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Our Communities

Thembelihle Informal Settlement

Thembelihle is an informal settlement that is situated in Region G, south of Johannesburg. 

Greater Sophia Town

Planact started engaging with the community leaders of Greater Sophia Town in 2016, which is located in the City of Johannesburg, when a research was conducted on corridors of freedom. Read more »

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Tshwane, Kameeldrift

Current Projects : 2015 – 2020

City of Johannesburg, Gauteng

Thembelihle Informal Settlement

Thembelihle is an informal settlement situated in Region G, south of Johannesburg. 

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The settlement has been in existence since the mid-1980’s, and is currently home to about 8000 households.

Planact has been engaging with this community for more than 10 years. The community is currently faced with issues on security of tenure, sanitation and water. Furthermore, there is a growing sinkhole in the settlement due to a dolomitic ground. Planact has conducted a social audit on sanitation with the Thembelihle Crisis Committee as a partner as well as a needs assessment.

Leadership skill development and community economic and capacity building workshops are some of the interventions that Planact is assisting the settlement with. Leaders in Thembelihle have been empowered to tackle community challenges confidently.

Greater Sophiatown

Planact started engaging with the community leaders of Greater Sophiatown in 2016,

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which is located in the City of Johannesburg, when a research was conducted on corridors of freedom. The research which was conducted by Planact was focused on understanding the public participation tourism route programme which was done by the City of Johannesburg in Greater Sophiatown.

Later on, the Greater Sophiatown Development Forum invited Planact to run a social audit workshop in anticipation of doing an audit on health related issues. Unfortunately, due to violence that erupted in the area, Planact could not go far with the project but hopes to re-establish the relationship with the forum.

City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng

Etwatwa Informal Settlements

Shamase Ground

Shamase ground/ Mashonisa/ Egroundini/ Overflow is an informal settlement in Etwatwa, 

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neighbouring Daveyton in the City of Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. There are about 109 households in Shamase Ground. Residents of Shamase have been living there for about 11 years. The community is challenged with shack congestion and some of the burning service deliver issues include the installation of electricity, provision of dustbins for waste removal and houses.

Planact contacted the local ward councillor to work in the area. Twenty community volunteers were trained to start a social audit in May 2018. Residents are using the social audit skills acquired from this project to tackle other service delivery issues in the area.

Steve Biko/ Ebumnandini, Etwatwa

Steve Biko/ Ebumnandini is an informal settlement established in 1994 and currently falls under Ward 65 in Etwatwa. 

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It has about 1000 households. The settlement is faced with high crime rate, lack of proper sanitation and water, lack of proper roads infrastructure.

Planact was initially introduced to the area by Councillor Mabaso who saw the opportunity as an important tool for development in the Etwatwa wards. Planact engaged with the leaders of the area by inviting them to learn about the social audit methodology which they would use to gather empirical evidence to their service delivery challenges.

Etwatwa Ext 18 & 19

Etwatwa is a township along N12 road, near Benoni in Ekurhuleni in the Gauteng province. 

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Extension 18 was established in 1994 and Extention 19 in 1992 as a designated township for black people. Extension 18, with about 1800 households, is located a few meters away from Steve Biko informal settlement while Extension 19, with an estimated 1000 households, is closer to Shamase grounds. These areas’ problems are not unique from the other three in Etwatwa.

Planact was initially introduced to this section of Etwatwa through the Ward Councillor. Further engagements were done through the Ward Committee and community leaders who introduced the social audit methodology to the rest of the community. Residents are now empowered to enquire about the slow housing development in the area as well as asking the right questions on the length of time to proclaim Extension 19 as a formal township.

Wattville Informal Settlements

KwaThema Informal Settlements

Harry Gwala

Harry Gwala is an informal settlement situated near Wattville in Benoni, City of Ekurhuleni. 

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It has about 800 households  occupying mainly the municipal land. Service delivery issues such as refuse removal, no electricity, inadequate sanitation and water are prevalent. Planact was then invited by councillor Sibiya in 2015 to provide support to the ward committee and community leaders.

Activity plans were created by Planact for different sectors/portfolios to enable the Councillor to monitor the work done by ward committees and other community leaders. A precinct plan was also developed with the aim of making it a one stop shop. A social audit into sanitation was also conducted

Ekuthuleni

Ekuthuleni informal settlement was established in the year 1993. However,    Planact started working the informal settlement early in 2008 

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through meetings with the chairperson of the committee.  The chairperson later introduced Planact to the broader committee. There are officially 409 households in Ekuthuleni informal settlement and people have lived there for over 25 years. The area was named Ekuthuleni as a call for peace, given that the period was marred with violence between hostel dwellers and township residents. Chemical toilets used for sanitation in the area are posing as a health hazard for women and children. Planact intervened by conducting a social audit on sanitation.

Mkhancwa

Mkhancwa is an informal settlement located in the city of Ekurhuleni. Most of the residents have lived in this area for more than 20 years. 

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Planact started to exert action in this informal settlement in April 2018, by introducing the social audit methodology. The primary challenge that Mkhancwa informal settlement contends with is the usage of chemical toilets. Residents attest that the toilets are not drained as regularly as they supposed to, which then becomes  problematic due to maggots and harmful chemicals produced. Planact took an initiative of successfully completing a social audit on sanitation. The information gathered helped to start the process of communicating with the local municipality in order to help the residents of Mkhancwa.

