We remember Emaplatini, the origin of Soweto

A place unknown to many holds the history of how the demarcation of Soweto came to be, yet the place remains forgotten.

Siyakhula Skills Development and Black Excellence are working on a project that is set to recognise Emaplatini the mother of Soweto.

It is an informal settlement that was formed in the early 1920s as Emaplantini Masekeni which is the symbol of the countries victory over oppression.

The heritage site is not recognised by people who live in it, a group of young individuals are in the quest to getting the place recognised.

According to Carol Pfavayi the group is part of a research project about Emaplatini-Masakeni which seeks to trace the origins of the biggest township in Africa.

“We want to get the message out there and youngsters to know about the origin of where they stay. Soweto itself is a brand, yet we don’t even know how it came about,” said Pfavayi.

Pfavayi said Masakeni was a shanty town. They named the place Masekeni because the people who lived there used to close the area with sacs during soccer games so that people who didn’t pay couldn’t see what was happening inside.

She said the group has three aims which are to develop monuments, educate the society and promote entrepreneurship.

“If we put monuments about the area we will have people who will be recording that information in the textbooks. We only see the area as the place where our struggle icons used to live but don’t know how it was formed.

“By capturing that information we will be integrating it, so people can know about it,” explained Pfavayi.

Both Siyakhula and Black Excellence want to make the place a heritage site and they want Soweto to be a brand itself. They want people to know how the area come about and what was the reason people relocated to the area.

“We are going to educate people through music, storytelling, and poetry. We want to have a group of young people who are going to sing liberation songs but we will have to modernise it so it can be interesting,” she said.

Pfavayi said they now live in a community where people want the government to do everything which limits them from going out and doing things for themselves. Hence in Africa, we are blessed with more resources.

“We should realise that and use those resources to rebuild Africa as a whole. Building monuments create entrepreneurship in Soweto and spread awareness about what is happening in the area.”

Project facilitator Nathi Ngcobo said they are busy negotiating with the government responsible for land redistribution.

He said they have the Gauteng Tourism Authority which they have sent a proposal to and GIZ from Germany who has acknowledged that they’re going to help.

“The quantity surveyor said it’s going to cost five billion to build the whole thing. We don’t want to wait for that money. Part of publicising the plan is to market Emaplatini as it is a brand itself,” said Ngcobo.

Sibusiso Matlala added that the development will help create jobs within the community and help establish a collective working environment between unemployed youth and employers.

This will reduce the rate of unemployment and opens up more opportunities for the community.

“It will benefit the whole society and it will attract tourist to be interested in how the community came about,” added Matlala.
Nkosinathi Nxumalo who deals with Agriculture said they’re trying to create more jobs.

“We are trying to raise awareness about recycling and rehabilitate organic foods. Will teach people how to plant trees. We are trying to change the mindset of black people,” said Nxumalo.

The project will help alleviate poverty, reduce crime and reduce illegal dumping in the community.

We don’t want to focus in Orlando only but the whole of Soweto. We are going to start at Naledi to utilize open areas so skilled people can do something positive about it.

“We are also planning an annual jazz festival,” said Ngcobo and Nxumalo.

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