how many people live in south africa townships

Only a little more than a year ago, Motsoaledi’s youths exploded in angry protests to demand government action to improve conditions in the settlement. Motsoaledi’s poverty, contrasting so starkly with signs of improvement elsewhere in Soweto, has bred resentment. Right across the nearby Chris Hani Road are brick houses of somewhat better-off Sowetans and just a short walk to the west is the new Maponya Mall, with trendy coffee bars and restaurants.

The inhabitants of Motsoaledi know they are poor. There is refuse collection, however, organised by a residents’ committee, says Cat. During heavy rains many shacks leak and the entire area is prone to flooding. Residents must rely on paraffin stoves and candles for cooking and light, and live in constant danger of fires among the shacks built of wood, cardboard and corrugated metal sheeting. Besides lacking an adequate water system, it has no electricity - although tall high-tension pylons stand along the periphery.

The shantytown - named after anti-apartheid hero Elias Motsoaledi - is within Soweto, South Africa’s largest black township. In a few cases where residents are too frail to fetch water from a tap, explains Cat, “we laid pipes to their houses.”

That number might sound impressive, except that there are 40,000 people living in Motsoaledi and the taps are their only clean water source. It is one of 48 taps installed by the government throughout the informal shack settlement, says Cat, a young man who serves as guide. SOWETO - Along the side of a bumpy, dusty road in Motsoaledi sits a concrete stand supporting a water pipe and faucet tap. Photograph: Africa Renewal / Ernest Harsch

How many people live in south africa townships