Cape Town: This Africa Month, celebrated against the backdrop of South Africa’s 30 years of democracy should remind us that Africans have always traded.
The Mapungubwe Kingdom is one of the early thriving trade sites including the export of goods undertaken by Africans, and can be traced back one thousand years ago, up to the 14th century.
While the apartheid regime established townships and homelands, clearly with the aim of having the African majority population at the periphery of economic activities, many townships and villages always had that corner shop or supermarket.
In respect of the economic outlook, specifically the domestic context, in his last budget speech for the 6th administration, Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana said “Despite the improved global outlook for 2024, South Africa’s near-term growth remains hamstrung by lower commodity prices and structural constraints.”
Whereas Godongwana projected a real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 0.6%, the IMF recorded the same at 0.9% for April and Stats SA indicated a 0.1% quarter-to-quarter growth for Quarter 4 of 2023.
The SA unemployment rate stood at 32.9% for Quarter 1 of 2024 according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey results that were recently released by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recorded the unemployment rate at 33.5% for April 2024.
As one reflects on the above statistics and figures, the township economy comes up as one of the levers that can be pulled to stimulate the country’s economic growth and opportunities for domestic and continental investors thus reducing unemployment.
Appropriate upgrading of housing, transportation, roads and sanitation infrastructure among others, then becomes one of the catalysts towards establishing townships as sustainable neighbourhoods. To address historical spatial planning challenges, the government has implemented the Urban Renewal Programme (URP) since 2006 which is largely funded through the National Development Partnership Grant (NDPG).
At this point, the focus will turn specifically to three townships Mdantsane, Seshego and Umlazi located in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality: Eastern Cape, Polokwane Municipality: Limpopo and eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality: Kwazulu-Natal respectively.
The three above-mentioned provinces are often called rural provinces, however, their role in the country’s liberation and socio-cultural heritage is worth mentioning.
Selected SA townships
The township of Mdantsane came into being in the 1960s in the aftermath of the forced removals in East London whereas the Eastern Cape province is often called the “home of legends”.
Located about 15 km from East London, the township should be able to tap into the benefit of Buffalo City as an appealing centre for the import-export industry, and its strategic position.
The township is also a beneficiary of the government’s URP intervention, which should augur well for its economic development, especially in the tourism space.
Mdantsane is recognised as the home of boxing, with world champions such as Happyboy Mgxaji, Welcome Ncita, Vuyani Bungu and Zolani Tete, to name a few, hailing from the area.
It is also the birthplace of entrepreneur and property developer, Sakhumzi Klassen and celebrity chef, Siba Mtongana.
Seshego, which means “a silo or airtight structure in which green crops are stored” was established in 1963 and until 1974, was the Capital of the Lebowa homeland, now Limpopo Province.
Initially called Moletši, and favourably located about 10 km northwest of the Polokwane central business district (CBD), the township was proclaimed in 1963 to resettle black people of New Pietersburg. The previously multi-racial residence was situated on the city’s edge at what is currently the Itsoseng Entrepreneurial Centre.
Some scholars refer to Seshego as “an unexpected suburb”, well up to this day, there is a part of the township in Zone 2 called ‘Magoshing’ as Lebowa ministers once resided there.
Local legislation, policies, and plans have intentionally targeted industrial areas between the Polokwane City and Seshego along with certain housing components. Upgrading the Seshego Circle intersection is one of the examples of NDPG-funded interventions and part of the Precinct Plan for the Seshego Urban Hub.
As part of the Integrated Public Transport Network (IPTN) project implementation, the bus rapid transit (BRT) system routes currently include parts of Seshego thus resulting in improved transportation in the locality.
The township has a few institutions of higher learning such as the Capricorn Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college, and is home to several government departments, presenting an opportunity for accommodation rentals.
In addition to small-scale housing, there are other economic development opportunities in the township including growing the creative arts economy and optimal usage of the industrial site in Zone 6.
In terms of the creative arts economy, the Xclusive Spot Theatre in Zone 1 has become a venue of choice as it is keeping the arts and entertainment alive in Seshego through various live stage performances.
Retired soccer players Gerald Raphahlela, Masilo Modubi, gospel artist, Tumišang Makweya aka Dr Tumi and actor Eric Macheru, Leeto on Skeem Saam among others call Seshego their kasi (home).
The Kwazulu-Natal township, Umlazi was established in 1962 to resettle residents relocated from Cator Manor and is located approximately 22km from the Durban CBD making it easy to tap into the metro’s tourism economy.
There are various catalytic projects underway in the eThekwini metro including the Umlazi Urban Regeneration aimed at changing the spatial appearance and creating an enabling environment for the township economy to thrive.
Umlazi also has an active night economy with the Eyadini Lounge and Max’s Lifestyle as some of the key attractions.
Although born in Umbumbulu, about 25 km from Umlazi, with both under the eThekwini metro, the late Dr Oscar Dhlomo established himself in the township.
He became a teacher at Menzi High School, headmaster at KwaShaka High School in 1973 then a businessman. Dr Dhlomo is father to businesswoman and erstwhile Drum magazine editor, Khanyisile Dhlomo.
Other notable faces out of the KZN township include Nkosinathi Maphumulo aka Black Coffee, retired soccer players Japhet Zwane, Brilliant Khuzwayo, visual activist and photographer, Zanele Muholi, actresses Baby Cele, Gcina Nkosi and Linda Mtoba.
Some South Africans had to leave the country under apartheid and post-apartheid. This is an opportunity to urge them to come back home, ‘khumbul’ ekhaya’, and perhaps even inject capital investment into the township economy.
There are also endless opportunities for continental investors through instruments such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) Agreement which is earmarked to “enable the free flow of goods and services across the continent and boost the trading position of Africa in the global market.”
It has been established that in the context of rural-urban migration, people are likely to reside in townships thus creating a township economic development (TED) market.
TED will however take more than the lamentation of foreigners’ invasion of the spaza shops sector and it indeed requires multi-stakeholder effort.
Thoko Modise is the General Manager: Communication at Brand South Africa, the official marketing agency of South Africa, with a mandate to build the country’s brand reputation, in order to improve its global competitiveness.