Imizamo Yethu

Imizamo Yethu which in Xhosa translates as the People have Gathered, is also known as Mandela Park.

Imizamo Yethu which in Xhosa translates as the People have Gathered, is also known as Mandela Park.

It began life as a squatter camp on the Hout Bay forestry station some  four years before the apartheid government relinquished control to the African National Congress in the first democratic elections in South Africa.

Initially the population numbered fewer than a couple of thousand families but the numbers grew quickly. Most of the familes had arrived from a rural area in the Eastern Cape known as Willowvale, fisherfolk seeking work at the Hout Bay harbour. Plenty of urban legends exist for the subsequent mushrooming of the population. Some people believe that the ruling party the National Party allocated the forestry land in Hout Bay as a punishment to the liberal Hout Bay residents who had continually voted for the opposition and in effect against apartheid policies. Surprisingly many people believe that politicians bussed in familes to try and sway the votes. Although I am sure that familes arrived in busses- I doubt that the politicians were that organised. A more likely theory is that the urbanisation of the country saw people jumping at the chance to live closer to services,schools and jobs (Closer anyway than the Eastern Cape rural areas)

Speak to the original residents of IY and they will tell you that the biggest reason for the growth was the misguided idea of local white leaders at the time that exhorted Hout Bay residents not to employ locals but rather to hire people from as far afield as Khayalitsha, Guguletu and Nyanga in  the outlying areas of Cape Town. As the story goes after a couple of weeks of a few hours travelling everyday those lucky enough to get a job kept two residences one in Hout Bay and another back in Khayalitsha for the weekends (and probably another in the faraway rural areas for holidays!)

Estimates of the population vary, with a government census putting the population at about 12 000 people while other civic groups estimating about 30 000 people. As a regular visitor there myself I don't believe either figures but think that the population is around 16 000.

What everyone agrees with though, is that conditions are unacceptable. The usual problems of poverty, overcrowding, poor sanitation, unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse abound.

Crime levels are lower than comparable areas but it is still dangerous place once the taverns (shebeens) and nightly parties get underway. Crime dropped considerably with the implementation of the blockwatch system which has made most areas safer (if not for criminals who get the short end of vigilante justice) There are still some infamous places such as Donziake (Do whatever!) which is a populated by people from all over Africa and even some brave Chinese shopkeepers.

The new R8million police station at the entrance has done the most to curb crime, and certainly helped cut down on the polices transport needs.

Not surprisingly though IY is also a place of hope. Many of the residents believe they are far better off here than they would be back home. Being in a richer suburb really does make it easier to find employment and if you are willing to try hard enough there are hundreds of jobs available either as domestic workers for the 22 000 middle to upper class people living nearby,(not to mention the families in areas like Constantia and Camps Bay only 20 minutes away) or in restuarants and hotels catering to the booming tourism industry, or on the several building developments or even in the busy fishing trade.

Perhaps thanks to this intermingling with the rich and the poor, IY was to find an Irish benefactor, a Niall Mellon, who put in his own seed money and then sourced money from the Irish government, and flew Irish builders out to help build hundreds of homes in Imizamo Yethu.

Imizamo Yethu is low on the list of priorities for local government. Understandbly it is only one of more than 200 settlements in the province, and at least 30 of those are larger and have more pressing needs.

Currently the camp has developed on about 12 hectares in a sort of U-shape- the inside of the U forms another 12 hectares still under forest as the council deliberates on its fate. In 2006 the Ratepayers Association and the Sinethemba (some of the original settlers) won a court interdict preventing the then mayor from allowing squatters to settle there after a fire had destroyed their homes. The reason given was because the land is zoned amenities: to be used for schools and shops rather than housing.

Two years later and that particular conflict has not been solved although the parties have been talking, and uder the new mayor Helen Zille, much more progress seems to have been made. The likely scenario is that some mixed use will be allowed with some housing combined with amenities.

It would seem from recent meetings that it is likely that rather than houses, blocks of flats will be built to accommodate the current population. The politicians have said that some people will have to be moved but this will be difficult to do.

Flats , similar to the ones built at the Gateway project near the airport, seem like a good solution, as with houses 4 shacks are removed, only to return in the garden or on the front doorstep as residents rent them out to shopkeepers etc.

I can personally recommend a tour from the best guide in the area, Afrika Moni cell no: 0837194870. You will discover bustling shops ("spazas) , go into both shacks and houses, visit churches and creches and get plenty of photo opportunities and a unique perspective.

Afrika is leading the drive to make the area more tourist friendly with plans for accomodation, restuarants, curio centres etc.

Eventually residents will get title deeds for their properties and after a waiting period be able to onsell. This should lead to a rejuvenation of the area as pride of ownership eliminates apathy. I am often asked by "madams" to find property for their domestic help- unfortunately there is a long list and if you are not on that list it is now very difficult to be able to find a property.

When properties are plied on the open market I look forward to mentoring the first Imizamo Yethu Specialist!