I I I
SECOND CARNEGIE INQUIRY INTO POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Area study of cape ToWn: Profile of Nyanga by Dinga Slkwebu
carregie Q)nferenoe Paper NJ. 10a
1 3 .- 1 9 Apr il 19 U 4 Cape Town (
ISBN 0 7992 0806 X TABIE OF CCNl'ENl'S
SIZE AND DEM:X;RAPHIC L HISl'ORICAL BACKGOOUND 1 POPUIATICN FACILITIES 3 The Nature of Housing 5 Pental 8 EOOCATICNAL FACILITIES 9 11 TRANSPORl' FACILITIES 13 TRADING AND BUSINESS FACILITIES 15 RELIGIOOS FACILITIES 16 HEALTH FACILITIES 17 OULD-CARE FACILITIES 18 GENERAL FACILITIES 18 18 BIBLICGRAPHY 18 ~ 1 Population of Nyanga 1948-1980 1 2 l\drn:I.nistration EstiInates of Nyanga' s Population 2 3 State Housing in Nyanga ) 4 &ployer built familu housing in Nyanga, 4 5 State-financed Jostel Accx:moodation 4 6 Site Rental in Nyanga 8 7 Se=ice Charges in Nyanga 9 8 Schools, Pupils and Teachers in Nyanga in 1982 9 9 Taxi Fares fran Nyanga 14 SIZE Ar-ID DF.MJGRAFHIC IOCA'I'I~ Nyanga is a residential area simated about 20km fran cape Town city centre exclusively set aside for •Africans'. According to a 1960 proclamation, the tcMnship is 427 hectares :In size, oordered by Lansdowne lbad :In the south. Klipfontein R:>ad in tl~ north, NY 78 :In the west am fok:robe Street :In the east. Nyanga, therefore, lies between Guguletu and Old Crossroads. Accord:lng to this delineation. K'OC and New Crossroads are part of Nyanga. This is not acceptable to residents am tenants of the area. To them, Nyanga is CCII1pOsed of the Old IDeation (Elokishini Enda1a), ~faU-Mau. Zwelitsha, White City and Newlands. The developrent of Nyanga was procl.aiJned in 1946. In 1948, tlle first musing schene of 208 muses was cc.npleted. Fran then until 1973, Nyanga was under tlle control of the cape Divislona1 COuncil, wreri it was transferred to the \'lestern cape Bantu Jldministration Board (BMB), which is now knc:Mn as Western.cape Adm:lnistration Board (WCAB) • .Mau-Mau. Zwelitsha, New1ands and White City were built in 1952, 1957, 1968 am 1981 respectively. Fbr many years Nyanga has also cOntained ~tter camps such as Browne's Camp, Kraaifontein, Jakka1sv1ei, Sakkies-Dorp am t."K:. 1\11 tlese settlements, except the latter. had been cleared b-; the late 1970's. KlC re-emerges from time to time. The population of 1 000 :In 1948 had grown to 24 000 by 1980. TlIBLE 1 Population of·N¥anga 1948-1980 Year I\:Jpulation Sources 1948 1 000 Hansard, 1948, COl.1347 1958 11 000 SAIRR, 1958: 187 1959 19 446 SAIRR, 1959: 165 1960 21 750 cenSIJS 1965 20 000 oa:: Chairman 1967-8: 7 1966 17 500 oa:: Chairman 1967-8: 22 1967-8 24 000 oa:: Chairman 1967-8: 27 1970 15 894 Census 1980 24 020 census 2 The following trenis can be observed fran Table~. 1: i) the err:mrous increase between 1958 and 1960 is indicative of the re settl.enelt of fElOple in Nyanga Transit canp. This carrp was establisred to 'screen' people woo were 'illegal' in the Western cape. Officialdan regarded this as necessary because nest of the 'African' people were , scattered' all over the western cape. This caused problems for the officials in applying influx control. ii) the sudden drop between 1960 and 1970 gives an indication of partial su:cess in the 'screening' process. 'lb:>se wOO did rot qualify to be : legally' in the cape Peninsula acoording to section 27 of Native Laws J\mendment 1\ct.~. 54 of 1952, were 'endorsed out' of the Western cape. The massive nature of this process can be understood if we recognise that between 1959 and 1962 a minimum of 26 211 people were 'endorsed out' of the Western cape (SAIRR: 1962: 1111. Therefore, tightening of influx control cootriliuted to the decrease. According to the plan tOOse wOO qualified, were given oouses in the newly establisred Gugulebl, which was tren known as Nyanga west or relocated in the already estab lisred townships of Nyanga and Langa. A very inportant point needs to be made about the validity of these statistics. The figures probably only include people who are in the area 'legally' .. They exclu:'le toose woo are officially regarded as being in Western cape 'illegally'. In other words, trey exclu:'le tOOusands of people wOO flock fran tre 'b:melands' to urban areas because "f econanic necessities and better health facilities. They also excllue toose staying with relatives because of lack of aca:mroda tion. What was evident wren interviews were conducted is that occupants of oouses are resitant to divulge infoIl!lation eitrer about their 'legality' or the nunber of people in the oouserold. Clearly, whatever nl.i11bers people reveal cannot be relied upon. The following figures, given by BA.l\B, illustrate tre point. TABLE 2 lIdrninistration Estimates of Nyanga' s l'Opulation Age "Group Males Females 'lbtal tmder 18 3 090 3 219 6 309 OVer 18 8 183 4 192 12 375 'lbtal lL273.:," .. 