Khayelitsha

History

Cape Town initially opposed implementing the Group Areas Act passed in 1950, and residential areas in the city remained unsegregated until the first Group Areas were declared in the city in 1957. When Cape Town finally started implementing the Group Areas Act, it did so more severely than any other major city; by the mid-1980s, it had become one of the most segregated cities in South Africa. The discrimination and black population control by the apartheid government did not prevent black people from settling in the outskirts of Cape Town. After the scrapping of pass laws in 1987, many black people, mainly Xhosas, moved into areas around Cape Town in search of work. By then, many black people had already illegally settled in townships like Nyanga and Crossroads. In 1983 and 1984, conditions in squatter camps like Crossroads and KTC worsened, and were exacerbated by official policing policy, in which homes were destroyed, and also by the emergence of the Witdoeke, led by "Mayor" Johnson Ngxobongwana. The Witdoeke were actively supported by the apartheid government in its fight against the ANC-aligned UDF, which had actively opposed plans for people to be moved to the new township of Khayelitsha. As the black population grew, the apartheid regime sought to solve the "problem" by establishing new black neighbourhoods. Khayelitsha was established in 1985 and large numbers of people were forcefully relocated there, mostly peacefully but occasionally with violence. The Western Cape was a preference area for the local coloured population, and a system called "influx control" was in place to restrict Xhosas from travelling from the Transkei by requiring a permit. After the historic 1994 elections, hundreds of thousands moved to urban areas in search of work, education or…

Geography

Khayelitsha is located on the Cape Flats, between Table Bay and False Bay. Khayelitsha has been split into about 22 areas, depending on how one divides them. It is made up of Makhaza, Kuyasa, Harare, Makhaya, Town Two, Ilitha Park, Site B (consisting of the newer K-Z sections) and Site C. Khayelitsha is made up of old formal areas and new informal/formal areas. The old formal areas were built originally by the apartheid government and are known as A-J sections also called 'Khayelitsha' proper (each section with more or less than 500 formal two roomed brick houses) Bongweni, Ikhwezi Park, Khulani Park, Khanya Park, Tembani, Washington Square, Graceland, Ekuphumleni and Zolani Park. These areas are mostly made up of bank bond housing and are home to middle-class / upper working class populations. The newer areas have been built up around the older areas. They include Site B (which is further subdivided into the K-Z sections in continuation of the original A-J sections respectively and TR, QQ, RR and BM informal settlements), Site C, Green Point, Litha Park, Mandela Park, Makhaza, Makhaya and Harare.

Most-observed species

• Egyptian Goose

  Alopochen aegyptiaca (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  10,690
• Hadada Ibis

  Bostrychia hagedash (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  10,246
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  9,253
• Sacred Ibis

  Threskiornis aethiopicus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  8,829
• Pied Crow

  Corvus albus Statius Muller, 1776 · Aves
  8,825
• Red-eyed Dove

  Streptopelia semitorquata (Rüppell, 1837) · Aves
  8,455
• Cape White-eye

  Zosterops virens Sundevall, 1850 · Aves
  8,310
• Hartlaub's Gull

  Chroicocephalus hartlaubii (Bruch, 1855) · Aves
  8,009

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2020-11-16
  47 km S of Saldanha, South Africa
• M 2.7 — 2020-09-27
  12 km W of Paarl, South Africa
• M 2.6 — 2020-09-26
  19 km ESE of Atlantis, South Africa