SOWETO'S huge population has not been catered for in terms of retail or business space. However, the Soweto Development Initiative is set to change that.
Neil Fraser
July 4, 2005
SOME of my research for last week's background on Kliptown came from Lindsay Bremner's book Johannesburg - One City, Colliding Worlds (page 99).
Eric Itzkin, the City's deputy director: immovable heritage has pointed out that not all the information was, in fact, correct.
He writes:
"I have just gone through your piece on Kliptown [24 June 2005], an area whose early history deserves more research.
"A lot of important new information is coming to light, but not all the claims are reliable and one has to say that there is sometimes an element of myth-making going on.
"The forced removal of 1904 could be seen to mark the beginning of Soweto's history, but is somewhat removed from the story of Kliptown.
"It is not true to say that the people of Coolie Location were removed to Kliptown. Residents of Coolie Location were taken to an emergency camp near the municipal sewerage farm at Klipspruit (not the same as Kliptown).
"Incidentally, the camp for Africans was located a mile away from that for Indians, and surrounded on three sides by the sewerage works, which soon advanced within 300 metres of its perimeter. The stench from the sewerage works pervaded every dwelling.
Pimville
"The Klipspruit Evacuation Camp, on a site originally known as Nancefield, became the first municipally established African township in the Johannesburg area, and can be seen as a forerunner of Soweto. Klipspruit was renamed Pimville in 1934, and became the nucleus of Orlando, the first suburb of Soweto.
"My colleagues from Soweto assure me that this area of Klipspuit/Nancefield/Pimville is located some distance away from Kliptown (which has its own distinctive history).
"In any event, the removal of 1904 marked a real turning point for the history of segregation in Johannesburg. From 1905, after the founding of Klipspruit, no African was permitted by law to live in the city, except for workers housed in industrial compounds or domestic servants housed in their employers' back yards."
Thanks for setting us right, Eric.
Soweto
Staying with Soweto, the City council is justifiably working extremely hard to transform the dormitory town into an economic hub through the Soweto Development Initiative (SDI).
Just to get some perspective on the area, it is interesting to note that Soweto has a larger population at 1,2 million people than Msunduzi, Manguang, Buffalo City or Nelson Mandela municipalities.
While the population represents 43 percent of the total population of Greater Johannesburg, it only represents about 4 percent of the total economy of the area.
Unemployment is about 50 percent while 80 percent of those employed are in jobs outside Soweto. Purchasing power being spent outside the township is estimated at R3,4-billion.
With that background, the objective of the SDI is to transform Soweto into "a well-functioning residential area with business nodes attracting private sector investment".
As with the Inner City Development Strategy, the SDI has five activity thrusts:
- Economic sector support and business node development;
- Infrastructure and services;
- Safety and security;
- Social development, education and child care; and
- Planning, land use management and land release.
Business activities
Because of apartheid distortions, Soweto has virtually no infrastructure to support normal business activities, let alone to assist local entrepreneurs to establish and grow their businesses.
In addition, the area is hopelessly under-catered for in terms of retail. Research based on a sample survey of shoppers interviewed around precincts in Soweto found that about 30 percent bought groceries in Soweto but that Southgate and the central business district were the major source for durables and clothing. A further 20 percent shopped in other areas.
Another, broader survey across Soweto revealed that smaller items were bought locally and that 38 percent bought their main groceries at Southgate.
Of the R700 average monthly spend on groceries, about R244 was spent in Soweto. Spending in the area on clothing, furniture and entertainment was negligible. Of R80 spent monthly on cosmetics, R35 was spent in Soweto.
This large population is served by only 60 000 square metres of retail space. In comparison, Sandton City is 130 000 square metres. There is a further 90 000 square metres under construction and the council projects that total retail space will rise to 223 000 square metres within five years.
But these are figures for total retail. When it comes to shopping centre supply, there is only 31 000 square metres, of which Dobsonville offers 17 000 square metres and Black Chain 6 000.
Developments
That will change with proposed developments that include the Jabulani Mall (30 000 square metres, R250-million); Soweto Triangle (57 000 square metres, R420-million); Protea Gardens (25 000 square metres, R140-million); Diepkloof Plaza (15 000 square metres, R60-million) and Orlando Ekhaya (30 000 square metres, R160-million).
In total these investments reach just over a billion rand, not including another 124 000 square metres under consideration that would practically double that investment value.
Will this affect the inner city? Sure, it must do, which makes the large number of residential projects - high and middle income - currently under way or planned in the inner city, absolutely critical.
We need more people with disposal income living in the inner city, and that will drive the market to respond. As an aside, welcome to the 300 families who moved into the Johannesburg Housing Company's Brickfield development in Newtown this weekend.
But the SDI is not just about retail. A Soweto Business Empowerment Zone is also at an advanced planning stage. The concept is to support and promote the development of small, medium and micro enterprises and entrepreneurs who live and work within Soweto.
Business Empowerment Zone
The support will include mentoring, training, business skills development, accessing Department of Trade and Industry incentives, and so forth. The City council will use its own considerable buying needs to incentivise businesses located in Soweto through its procurement processes.
The provincial government will surely follow suit.
The businesses identified include manufacturing, like furniture, uniforms, protective clothing, corporate gifts, wood products; trades, like electrical, plumbing, carpentry, shop-fitting, welding; the auto service sector, including motor vehicle repairs, panel beating, tyres and exhaust fitting; and wholesale and retail, including factory shops and wholesaling to informal traders.
A 5ha site has been identified and construction of the first buildings is aimed for completion by the end of this year or early next year.
There is also 2010 and the whole Nasrec development, but those are stories for another time.
Hope you had a good weekend - some great stuff happened in Newtown on Saturday, including an interview with Madiba that was beamed to millions of viewers throughout the world.
Regards, Neil