7411 18 684 c· -' 3 The difference of 5 336, be~ the 24 020 given by the 1980 census report and the 18 684 of the BMB survey, :in:llcates h::M difficult it is to cx:rne up with what can be claImed to be accurate population statistics. Apart fran illustrating the vast difference in the census and the BMB survey statistics, the above table sh::Ms i) that there is an imbalance between the n1.l!1ber of young people and old people. The skewed effect is pronOl.mced1 ii) the sk~>ed distribution of males and females with a male/female ratio of 1:0,7'overall and 1:0,5 among adults. Both of these characteristics can be attributed to the presence of a large nunber of 'migrant' I«lrkers. The social o:mseqrences of the imbalance, such as prostitution, desertion, high divorce rate, rape, etc. are inevitable and are rife in Nyanga. FACILITIES 1. !busing Table th. 3 gives details of state-financed family housing stock: Table th. 3 State Housing in Nyan2 Narre th. of No. of Rental Year Units Poems p.m. Built Schere A 70 4 R3,24 1952 Schene D 557 2 Rl,37 1952 Schene E 456 3 Rl,24 1957 Schane M 360 3 lU,24 1962 Scherre N 210 4 R3,2'l 1948 Schere Sch 2 5 N/A Pre 1940 Screme XA 10 5 N/A 1946-1952 Sche.'ll:;! B 6 4 N/A 1981 Screme B 154 3 N/A 1981 Total 1825 5228 In Nyanga the 1825 units with 5 228 roc:ms give each unit an average of 2,86 roans. In such a situation overcrowding is a pressing iSSue. i~ I 4 Table No. 4 records employer built family ho~es: Table No. 4 Ehployer built family housing in Nyanga NaIre of atlployer No. of No. of Rental Year Units ~ p.m. Built Old Mutual 2 4 Rl6,76 1976 Bruply 1 4 Rl6,76 1976 Tamhouse actel 10 2 N/A 1976 'lbtal 13 32 The total nunber of family houses in Nyanga is thus 1 838 with 5 260 roans. State-financed hostel aroamodation for single nen is given in Table No. 5. Table No. 5 State~financedHbstel Acoammodation NaIIEl No. of No. of Total No. No. of Total No. Year Units ~ p.u. of~ Beds p.u. of Beds Built Schare F 29 4 116 32 928 1970· Scheme G 25 4 100 32 800 1968· Scl'lem;l H 14 4 56 32 448 19 ? Scheme K 32 4 128 32 1024 1957 Schane L 22 4 88 32 704 1962 Scheme 0 3 4 12 12 36 1952 DR/: 1 4 4 8 8 19 ? 126 4 504 31,3 3948 For their 'migrant' ~rkers, sane atployers also buiid hostels. These units were built between 1971 am 1982. There are 210 units, each with four roans am with 4 190 bilds, giving 20 beds per unit. In Nyanga, tre total hostel acCc:mtDdation for 'migrant' workers consists of 336 Imits, wlth 1 314 roans am 8 138 beds. I I 5 Tre p:>int made earlier about the unreliability of the population figures alSo ooIds here. Acoording to tm housing figUres, there are 8 138 'migrant' workers in Nyanga. Tre likelihood of this figure being inaCcurate is very great. Nyanga's 6 574 roans must afford shelter to 24 020 people if the 1980 population census is reliable, or 18 684 if BAAS statistics are preferred. * Overcrowding is rife in the area. This is clearly evident because IOOst of tm family units contain shacks built of corrugated zinc am'tlOOd either in their backyards or attached to the houses. Trese extensions are used to rouse luneless families or to let. The emergence of Crossroads, Nyanga Bush and K'lr. is an indication of the problem of overcrc:llding in the area. This causes desperation and frustraticn. The situation is aggravated by the phasing out of any new building in the area as a result of the planned resettlement of the b61ants in Khayelitsha. Tre Nature of IIous~ In t:he area under investigation, there are various schemes: i) Scheme N This schel1le, buUt between 1946 am 1948,is knCMl as Elokishini Endala ('Old IDcaHon), because it was the first to be built in Nyc!nga. The majority of