Every Easter holiday there are numerous soccer tournaments held across South Africa’s various historically black townships, from Soweto to Tembisa to Soshanguve to Seshego to Mdantsane to Galeshewe.

Among the most well-known and popular are the Philly’s Games in Tembisa and the Kasi Games in Soweto. There are thousands of similar games held across the country in this holiday period.

The rationale for holding these games during this period is that young people need to be kept active to minimise chances of them falling foul of all of the social ills afflicting the townships.

It is now an open secret that South Africa’s historically black townships face numerous challenges including poor infrastructure, high levels of unemployment, rampant crime, high rates of teenage pregnancies, high rates of alcohol and drug abuse, etc.

The Easter soccer tournaments inadvertently always shine a spotlight on the poor state of infrastructure in the townships while highlighting the depth of football talent lying idle in these areas.

The poor state of football infrastructure in the historically black townships generally mimics the poor state of all infrastructure, from roads and sewers to schools and parks.

Even in Soweto and Tembisa, which are among the biggest black townships in the country, there are no decent, well-grassed, well-manicured and well-maintained soccer pitches to showcase townships’ much-vaunted raw talent in the game that Pelé dubbed “the game of billions”.

The situation was the same during apartheid. It has not changed during this democratic dispensation.

The poor state of football infrastructure in the historically black townships generally mimics the poor state of all infrastructure, from roads and sewers to schools and parks.

Things have not got worse. They simply have not improved. Where they have, improvements have been ad hoc, sporadic and unsustainable.

The democratic government has not shown sufficient willpower, determination and stamina when it comes to the reconstruction and development of historically black townships.

At the peak of its electoral support powers, when it had an overwhelming majority, the ANC-led government appeared half-hearted at best and apologetic at worst when it came to making decisions about massive and sustained investments in the reconstruction and development of the township.

Save for the aborted Alexandra Renewal Project, there is little to show in terms of tangible and measurable improvements as a result of direct government interventions.

Why are townships so strategic in the historical development of South Africa?

According to Stats SA, nearly 35% of South Africa’s population live in townships. Townships are thus home to more than a third of the South African population. We cannot therefore talk about urbanisation and not talk about the townships.

From a historical perspective, townships have been at the coalface and cutting edge of South Africa’s political, economic and cultural development.

They have provided the pool of unskilled labour that propelled South Africa’s industrialisation. In this regard, trade unions trace their birth to townships.

They have defined South Africa’s cultural map, especially in music, fashion and sport. Soweto is home to two of the country’s biggest football clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. Soweto also gave us Prince Mayisela, Baby Jake Matlala and Dingaan Thobela, if you are a fan of the sport of boxing. Sipho Hotstix Mabuse, Sibongile Khumalo, Chicco Twala and Trompies, among others, all hail from South Africa’s biggest and well-known townships.

Politically, key leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, OR Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Kgalema Motlanthe and many others either originate from townships or spent a big chunk of their time here.

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Key political events including the Sharpeville Massacre, the June 1976 uprising, the Boipatong Massacre and many more occurred in townships.

Townships therefore provided their inhabitants with proximity and access that the villages and other forms of human settlements never presented. As social beings, people fraternised, befriended one another, created structures and clubs, sought to play sport and music, formed churches and political parties. What was intended as a labour concentration camp became a place of vibrant political, economic, social and cultural life and development.

Why black townships remain underdeveloped

Both ambassador Vusi Mavimbela and Professor Barney Pityana recently lamented the level of degradation and deterioration afflicting the townships and towns they once called home.

In many towns and townships across the country, roads are littered with potholes. Parks are filthy and unmaintained. Traffic lights don’t function, schools are falling apart, government offices, including police stations, are dilapidated.

While there are many reasons to explain the sorry and sad state of the black townships, two main ones stand out.

The township masses are angry and tired of being ignored. They want service delivery that is consistent, predictable and uninterrupted.

Since the dawn of democracy, the ANC has demonstrated a lack of political will to develop and reconstruct the townships. Since the abandonment of the Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) there has not been another coherent rendition of the strategic importance of the townships and what needed to be done to revitalise them.

Former president Thabo Mbeki tried to give implementation effect to the RDP on this question when announcing the “Alex, Umlazi and Galeshewe’’ renewal programme during his 2001 SONA. Then Gauteng premier Mbhazima Sam Shilowa announced the Top 20 Priority Townships Programme in 2006, but all of these faded into thin air as nothing concrete was done beyond the Alexandra Renewal Project.

Failure to develop and reconstruct the townships therefore stands out as the ANC-led government’s single-most damning failure. This is where the government’s core support base resides. These communities vote like their lives depend on it. They fought and know first-hand the effects of apartheid.

The ANC has instead outsourced the responsibility to develop the townships to municipalities. Municipalities lack the means and capacity to develop the townships. In the Western Cape, for instance, chances of the City of Cape Town and the province developing Gugulethu, Mitchells Plain, Athlone, Langa, Nyanga and Philippi are as good as the ANC winning the Western Cape again.

How the townships are fixing the ANC

Since the advent of democracy, the ANC’s electoral support in the townships has been unassailable. However, during the 2021 local government elections the party started showing clear and consistent signs of a decline in electoral support in the townships.

Various credible and not-so-credible reasons for the decline were advanced, but from my perspective, the township masses are angry and tired of being ignored. They want service delivery that is consistent, predictable and uninterrupted.

Can local government fill the gap?

No. Local government lacks the means and the capacity to improve the quality and quantity of services. It also does not have the means to develop and maintain infrastructure. Local government budgets face competing needs from citizens and often the resources are insufficient.

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The ANC must revert to the Township Renewal Model and set up an office in the Presidency to drive infrastructure development with dedicated funding similar to the Solidarity Fund and the Infrastructure Fund.

After all, the masses do not blame local government for poor service delivery and poor infrastructure – they blame the ANC.

In addition, it must also revive the Integrated Spatial Development Plan and Top 20 Priority Township Programme in Gauteng as a way of coordinating and channelling investment in infrastructure. Reviving the township economy alone is never going to be sufficient. We need an integrated and holistic strategic plan to develop and reconstruct the townships.

If the ANC fails to respond, the masses will continue punishing the party until it is completely out of power. DM