Manenberg
Manenberg | ||
---|---|---|
From top, A view of Manenberg looking towards PO box 7764 | ||
Area code | 021 |
Manenberg is a township of
History
Planning for a
The building phase of the neighbourhood lasted from 1966 to 1970 with completion of 5,621 homes for 33,922 residents at a cost of R7,386,817[3] (roughly equivalent to R460,000,000 in 2017).[4] By 1975 the area consisted of about seven corner shops and two liquor outlets. There were no adequate commercial facilities or community services. A railway line from the black township of Gugulethu divides Manenberg. Nyanga Railway Station was established to service the growing population of Gugulethu and Manenberg. Later in the mid-1980s, because of housing shortages and problems around squatting in Manenberg, 364 additional buildings known as maisonettes (or as ‘infill scheme’) were built. These had three bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, hot water, and a toilet and were regarded as better accommodation units.[3]
Housing conditions and the basic design of area was a major grievance that prompted local residents to participate in a range of anti-apartheid activities including acts of civil disobedience in an effort to make the country ungovernable.[3]
Early activism in the 1970s and 1980s in Manenberg
Community activists mobilized residents in Manenberg around housing and living conditions. A citizen newspaper (named "Grassroots") was started, forming part of an alternative press movement in the 1980s. It was the first of a series of anti-apartheid community newspapers, with a circulation that grew up to 20 000 and covered community issues such as local protests.[citation needed]
From the national 1976 riots to the meat boycotts of 1981 to the United Democratic Front
1999 tornado
In the night of 29 August 1999 a tornado hit the neighbourhood killing five people with wind speeds reaching over 150 km per hour. Over 220 people were injured[5] and more than 5,000 residents[6] were left homeless with 40 flats being "totally gutted".[5] R1 million (roughly equivalent to R2.6 million in 2017) was allocated by City of Cape Town's disaster relief fund for rebuilding.[6]
Popular culture
- The famous and well respected jazz pianist Abdullah Ibrahim has a composition named "Mannenberg" after the township. Manenberg has a rich history of minstrel (Kaapse Klopse) music and several minstrel teams still emanate from this part of Cape Town.
- Manenberg has been featured in the Hard Living" and "Clever Kids."
- The feature documentary Manenberg[7] (2010) by directors/anthropologists Karen Waltorp & Christian Vium (Denmark)[8] about two young people coming of age in the community.
References
- ^ a b c d "Sub Place Manenberg". Census 2011.
- ^ a b "Manenberg", South African History Online.
- ^ a b c d e Abongile (2013-07-05). "Manenberg". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ "Inflation Calculator - South Africa". www.inflationcalc.co.za. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ a b "BBC News | Africa | Cape Town tornado kills three". news.bbc.co.uk. 29 August 1999. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ a b "'I saw terror twister hit Manenberg' | IOL". IOL News. 30 August 1999. Retrieved 2017-03-03.
- ^ Manenberg. Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Karen Waltorp & Christian Vium website. Archived 2012-04-25 at the Wayback Machine
Bibliography
- J. Jacobs (2011) Manenberg: Then and Now: Activism in Manenberg, 1980 to 2010. Unpublished thesis (MA), University of the Western Cape
- ISBN 9789956550265.