its residents uc;ed to be slDpkeepers, teachers, nurses, priests - generally regarded as 'well off' and middle class. This is no 10ngp_1:' the case. The houses contain four rocm.c;, inclU1ing a very smali kitchen. Each has an internal bathrocm. All are furnished with ceilings, electricity am running water. The yards are larger than trose in the other Imi ts to be found in 'African' tCMlships. The 210 Imits consist of 176 semi-detached units and 34 detached. Tre scheme is considered to be the best in Nyanga by tenants fran other sclenes. Because of this, it is sanetirnes referred to as the area's 'Constantia'. M:lst tenants aspire to live in this scheme which has high status. ii) sclianeY Scheme D is krx:Mn as Mau-Mau. Altrough no overt p:>litical ixmrotation could be found for the name of tm area, connecting it with the Kenyan Uay-Mau, sane relationship exists. Respon:!ents said that gang fights, .slaughter of people, and crime in general used to be the order of the day in Mau-Mau. * On average, therefore, every l:'Cla1! provided by the state or enployer would contain 3 or 4 people. 6 A sharp exclamation: 'In Mau-Maul' would be the likely response to a declaration that one lived in Nyanga. The link seems to De between this pattern of crime and tte activities of the Mau-Mau in Kenya. Each unit in this scheme, built in 1952, consists of tv.o roans. OveJ:crowding seems to be tte major prob1an, ju:lging fran the number of shacks in each yard. Ebr years running water was provided at street comers but this is 00 longer the case. The rouses have no ceiling:;. 'l\,o fanulies are required to share one toilet. This causes inter-family squabbles which sanetimes lead to physical violence. In one case encountered in this stu:ly, tv.o families ha:l to share one toilet. One of trem was running a shebeen. The strain which excessive use put on the toilet broke it doml. This led to friction with the other family which caused a fight. 'l\,o people were fatally stabbed. Three public bathroans are provided for the area. These have been vandalised and are out of use. Now they are used as gambling dens, for dagga srroking ard love nests. iii) Scteme A Scherne A CXIIprises 70 units which used to be part of 140 units in Scheme D. Seventy of these 140 unils used to rouse 'migrant' workers. These 'migrants' were forcefully driven out during the 1976 uprising, when there was fighting between ttem ard the pennanent urban residents. After this, the area became kn:Mn as 'Freedan Square' . The occupants Were cleared out when police swooped on ttem in 1979. The units were then renovated ard converted to 4-roaned units'. iv) Schanes E and M This is Zwelitsha which !leanS 'New Place or COuntry', built between 1957 and 1962. Each unit contains 3 roans. There are no ceilings. Running water can only be obtained outside the rouse, ooxt'to the toilet. Like Schernes D ard A, no electricity is provided. Street lighting can only be found in bordering and main streets. There are no lights or roads between units. Zwelitsha has recently earned the unenviable reputation of Nau-Mau for having the highest cr:iIre rate. Although there are no overtly organised gan;Js in Nyanga, in 1978-1979 there were tv.o gangs, the cape Town Scorpions (C'l'S) and tte Mafias. 'I'lleir reign of terror was mainly in Z\velitsha. 7 The only difference between oouses in Schenes E and ~f is that, the extei:!ors of t-he latter are plastered whilst toose of the fonner are not. v) sc~ B This scheTte was built b2tween 1981 and 1982 a,nd is known as 'White Citr' because tlle units are colls.idsred to be similar to toose of 'Whites'. '1'11s scheme has = electricity or street lighting. The streets are all tarred. It seems that rent is on ~ fonn of sliding scale. The tenants woo were spoken to did not really knoW- oow the scale worked. l"lhat they knew \~as that tlle b,Jsic rental was R1l7 per ronth. This was later redoced to R35, which is inclusive of both the rental and service charges. This was a result of a court interdict. There are 154 sem1-detached units w.ith 3 r 6 single uni~s with 4 roams each. vi) Schen~s ~, G, H, K, L and Q. These are Scl1E'11ES \mich are state-bill It to oouse 'migrant' ~lOrkers. In them worke);s ar.e supposed to be single. But this is not the case. Sane rrd.grant workers bring their wives with them and some find partners in the area. In sane irlterviews conducted with the wcmen staying jJ1 the 'bachelors" quarters, they gave us t..heir reasons for being there. One reasoo advanced by \o>:Jl1'en fran the rural areas is that life h'lck in these areas is very difficult. 