Orange Farm is the biggest and most populous informal settlement in the country

Orange Farm Orange Farm is the southern-most component of Region 11. The area includes some of the oldest informal settlements in Johannesburg. Density is high and services are poor. According to the Stretford Station Precinct Plan, Orange Farm has the highest number of informal settlements in Johannesburg and is subject to severe poverty: about 60 percent of people are unemployed and 60 percent of those with jobs earn less than R1 500 a month. The local economy, which is poorly developed, consists mainly of spaza shops and informal traders. Living conditions are poor and pit latrines are used. Some residents risk their health by drawing water from boreholes and streams. RELATED LINKS: Orange Farm: Beauty in the land of the poor Orange Farm is a land of dreamers - a hard-working kind of dreamers. Day by day, the inhabitants of Orange Farm defy their poverty to testify to the triumph of the human spirit. Read more City of Joburg: The Social Development Department The Social Development Department promotes the well-being of the people of the city through empowerment, economic development and the alleviation of poverty. Read more Region 11 Region 11 has two fairly distinct areas and is divided for developmental purposes into the Greater Ennerdale/Lenasia South area, and the Orange Farm/Weilers Farm (Kanana Park) area. Read more

Orange Farm to taste fruits of station project July 5, 2004 By Chandrea Gerber PLANS are under way to create a thriving social and economic centre - the first of its kind in the area - on an empty plot adjacent to Stretford Station in Orange Farm. Orange Farm, 60 kilometres south of Johannesburg, is the biggest and most populous informal settlement in the country. Its people are mostly unskilled and unemployed. But, says William Bila, Region 11's assistant director for planning, "there is a lot of potential in Orange Farm at Stretford Station". The project will set up facilities for hawkers and community services, as well as shops, taxi ranks and bus stops. The purpose, Bila says, is to create an environment that will allow the station to function not only as a public-transport facility, but also as a social and economic centre - something that does not exist in Orange Farm. Bila says the City has allocated R2-million to kick-start the project, plans for which the council approved in April. The City hopes the Stretford Station project, which is to be completed within the next two to three years, will encourage development. The additions will be linked to existing civic structures - such as the clinic and library - and to the station by pedestrian walkways. An agreement will allow for the setting up of a fresh-produce market in Orange Farm, linked to the Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market in City Deep. This will provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers. A problem that needs to be tackled, says Bila, is the lack of a storm-water management system. "When it rains, it is a mess," he says. Initial capital will go towards stabilising this. This project will not only benefit the community by providing jobs during the construction. "We call it a catalyst," says Bila, as it will create many "positive spin-offs". "We are creating entrepreneurs by creating an environment where trade can take place." Bila says the Stretford Station project will not only create sustainable employment by giving entrepreneurs opportunities: it will also give businesses and private investors a chance to invest. "We are also putting Orange Farm on the map," he says. However, one crucial matter is slowing down the processing of the plans - the search for funding. "Once we get the money to do it, it'll be the biggest thing the council could actually do for the people of Orange Farm", says Bila. The precinct's potential to become a safe, investor-friendly economic hub was recognised in the Regional Spatial Development Framework of June 2003. The Stretford Station Precinct Plan was developed in accordance with it. The framework is a tool the community and the council use to formulate plans and co-ordinate development. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za