Despite Paul Mashatile’s ‘clean-up’, Kliptown remains a symbol of service delivery failure

Kliptown, Soweto, a cornerstone in the creation of the Freedom Charter, now finds itself in stark contradiction to the very principles it helped establish. While the charter champions equality and dignity, the community’s neglected living conditions tell a story of persistent disregard and unfulfilled promises.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero came face to face with the struggles of Kliptown’s Freedom Square informal settlement during the launch of a clean-up campaign last week.

A group of community members watched scornfully from their shacks as Mashatile toured the Kliptown Youth Programme facility, which has improved and continues to improve the lives of residents through various self-funded initiatives like education and meals. 

In a community devastated by poverty, unemployment and lawlessness, the Kliptown Youth Programme is a beacon of hope.

There are few other signs of service delivery or development in the area.

Walter Sisulu Square

In May 2024, Daily Maverick reported on the persistent vandalism at the Walter Sisulu Memorial Square, a gradually declining tourist attraction that honours the signing of the 1955 Freedom Charter. 

“The Walter Sisulu square isn’t just falling victim to crime,” a community member who asked to remain anonymous told Daily Maverick last week.

“It’s also being damaged by frustrated community members. Since its inception, many locals have felt that the township, despite its modest size, should have been prioritised for development over a multimillion-rand investment in the square. This lingering sentiment has fuelled a cycle of neglect and vandalism,” she said.

Referring to Mashatile, Lesufi and Morero’s visit, she said: “We cannot betray our consciences and be part of that gathering. We are not hypocrites… We have no business there.”

Read more: Walter Sisulu Memorial Square’s heritage of shame as criminals strip it bare

The Walter Sisulu Memorial Square was opened by then president Thabo Mbeki in 2005 at a cost of R160-million. Its precinct also included the Soweto Hotel, which is no longer operational due to the area’s decline. 

Responding to Daily Maverick in February 2025 on whether the City of Johannesburg had plans to renovate the Walter Sisulu Memorial Square, spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said: “Yes, in Kliptown the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, the historic site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter, will be renovated and restored by the Joburg Property Company.”

When Daily Maverick visited last week, there was no sign that the renovations had begun. At the time of writing, the City had not sent responses to Daily Maverick’s recent questions on Walter Sisulu Square and the poor state of Kliptown. 

Read more: Poverty prevails in Kliptown — the very place the Freedom Charter was signed

It’s not the only symbol of Kliptown’s heritage of shame. Charlotte Maxeke House, the home of the “mother of black freedom in South Africa”, is also in ruins. A visit by Mashatile last week to the dilapidated house left little hope that it will be renovated.

Near the house stood a faded promise, quite literally. A billboard proudly proclaimed “Charlotte Maxeke House to be renovated”, yet time has had its way with both the building and the sign. As time passes without progress, the peeling paint on the hoarding becomes a visual metaphor for broken promises.

Lack of water and power

“We are often without water, and it’s not safe because when shacks burn, which is often, especially now in winter, we use water to extinguish the fires. We have not received water tanks in a very long time. We often go to bed without any water. Imagine if a shack burns at night, we’d be helpless,” said Thandi Vilakai, 51, a resident of Kliptown’s Freedom Square informal settlement. 

Vilakazi, who has been living in the area for more than a decade, told Daily Maverick that the water and electricity struggles in the area were so dire that they often had to go as far as Dlamini to get water.

“We have to duck traffic and go across the road in search of what should be a basic provision,” she said. “As for electricity, we have never been connected to the grid. We are wholly dependent on paraffin stoves.”

An elderly lady told Mashatile and Morero about the area’s electricity woes. Mashatile asked about the large cables that were hanging low overhead and if they provided electricity. He was told they were illegal electricity connections.

Kliptown’s electricity woes are well documented. Freedom Square has never had an electricity connection. In 2017, Daily Maverick reported on the community’s electricity problems and how other community members had turned their misery into a business. 

The area also lacks basic sanitary provisions such as toilets. 

Read more: Electricity theft: Kliptown ‘hero’ brings light to forgotten community

Unemployment and unfinished projects

Crime in the area is also very high, something residents have attributed to the high unemployment rate. They complain that there is also a high school dropout rate among the youth.

“Here, when we say we are working, we’d be talking about small opportunities created by non-profit organisations. That’s the only work available for our residents,” community leader Thabang Nkwanyana said.

Struggling to find employment, Nkwanyana and some friends established a brick-making business. They now make bricks from clear plastic bottles, which Nkwanyana said had helped put food on the table for their families.

According to residents, projects that had been undertaken in the area have stalled, but residents have no idea why. One such project was the rehabilitation of Union Road, which should be the biggest street in Freedom Square. 

The road rehabilitation was earmarked to last six months, but nearly a year later, there are still trenches everywhere.

“This project was announced by former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda during his reign. The project is now running in its 10th or 11th month,” Nkwanyana said.

The City also started a process of “reblocking” in the informal settlement. It refers to rearranging shacks that are closely huddled together to add driveways and improve access.

In many informal settlements, reblocking provides a psychological boost, reinforcing the idea that progress is taking hold. According to residents, the reblocking of their shacks in Freedom Square has also stalled.

“We do not know why they stopped,” resident Bheki Hadebe said. DM