'Ib than, Cape TcMn offers an escape fran hunger, starvation and ill-health. One of our respondents cited the resistance of KTC \ 'l:he second rear",on concerned the problems that men encounter in tcMn because of their enforced sillgle status. Forl1'en win leave hane at 5,30 a.m. and return at 6.00 p.m., musekeeping is difficult. In this situation, there are two options: Eithex bring your wife to Cape Town or firrl a partner here. Fbr African ~iCIlIeI1 in Cape Town, \ In other schemes which also house 'migrant' workers but which are built by Employers, security fences restrict access. This is not the only fun..--tion of these .employer-built tUlits. It is also. to ensure that the worker.:.; are sul::rnissive at the~r place of work. What happened to too meat workers wtri went Oll strike in Cape Town in 1980 is an illmninating example of this point. 8 The Ireat workers were thrown out of their places of residence during the strike. 1lcconling to the aIpioyers, by joining an 'illegal' strike the workers hal tenninated their contract and had therefore no right to. occupy the oampany's premises. 'l'he people woo stay in these quarters, do so urrler appalling conditions. They are only provided with a bed. Running water is found outside. They are also required to share one toilet which is also outside. (This is not only outside the muse but may serve a block or a section of muses). Privacy is )lIIknown to 'migrant' workers. The oostels are very cold in winter because they have canent flcors and no ceilings. Although the conditioos described above depict a situation which sOOws life to be well-nigh unbearable, 'migrant' workers have devised strategies of survival. These strategies range fran alterations to the houses, installing ceilings and partitions to create privacy, to organiSing burial and savingS societies. S<:lIre of these are highly sophisticated and well; organised. But none of these strategies challenge the whole system of migrant labour. The only instance which gives an indication of a more active stance is the initiative taken by the newly fCllllled Hostel Dwellers' Association which challenged BAAB in court when the latter decided to convert the only existing bathroan in one of the sections into a trading facility. Rental The tenants are required to pay rent to BAAB every month. The full arrount paid includes both the site rental and service charges. Table N:>. 6 lists the ~ •.. site rental for the different scheIres in Nyanga. Table N:>. 6 Site Rental jn Nyanga Scheme Name of Scheme J\iIDunt ScheIre A Mau-Mau R3,24 Schoane D Mau-Mau Rl,17 Scheme EM-I Zwelitsha Rl,24 ScheIre N Old IDeation R3,24 Schoane. B White City N/A Scheme B White City N/A Ibstels 00,79 9 Service charges are listed in Table lb. 7 below. -Table...... --No. 7 Service' Charges in Nyan-2 Nature of Fee lbstels Family Units Administration Rl,67 R4,06 Water Rl,63 RJ,90 Sewerage ,17 ,40 Street Maintenance ,06 ,14 Refuse Raroval ,74 Rl,76 Welfar~ Services ,57 Rl,38 Health Services ,25 ,60 Fire Protection ,01 ,02 School/Sport levy Rl,OO Street Lighting ,11 ,26 ------Total R6,00 Rl3,52 EDUCATIONAL FACn..I'l'IES There are eight schools in Nyanga of "'hich four are lower pr:imary schools, Th"O are higher primary ScllOOls, and one is a canbined school and one a high school. 1\t. t-llese schQols 97 teachers educate 3 517 children, as Table 8 slnws. Table lb. 8 t>,'ame of School lb. of lb. of Ratto Pupils Teachers Ljnge I... P. 660 15 44 1 Lina L.P. 415 12 35 1 ~ylseli L.P. 379 g 42 1 Jolm Pana L.P. 618 12 52 1 Hlengisa H.P. 303 10 30 1 Walter Teka H.P. 436 10 44 1 St. Mary I s canblned 300 10 30 1 Slzanile High 406 19 21 1 3 517 97 36 1 1 .