 'Khayelitsha' proper (each section with more or less than 500 formal two roomed brick houses) Bongweni, Ikwezi Park, Khulani Park, Khanya Park, Tembani, Washington Square, Graceland, Ekuphumleni and Zolani Park. [26] These areas are mostly made up of bank bond housing[ clarification needed ] and are home to middle-class / upper working class populations.[ citation needed ]
The newer areas have been built up around the older areas. They include Site B (which is further subdivided into the K-Z sections in continuation of the original A-J sections respectively and TR, QQ, RR and BM informal settlements), Site C, Green Point, Litha Park, Mandela Park, Makaza, Makaya and Harare. [26] With the exception of Litha Park, these areas contain a high number of informal settlements, RDP houses,[ clarification needed ] and informal backyard dwellers.
Notable informal settlements in Khayelitsha include QQ Section, TR Section, RR Section and Enkanini which have gained prominence due to their high-profile conflicts with government including protest actions such as road blockades. [27] [28] [29] [30] [31]
Khayelitsha has a small but growing middle class with a total of 1,400 households earning more than R25,000 a month in 2011. That is a large increase since 2001, when almost no households earned over R25,000 a month. [23]
The growing number of entrepreneurs in the township are ably supported by organisations such as the Patrice Motsepe Foundation and Caban Investments (through their Qinisanani initiative) and HubSpace.
As Cape Town's largest township, Khayelitsha attracts funding from international aid agencies. A number of partnerships with international companies, governments and NGOs have been set up:
Khayelitsha has a good transport infrastructure. Golden Arrow Bus Services, MyCiti Bus IRT system, Metrorail trains, [40] and many taxis all have routes to and from the township. Trains are the cheapest and most used form of transport. Khayelitsha has six rail stations: Mandalay, Nolungile, Nonkqubela, Khayelitsha, Kuyasa and Chris Hani. Trains in Khayelitsha have not operated since June 2019 due to cable theft that is currently occurring on the Central Line all the way to Langa Station. This has affected a lot of people as trains are the cheapest form of public transportation. There are also a number of bus stations and taxi ranks, although most taxis still pick up passengers on the main roads. Khayelitsha's busiest roads are Mew Way, Spine Road, Lansdowne Road, Walter Sisulu Road, Bonga Drive and Baden Powell Drive.
Khayelitsha District Hospital was opened in February 2012. The hospital is a public health facility with a status of a District Hospital. This hospital operates in the Khayelitsha Health District of the Metro Region and is under the mandate of the Western Cape Department of Health. The 300-bed medical facility provides support to the surrounding primary healthcare facilities to ensure that patients receive care at the lowest level of entry into the healthcare system. The facility came as a relief to the ever growing populous Khayelitsha township. It offers district level care including a large 24-hour emergency centre, medical wards, surgical wards, obstetric wards, gynaecology wards, paediatric wards and nursery.
There are three provincial government clinics in Khayelitsha. Khayelitsha (Site B) CHC (Community Health Clinic), Michael Maphongwana (Harare) CHC and Nolungile (Site C) CHC and Kuyasa Children's Clinic which was built in 2012 are the other provincial government clinics.
There are also numerous small municipal clinics throughout the township. These clinics play an important role as centres of primary healthcare by providing a variety of healthcare services to children, women and, youth and men's health. Services offered at these include child health, family planning, TB treatment, HIV testing, Pap smears and treatment and diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections. These health facilities are managed and operated by the local government authority of the City of Cape Town. [41]
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Image gallery of the FIFA Football for Hope centre construction in Khayelitsha |
Khayelitsha has one beach, Monwabisi, located on the coast of False Bay. It is known to be one of the most dangerous beaches in the area. It was recorded that one day, five people drowned at the beach. [42] This is due to a wall that was built to create a calm cove. Instead it has made many dangerous currents. [42] In the past 15 years over 50 people have drowned at the beach. [42] On warm public holidays, Christmas Eve and New Year's Day the beach becomes highly occupied.
Khayelistha also has a swimming pool that was built for the community as whole. It is near the Khayelitsha court.
Abahlali baseMjondolo, [28] Mandela Park Backyarders [43] the Treatment Action Campaign, the Social Justice Coalition, and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign all have a strong presence in Khayelitsha. Seskhona Peoples' Rights Movement which was formed to continue with the struggle for sanitation in the most disadvantaged areas in Cape Town. African National Congress Youth League, led by Sibusiso Zonke and Buyel' embo village, in Mandela Park, is an entertainment place where events are held. [44] The Isivivana Centre, a community centre and activist hub, is home to community-led organisations such as Equal Education, the Equal Education Law Centre, TEKANO, the Social Justice Coalition, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Workers' World Media Productions and the Treatment Action Campaign. The centre also hosts a library and the only community cinema of its kind, the Bertha Movie House which runs regular screening programmes – all free for the township communities.