Vosloorus Informal Settlements

Tembisa Informal Settlements

Vlakplaas

Vlakplaas is an informal settlement in the City of Ekurhuleni. It is made up of about 1000 households 

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with structures built from leftovers bricks by construction companies which threw them away in the nearby bushes. The core challenge that Vlakplaas experiences is poor sanitation and pitch darkness after dusk. The area uses chemical toilets, which are all placed outside the residents’ yards. Each toilet is shared by approximately 10-15 households. There is only one contractor servicing these toilets and it has hired only two cleaners from the area, with each of them responsible for cleaning sixty-eight chemical toilets. Planact introduced a social audit which was community led and supported by the leadership structure of the community.

Winnie Mandela, Tembisa

The informal settlement named Winnie Mandela was established in 1994. It comprises of people who came from another informal settlement 

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in Plastic View, which was later renamed Freedom Square. Winnie Mandela informal settlement has been in existence for over 24 years. Planact was introduced to this settlement through the Ekurhuleni Concerned Residents Association (ECRA).  The late Winnie Mandela visited the place and promised that it would be upgraded. Currently, the community consist of an upgraded part and shacks in other sections. This is one of the areas where a scaled up social audit on sanitation has been conducted and positive results are expected.

Duduza North, Tembisa

Duduza North informal settlement was founded in 1993. It is situated in Tembisa, close to Kempton Park. 

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This informal settlement has been in existence for over 25 years and has a population of about 4000 households. The main challenge that Duduza is facing is that of sanitation. Initially, residents alleged that there was no form of communication between them and the companies that installs chemical toilets for them, as they do not leave any contact details. This meannt that they could not report any damages. The social audit on sanitation has quick wins as there began communication on the schedule as well as disludging on toilets.

Tsakane Informal Settlements

City of Tshwane, Gauteng

Railway Extension 21

Railway extension 21 is an informal settlement situated in Tsakane, east of Johannesburg. 

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It is made up of 300 households, with the population over 800-1200 inhabitants. The settlement was previously owned by a white farmer. After he relocated in 2004, some families occupied the area.

Planact first met with the leaders of Railway in February 2018, to propose a tried and tested methodology to tackle their sanitation service delivery issues. The area is provided with two types of toilets, type A which is a container with two compartments designed for males and females and type B which is portable chemical toilets. The social audit on sanitation has initiated participatory governance of the area as municipal officials interact with leaders as and when required.

Langaville Extension 8

Langaville is informal settlement which forms part of Tsakane Township, in the City of Ekurhuleni. 

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According to residents, Tsakane was established in the early 1960 due to segregation movement.

After Langaville was identified as a possible site to conduct a social audit, Planact approached a community leader who facilitated conversations with the Ward councillor. Unfortunately, the community leader has passed on and was not able to continue with leaving the mark he had initiated in Langaville.

Sanitation is the biggest challenge in Langaville. The chemical toilets that are being used are not well-installed, they have undesirable odour as compared to the pit latrines and contractors of these toilets do not follow tender specifications as agreed on the tender document. The City of Ekurhuleni has accepted recommendations made by  Tsakane residents.

Kameeldrift

In June 2019, residents of Kameeldrift 298, a settlement situated in Region 5 of the City of Tshwane conducted a social audit 

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of the hiring and servicing of chemical toilets in their community. The social audit was supported by Planact, the Social Audit Network (SAN), and the International Budget Partnership South Africa (IBP South Africa). The community’s leadership nominated young unemployed people to participate as community volunteers in this social audit. Planact, supported by SAN, and trained Kameeldrift 298 community volunteers in the social audit methodology and all the data was collected by these volunteers.

A total of 605 households live in Plot 174, which has been re-blocked as part of an informal settlement upgrading process. The majority of Kameeldrift’s residents, living in 2 345 households, are in Plot 175. The Kameeldrift 298 police station, a library, a clinic, and a community hall are situated in Plot 171, while 133 households live in the yard of the community hall. They moved to this section after being evicted from a farm more than 10 years ago.

Spring Valley, Emalahleni

Leandra Informal Settlement

Nasaret, Nkangala

Rockdale

Mhluze

Kameeldrift

Past Projects (2000 – 2015)

Past Project Areas Programmes Municipality
Diepsloot Housing and Community Development Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Bekkersdal Housing and Community Development Westonaria Town Council
Muldersdrift Housing and Community Development Krugersdorp Municipality
Zevenfontein Housing and Community Development Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Zandspruit

Housing and Community Development & Local Government Transformation

Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Orlando East Local Economic Development Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Ivory Park Housing and Community Development Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Bronkhorspruit Local Government Transformation Bronkhorspruit Municipality
Diepkloof Local Government Transformation Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Vosloorus Local Government Transformation City of Ekurhuleni
Ivory Park Local Government Transformation Johannesburg Northern Metropolitan Local Council
Kanana Local Government Transformation Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality
Bloemfontein Local Government Transformation Mangaung District Municipality

 

Physical Address:

Maths Centre
28 Juta Street
Braamfontein
2001
South Africa

Postal Address:

PO Box 30823
Braamfontein
2017
South Africa