~------' 10 Trese figures do not give an adequate reflection of educational patterns in .ei tiEr Nyanga or any of the otrer townships. Many of the pupils captured in our staUstics will not reside in Nyanga itself. It is ccrmon practice, particularly arrong older pupils, not to sttrly in neighbourOOod sch:x>ls. sane gJ to Guguletu or Langa, while sare g:J to sch:x>ls outside Cape Town. Students fran other townships do likewise. The pattern is thus one of inter township schooling. An aspect that can be relpful ill appraising the educational standard of people ill an area is to examine the occupational pattern in the area and rror.e particularly the skilled and wh1.te oollar occupations. Few Nyanga residents are employed as teachers, nurses, clerks, etc. For scrne years Nyanga has been regarded by residents of other areas in the townships as i 'backward • This has caused a certain am:mnt of t-ostility between Nyanga residents and toose in the other townships. This oostility spilled over into attacks and mugging of residents fran Guguletu and Langa. Another indlcator of educational inpoverishrent is the nunber of young people wh:> roam around the streets and hang about the shops c1uririg sch:x>l oours • .Teacher respondents agree that altrough OI/'ercI'Ol\~ing in the scbx)ls has decreased in recent years, this could be attributed in part to a mnnber of pupils being sent to study outside Cape Tam after the 1980 . sch:x>ls , I::oycott. in all Hi! schools visited there are nd recreational facilities. In ~ scrools - Lina ana Walter Teka - a major CXJllP1.idnt was the bucket toHet systen still in use. TIds was said to create an ullnecessary health hazard. J..pparently this has been thb subject of ronplaint to too bureaucrats fur years. Altoough premises have been made, nothing concrete has been done. In another sch:x>l, Mkhanyisell, the sariitation is "",rse. The toilets are situated five metres REX::REATICNAL FACILITIES sport: In Nyanga there are three soccer fields, 0..0 rugby fields, one netball field and one tennis court. At present, tha netball anl tennis courts' are not used. The two really popular sports are: i) Socoer In Nyanga this is organised by the Nyang~ Football Association :-vhich is affiliated to the South African National Football Association (SlINFA). There are al:x:>ut 30 teams affiliated to the association. For many people socoer is the only activi.ty. which relieves their social, eoonanic and political frustration. Teams are organised along regional anl sectional lines. For example, Naughty Boys isa Zwelitsha based team. This somet:iJnes leads to hostility and fights winch are carried on off the sportsfield. iii ~ Thls sport is rapidly losing its popularity. N-janga used to be the stronghold of the South African Rugby Association (SARAI, in the he}iiay of the exc~usively 'African national' side, the Leopards~' This rapid decline in t\'¥a populari.ty of rugby is also evident· in tha schools. l'bren in the area are not involved in any sort of sport at all. Tha COIXlitions of the few sporting facilities which exist are generally bad. The socoer and rugby fields have recently been provided with tur~ and surrounded by pre-fabs with the help of the Urban Fouroation. For recreatioo, there is also the ZOlen1 CCllIuun1ty Centre, which is controlled by the welfare section of VOIB. The centre cx:rnprises a main hall and adjacent roans. The hall is used for beauty contests, film sl1cMs, meetj ngs and general welfare activities. Tha other roans are used for indoor games - gyms for karate,' jiDo and boxing. A scouts' den anl boxing hall have been built in the yard of the oentre. Also housed in the centre is the offioe of St. John's 1\mbul~e .• In spite of the J;'OJ..e it is supposed to play r the cx::mmmity centre is not being utilised to the fullest extent. There cu:e two j.rnp:lr.l:ant reasons for. this: 12 i) the Mnillistration Ibard's control of the centre threatens the autonany of t.he organillatiCl1S and clubs which use the centre. The centre is nm by the Zoleni Trust Fund which is sUJ;pOsed to be the highest I:ody in charge of the centre. It is constituted of three delegates fran p.ach assodation affiliated to the centre, plus two officials fran WC'AB "Illd residents elected by the delegates. Affiliation to the Trust furl rreans a pcutial loss of organisational independence. For inst;.!nce, organisations affiliated to the centre are not allowed to have a separate savings account. Savings must be deposited jointly through the Trust Fund. This has caused a lot of friction which disillusioned poople involved in different activities at the centre. P.;n example of this is the quarrel between the Nyanga Cricket Club and the Trust Fund aJ::out ,financial matters. 