Another social movement that exists in the Cape Flats, but in particular Khayelitsha, is a socialist movement called Ses'khona Peoples Rights Movement [45] founded by Andile Lili that was established in 2013 to fight for the rights of the people in the marginalized areas. This included the interests of people in the informal settlements of Cape Town including the backyard dwellers.
As part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup preparations, a Football for Hope centre was constructed in Khayelitsha. [46] An Australian rules football development program conducted by the AFL South Africa also operates in the township. Bayanda Sobetwa became the first South African to be signed to an AFL club, when the Greater Western Sydney Giants offered him a SportsReady traineeship in 2010. [47]
Recently a tourist centre opened in the township on Look Out Point, or Lookout Hill, [48] one of the highest hills in the area on the corner of Mew Way & Spine Road. Lookout Hill is also one of the 7 Wonders of the world picture frame of Cape Town, part of the World Design Capital projects. Numerous organisations offer "township tours", who support Khayelitsha through social tourism. There are also opportunities for social tourism as volunteers in numerous projects around Khayelitsha.
Two community newspapers circulate in Khayelitsha, Vukani and City Vision. Radio Zibonele 98.2 is a community radio station situated in the Ilitha Park part of the township.
The Cape Flats is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lies within the larger geographical area.
In South Africa, the terms township and location usually refers to an under-developed, racially segregated urban area, from the late 19th century until the end of apartheid, were reserved for non-whites, namely Black Africans, Coloureds and Indians. Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities. The term township also has a distinct legal meaning in South Africa's system of land title, which carries no racial connotations.
Mamelodi is a township northeast of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. A part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, it was set up by the then apartheid government in 1953.
Masiphumelele is a township on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, situated between Kommetjie, Capri Village and Noordhoek.
Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region.
Langa is a township in Cape Town, South Africa. Its name in Xhosa means "sun". The township was initially built in phases before being formally opened in 1927. It was developed as a result of South Africa's 1923 Urban Areas Act, which was designed to force Africans to move from their homes into segregated locations. Similar to Nyanga, Langa is one of the many areas in South Africa that were designated for Black Africans before the apartheid era. It is the oldest of such suburbs in Cape Town and was the location of much resistance to apartheid.
Mitchells Plain is a large census designated sub-place located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about 28 km (17 mi) from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multiple smaller suburbs. It is located on the Cape Flats on the False Bay coast between Muizenberg and Khayelitsha. Conceived of as a "model suburb" by the apartheid government, it was built during the 1970s to provide housing for Coloured victims of forced removal due to the implementation of the Group Areas Act.
New Brighton is a township in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the greater township of Ibhayi and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which governs Port Elizabeth and its surroundings.
Nyanga is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa. Its name in Xhosa means "moon" and it is one of the oldest black townships in Cape Town. It was established as a result of the migrant labour system. In 1948 black migrants were forced to settle in Nyanga as Langa had become too small. Nyanga was one of the poorest places in Cape Town and is still one of the most peaceful parts of Cape Town. In 2001 its unemployment rate was estimated at being approximately 56% and HIV/AIDS is a huge community issue.
Kayamandi is a suburb of Stellenbosch in the Western Cape province of South Africa located off route R304. Kayamandi is one of the developing townships situated in Stellenbosch.
Lwandle/Nomzamo is a small township in the Helderberg basin just outside Strand in the Western Cape of South Africa. Both names are sometimes used interchangeably referring to both places. This may be attributed to the fact that Nomzamo was born as a result of overpopulation in Lwandle area which initially designed as a cheap accommodation for "single male workers" during the apartheid years.
Crossroads is a high-density township in the Western Cape, South Africa.
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 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. In 2022 Delft was the fastest growing community in Cape Town.
Ezibeleni is a township in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It was established in the 1960s and officially recognised in 1974, when black South Africans were not allowed to live, but only to work, in the white-dominated Queenstown. In order to pursue the policy of separate development, the apartheid-era government of the time dictated that, due to its location on the map and the predominant Xhosa ethnicity of its people, Ezibeleni would belong to Transkei, one of ten fragmented batustans, or homelands, scattered across South Africa.
Joe Slovo Park is a township located between Milnerton and Montague Gardens near Cape Town, South Africa.
Founded in 2008, the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is a membership-based social movement made up of 12 branches, located mainly in informal settlements across Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Since its formation, the SJC has worked to advance the constitutional rights to life, dignity, equality, freedom and safety for all people, but especially those living in informal settlements across South Africa. Their campaigns are based on ongoing research, education, and advocacy and divided across two programs. The Local Government Program leads the work on sanitation, budgets, and urban land. The Safety and Justice Program is focused on policing and the criminal justice system.
QQ Section also known as Tambo Park, was founded in 1989 and is an Informal Settlement in the Site B sub-division of Khayelitsha in South Africa.
Thabong is the second largest township after Botshabelo in the Free State province of South Africa. The township was established during the years of segregation of black people as well as the township of Bronville for coloured people adjacent to the city of Welkom, to accommodate workers at the world's richest gold mines.
Dunoon is a sprawling 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.
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