By Ndaba Dlamini
ALEXANDRA township, north of Johannesburg, is gradually undergoing change. New, brightly painted three-storey flats rise up, dwarfing a solid mass of non-descript shacks, and narrow streets are making way for wider roads.
These are some of the brave efforts by the Alexandra Renewal Project to transform Johannesburg's most famous ghetto.
Established in 1912, Alexandra covers an area of over 800 hectares, including Old Alexandra Proper, the East Bank, the Far East Bank, Marlboro Industrial area, Wynberg, Kew and Marlboro Gardens.
Since its inception, Alexandra has had a long and chequered history. In 1948, under apartheid, the township became a 'black spot' and residents were threatened with complete removal. Freehold title was abolished and some families were removed, leaving the majority as tenants of the government.
During the 1980s, Alexandra was characterised by both conflict and development. There were long school boycotts and clashes with the apartheid government, but the period also saw Alex roads being tarred for the first time, new houses and nearly 50 new blocks of flats.
Originally, the infrastructure in Alexandra was designed for a population of about 70 000 people. Due to repealing of the apartheid laws, which restricted movement for the black population, there has been a considerable population boom in Alexandra as people from within South Africa and neighbouring countries come to the area seeking employment opportunities.
The current population of Alexandra, affectionately known as "Alex", is estimated at around 350 000, with about 4 060 formal houses and 34 000 shacks.
Alexandra has original stands of 500-600 mē, characterised by a variety of houses of no particular architectural style. Additional separate rooms, called backyard shacks, occupy most of the space in most yards, to form 'town houses'.
In addition to the formal houses and shacks other forms of accommodation are also available in Alex, including hostels specifically built for migrant workers in the 1960s, flats and warehouses.
Due to overcrowding (particularly significant in Old Alexandra, where approximately 70 percent of households comprise 10 people), Alex has developed problems over the years. The water-borne sewerage system serves in excess of four times the number for which it was designed and has become overloaded, with frequent blocks and surcharges.
The formal residential stands and houses were designed for single-family living, but the boom in 'backyard shacks' has resulted in structures being built over sewer lines and manholes, making access for maintenance impossible.
Alex suffers from high levels of unemployment (60 percent) according to a survey conducted in October 2000. Over 70 percent of Alex residents are unskilled and there are few professional workers. The lowest incomes occur in Old Alexandra and the Women's Hostel, where income levels are below R1 000 per household for 88 percent of households in the Women's Hostel and 63 percent in Old Alexandra.
Higher income earners are found in the flats, where 45 percent of households have an income of between R2 000 and R3 000.
However, in the past three years, Alex has been thrown a lifeline.
In February 2001, President Thabo Mbeki announced that Alexandra was to be developed, after three previous efforts to give the township a facelift were shelved. The estimated budget for the Alexandra Renewal Project was R1.3-billion, spread over a period of seven years.
The Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP), managed by the Gauteng Department of Housing and the City of Johannesburg, aims to "fundamentally upgrade living conditions and human development potential within Alexandra". The integrated development programme was designed to "deliver housing, roads, water, sanitation, schools, clinics, magistrate offices and police stations".
In 2001 the first phase of the project saw the movement of 11 000 residents from the banks of the Juskei River, where they were in danger of flooding every year. The displaced residents were moved to Braamfischerville in Soweto and Diepsloot, north of Randburg. On 3 and 4 December 2004, a summit was held in the township to report back on and review the achievements of the ARP. During a recent visit to Alex, Gauteng MEC for Housing, Nomvula Mokonyane, identified the need for such a summit.
"It is very important at this critical half-way point in the life of this project that we take stock of where we are and, together with the community, prioritise the way forward. This is a project for the community and so their views are critical."
Strike Ralegoma, City of Johannesburg Mayoral Committee member responsible for housing, said the City supported the efforts of the ARP since they were aligned with the City's vision to develop Johannesburg into a world-class city.
"From time to time, it is important to bench-mark ourselves against other cities of the world and see where we stand. This summit presents an opportunity for Alex residents to be honest, critical and come up with solutions so that we can move forward."
The summit saw over 500 community leaders and individuals from the community, as well as community-based and non-governmental organisations, putting their heads together to chart the way forward, the key issue being the provision of adequate housing.
Xoliswa Mkhalali, coordinator of ARP, said the project had been able to make headway to create a secure and healthy housing environment for Alex residents.
"The overall objective of the housing functional area is to accommodate 350 000 persons within Greater Alexandra, through upgrading existing dwellings, de-densification, creation of new housing on Greenfield sites and redevelopment of hostels."
ARP has managed to provide new housing in the past three years. Approximately 1 200 houses have been built in Extension 8 and the Reconstruction Area, with the further construction of 1 400 houses in Extension 7 to "commence shortly". Housing construction in Marlboro Gardens, Westlake and Frankenwald projects has commenced, and this will see 5 300 rental units being built.
The project has also recorded success in construction and upgrades of road infrastructure in Alex. Roads in Old Alexandra have been repaired and construction of phase one of London Road is complete. Phase two is in progress.
According to Mokonyane, R290-million, or 57 percent of the ARP budget, has been invested in Alexandra so far. The amount excludes funding provided by "other departments and spheres of government".
However, residents like Joseph Tuhlang, of 12th Avenue in Alexandra, are sceptical of the progress made so far.
"Bonded houses have to be renovated. Most of them are old and falling apart. I am also not happy with the allocation of new houses because I know of some people who applied for housing in 1996 who haven't been able to procure accommodation, but people who applied as late as 2000 have acquired houses and flats."
Tuhlang also operates a contract business and felt he wasn't getting a piece of the pie.
"I do plumbing and housing renovations, but I haven't been able to acquire any tenders in Alex. People who live in Alexandra are not benefiting from this project. I think there is corruption in awarding tenders."
Mkhalali said the implementation of existing projects would continue, with the construction of the Nelson Mandela Yard Interpretation Centre, "a place where residents and visitors can enjoy learning about the history and heritage of Alex", being prioritised.
Mokonyane urged community participation in the socio-economic development of Alex.
"In Alex, we cannot afford to sacrifice the participation of the
masses in the project. It is high time that your involvement and
ownership of the project becomes a priority."
Source - Joburg.org.za
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