'I'he club decided to bea::rne independent. In the process the club nearly collapsed becaUSe clubs and organisations which are not affiliated to the centre are required to pay a fee of R15 a time. Acceptance of application depends solely on the fund. The likelih:xld of getting a venue through this option is very slim, becallSP. of the Ilunber of clubs which are in dire need of venues. ii) We were infoIrred that organisations which are overtly political are not allowed to use the centre. I\ccess to another ccmmmity centre, 'IkweZ!' was curtailed for Lagtmgacro Youth M:Jtrement on the grounds th by the chm leader of what was meant by politics, ,,'hat was evidp.nt ~~as that this criterion was being used to rontrol access to the, centre. Thi!i! barring of certain organisatiol'.S t:bgether with the involv€!lleJ1t of W'.AB haS caUsed the organisation to l:oyoott the centre. For th~e reasonS organisations which are overtly political, st'ch as the local civic as5bciation, which is a zone of Western C;.!pe Civic Association (1'0::1\) and local youtll organisations very rarely use the centre and they are certainly hot enCouraged by [batd officials to do sO. Even activities such as disco's and beauty Contests, are now rare because of th'" crime and gang fights that: accaripany than. ChildJ:P.J\' s Playground 'l'h'3.t'e used to be a childi:'enis plaYglOund in NyCinga. After a while the play ground facilities were broken apart. There is thus no playground for children in t.'1e area at ali. ChlIdren can be seen playing in old abandoned cars or j;n the stt4tS. 13 TRANSOORT r'ACILITIES There are t\\O IOOdes of transportation operative in the area: i) Buses: These are owned by City Tranways. They transport people to different destinations in Cape Town.' There is, b:MeVer, no direct bus service fran Nyanga to oentral Cape Town. Ccmnuters must use other facilities to get to Cape Town fran toose other destinations served by buses fran Nyanga. A number of buses deliver people directly to their places of work, e.g. SacKs Circle, Hume Pipe, Cbnsolidated Glassworks. The major o:mplaint of the~uters is that the buses are expensive· In one case we encountered a dcrnestic w:>rker woo had to spend R25 a nonth in travelling to work. Of this anount Rl2,80 was for clipcards fran Nyanga to M::Jwbray, while Rl2,20 was for clipcards fran ~boIbray to Sea fbint. What is clear is that this person spends 31,25% of her m:>nthly wage of R80 011 transport. Apart . fran being .expensive, the buses are always overcDOWded •. Although a fixed timetable exists, buses often run late. Another is a new phenarenon in the area. It was given imJ?etus by the 19~0 bus boycott. Most of ~ taxi owners are organised in the Western Cape branch of the South African Black Taxis ASsOciation (SABTA). 'l'he major . cnItplaint of the taxi-cMners is the fact that the liCenCes given to than by the Transportation Board only allCM than to do busin~s within township 14 tourda:ries. Few taxis fran Nyanga al;'e allowed to transport people to fobwbray. l-bst of trose that do, CCIlE fran Langa. Nyanga taxi CM'Iers feel that this is unfair canpetition. They were quite explicit in their view that the TransIX'rtation Board has a history of favouring City TranMaye. -'Another ccrr.plaint of the taxi- 'I'hi3 follcj.,ing table gives the taxi fares in 1983/84: Table N:>. 9 Taxi Fares fran Nyanga fbute WeekClays weekendS Nyanga to Guguletu 40c SOc Nyanga to Guguletu SOc SOc (NYl section 3) Nyanga to Lan~ 40c SOc Nyanga to Nyanga Shtion SOc SOc The cottnuters have their cMn problens with -the taxis. Altoough over loading neans profits for taxi cMhers, for then the result is discanfort. 