Umlazi

Umlazi
Umlazi
Umlazi  Umlazi shown within KwaZulu-Natal
Location within Durban Umlazi
Coordinates:
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
Municipality	eThekwini
Established	{{#property:P571}}
Area
• Total	47.46 km2 (18.32 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	404,811
• Density	8,500/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	99.4%
• Coloured	0.1%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	0.1%
• Other	0.1%
First languages (2011)
• Zulu	91.4%
• Xhosa	3.0%
• English	2.1%
• S. Ndebele	1.2%
• Other	2.3%
Postal code (street)	4066
PO box	4031

Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. It is the third largest township in South Africa, after Soweto and Tembisa. The township is the only township in the country that has its own registration plate, which is NUZ. Umlazi is divided into 26 sections, A through to Z, with the exception of I, O and X, but with an addition of AA, BB and CC.

Etymology

According to legend, the name Umlazi comes from "umlaza", the Zulu word for the sour acid produced from fermented or sour milk. It is believed that when King Shaka was passing through the area, he refused to drink from a local river claiming it had the taste of "umlaza". The area was called Umlazi after this incident.

Infrastructure

Umlazi, like many townships in the urban areas of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Johannesburg, is witnessing increased private and government investments, as seen in the construction of new shopping complexes, primary and secondary schools, universities of technology and libraries.

The new educational infrastructure is particularly important, as an affordable, easily accessible quality secondary education is valuable for many children in Umlazi, particularly with regards to their search for employment following school (most do not attend tertiary institutions due to their family's financial resources).

Mangosuthu Highway is the most popular road in Umlazi and it links the residents to the many sections. There are now three shopping malls in Umlazi, the Philani Mega Mall, Kwa-Mnyandu Mall and Umlazi Mega City Mall which is located just off the freeway that exits to Umlazi. The recently built KwaMnyandu Shopping Centre opened its doors on the 5th of June 2014.

Almost all sections in Umlazi have a clinic and a police station. The King Zwelithini Stadium, which is located on the Mangosuthu Highway, has been revamped for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Education

The township has two FET Colleges, Umlazi Coastal College V and BB Campuses, which are the equivalent of American Community Colleges, and a university, Mangosuthu University of Technology.

There are schools that produce 100% Matric (Grade 12) pass rate, including Umlazi Comprehensive Technical High School (Umlazi ComTech), Menzi High School, Velabahleke High School and Zwelibanzi High School. About 30% of homes in Umlazi are informal settlements (tin and wooden shacks). Most of these informal settlements have been demolished and replaced with brand new homes and roads that are part of the Residential Development Project (RDP).

External links

• Umlazi Online
• BBC Radio 5 Live's Umlazi project
• Map showing Umlazi
• A short documentary following Lucas back to his home town in Umlazi Township