'l'he seCOnd problan is s.1in11ai- to the one caused by bus routes. Taxis use the same i..outes as the buses and this makes them inconvenient for people woo stay far fran the routes. Apart fran the licensed taxis, there is also a fleet of 'piiate' taxis. Tl-eir poSition is very difficuitbecauo;e trey are harassed by toth police and traffic officials on the:one hand and the legal taxi owners on the ocrer. What was important to note with the pirate taxis is the faC:t that mst of the CM'Iers were unanployed. To thE!n 'pirating' was the only sOurce of incc:ine, iii a period of ina.ss.1.ve Unst1ployrnent. Sane of the oWners, ~r, are eriployed elsewhere. This group ply tOJ:r1hire after ~rk and at weekerds in an attar.pt to suppleoont llirlr Wages. 15 to railway line runs to Nyanga. Nyanga Statim is next to Guguletu and Manenberg. A taxi service runs Pe~een Nyanga tenn1nus and the station. Another fo~ of transport uSed by pe~le to get to work is trI.Icks provided by canpani~. This fODD of transport is mainly used for migrant workers. It is also used for a group of elderly wanen who work OIl fanns 1rI the Phillipi area. This fonn of transportation appears to infringe the M;)tor Carriers Transportation Act. In 1980 there was a tragic accident when a Besterecta CbnstJ;Uction OCIIila!ly truck loaded 'tith workers like cattle, overtlllTled. Sane of these trooks are offered free, while sane are paid for through , , deductions in wages. TRADING 1\ND BUSINESS FACILI'!'!ES The existing trcd1ng facilities in Nyanga are: 11 ~al Dealers 2 cafes 2 Butcheries 4 Dairies 2 Funeral Undertakers I Fisrery I Sb:lanaker These are what can be oonsidered as 'founal' trading centres. There are also large 'infounal' businlilSs entexprises. These range fran smps aId gzocery outlets to shebeens. A clear picture of the role of these 'info~' activities can be seen if one looks at the way they operate. What is imp:>rtant is to recognise the tmusanda of people who flock to than. 'l;'he second inqxlrtant point is the eoonanic benefit that their owners derive. It isinqxlssible for a migrant worker who 900s to work at 6.00 a.m. aId o:mes back lone at 6.00 p.m., to make the time to oook st:anp mielies which would take another 3 murs. He is forced to buy sanething to eat at an 'open-air' place. The food that is sold in these places 'is not particularly palatable. It CQlSists mainly of offal, 'skaapkop', 'pens and pootjieS', etc. This is the diet of I\l:)st migrant workers. Many of these infoDllal tr.ading places are extremely dJ.r.ty. They attract flies 16 because they are in the open. Scrne are next tn public toilets. 1Ms situation is really very unrealthy. The people wOO are inVOlved in 'infoDruil. i businesses are driven to than by eooronic necessity. In nost caseS they are single ~n - divorced, deserted or widowed. In Nyanga there are 35 'known' shE>.beens. Of these, 22 are owned by wanen. When we interviewed a shebeener, it became clear that they _.xe fully cognisant of their IIOtive for selling liqtDr. This is wn."lt a 'shebeen queen', Sis Dinah, had to say i 'You know, people do not Understand why we sell liqlDr. Trey say that we are corrupting the o::mm.mity. They claim that we are evil because we call to other people's . husbands and sons to cx:me with their sealed Wdge packets to our shebeens. They say we are breaking family lives. But I want to tell you the honest truth. I started selling liquor in 1965. This is when my husband left to stay with another W!:tIan. He left me with five kids. I had to feed, clothe, and edooate than. Mind, these are only the kids. You must still pay rent and do other things. ~'here are you supposed to get that noney, when you know that the IIOney you work for eI1ds up paying tt-.e fares to Bellville? If you want to survive, you must make a plan'. This view was widely expressed by IIOst CMIlers of these i informal' enterprises. siIDpiy put, this type of business offered them a chance of'surviVal. Another trading place in the Nyanga Liquor outlet is owned by the lIdministration Board. This was opened in 1978 and was built at a cost of R300 009 (S1URR ,Survey, 1978). It waS built on the site of an old bottie store which was destroyed by fire in the 1976 uprising. Liqoor is one of the main sources of finance for t.he Mninistration Board. Religious activity plays an fntortant role in the lives of the people of Nyanga. There are nine church buildings in the area. These are: i) The Church of the Prcivince of South Africa, H) The f.letrodist Church in South Africa Hi) The Dutch Refonred Church lv) The African f.lethJdist EPiscx,pal Church (j.z.IE) v) The Presbyterian Church vi) ':the RefotlnEd Presbyterial) ChiJ1"Ch vii) The Hetrodist Church in Africa villI 'l'he Afr:l.can Ortln:Iox Church ix) The Old l\pOstolic Church 17 Altmugh the nunber of church buildings listed above -does not reflect the nunber of Christian churches in the area, it indicates the vital role of the church. This is particularly WOrthy of note when taking into consideration the size am population' of Nyanga and carq:>are it \~ith the nt.mber of churches. Moreover, a nunrer of ch~s and denaninations mld thei.r services in scb:>ols and muses. There is a predaninance of 'indepen:ient' , African ' churches. The services of these churches to the residents range fran spiritual to mater.ial benefits. The latter is important if we look at the people's living oonditions. ~I¥!ing problems, unatploynEnt, hunger, etc. are what people are forced to endure. Therefore, for them the church provides an escape fran their daily problems. The benefits offered by funeral societies and other 'brotherly' services that are provided by the church, helP manbers to rope with day-to-day problems. For exanple, it is camon when a congregant beoalles unemployed, for an announcement to be made after the service for others to be on the look out for a job for 'Brother So-and-So'. Whenever' a person has a· problan, he relies on the: church for help. But the Christian faith is not the only follll of religion to be found in Nyanga. Serna 'traditional' practices like initiation cerem:>nies, feastS, etc. ~ still be found in the area. What is inp'lrtant to note is the changed function of these practices, altIDugh the follll-is still maintained. i.; On t.he one hand these practices can be. regarded as _survival strategies, _ because of the material benefits that-they bring jn. For exaIJille, when there is an initiation ceratDl'ly, there is the expectatic.'1 that a lot of presents, ranging fran clothes to IIl)ney, will be given to the family by people in the eourrounding area. On the other hand, they can be regarded as providing status to people who have been degraded to the level of having no say over their lives. For example, a mail who has not I.Irldergone 'tradltional' initiation will always have his integrity challenged. In SCIlIe cases, he will not be allcMed the right to speak at or rontribute to aOCll11lunity meeting. llEAL'lH FJl.cILITIES In Nyanga, there is one preventative health clJnlc run by the Divisional Council of the Cape (Diveo). The clinic deals with TB, child he In Nyanga there are three formal pre-scOOo1s. The first is controlled by Divco. This was built in 1972 at a cost of R32 000. It accx:mtDdates 80 children. The second, is Ivy Nyovane Pre-scOOo1 which acoc:rmodates 81 children. There are also 80 chl1dren at the catrolic Church 900001,. St. Mary's. Tre denard for pre-scOOo1 facilities is velY great in the area because the majority of residents are forced to 1IIlOrk long rours if they want to survive. ~lhat also seans to be happening is that· people are organising chi1d-care facilities through tilOlir churches. These have been started in tile Metrodist am Presbyterian churches. Tre a1tematlve caused by a lack of such facilities is to leave small children with older sibling minders. This cauSes ;irregular atterrlanc:e at scOOo1 and is directly linked with juvenile de1!JXI1lf'.ncy. Nyanga lacks other basic facilities sUCh as a I,X>st office, (the one that existed was burnt c10Irm in 1976), a library, a swinining pool, etc. A mobile rolice station was established in 1983. -----cnK:UJSICN Tre data at my a::rnt1CIOO, altrough it needs fleshing out, leads one to tile inevitable oonc1usion that 1) infra-structural facilities in Nyanga are grossly inadequate, am 11) welfare facilities such as cUnics and pre-Rcmo1s are also rope1ess1y inadEXIliate. Tre cx:nlnt'llity of Nyanga is haunted daily by the spectre of poverty. * A * * * * BIBLIOGRAPHY * Eliac;, C.H. (1983) 'An HlRtorica1 l1eview of the Supply of Housing for Urban MricanR in the CaFE! Peninsula 1900-198.2'. stellenbosch: Research Unit for Sociology of Deve10pnent, Occasional Paper No.7, 1983. -