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In days gone by, there was a sense of community in Alexandra. People were proud of their township. Sadly those days have gone, says an old timer.
TWO pounds ten (R2.50 in today’s terms) was the rent on a single room in Alexandra in the early years, when the semi-arid, freehold area burgeoned shortly after 1912. A hundred square metres of land cost £40 to buy, and in one avenue there were about 166 properties.
 Sandile Mbatha, otherwise known as Mjukuyt, laments the days gone byProperty owners were beacons of hope to the many people who flocked from rural areas to the city seeking a better life, because they offered transitory accommodation. Soon most property owners had become landlords, building makeshift huts in their yards for migrants. And for these new urbanites, the shacks offered a home away from the rural hamlets they had left behind.
A hundred years on, the descendants of the initial property owners no longer have title deeds to their land and “no one in Alexandra pays rent for accommodation – not even the people who are living in the backrooms. On my properties I am not collecting rent,” laments multiple property owner Sandile Mbatha, who is popularly known as Mjukuyt.
Although the township has grown in size and population over the years, part of the old Alex, once known as Dark City because of the lack of electricity, is in a state of decay. Many of its residents live in squalid conditions; there is no greenery and no amenities usually found in urban areas.
Sandwiched between Joburg’s northeastern suburbs of Sandton and Bramley and the N3 highway, which outlines the eastern periphery of the metro, Alexandra is characterised by high levels of unemployment, decrepit tenements and rundown infrastructure, although there have been some recent notable developments.
Video
One Alex Sandile Mbatha tells the story of Alex, looking back at the times when renting a room cost only R2.50. Watch video. |
Alex – as the suburb is popularly known – is home to a diversity of people speaking an assortment of languages, practising their various traditions and cultural heritage. “It has always been a diverse community. The community of Alexandra has always been composed of all the ethnic groups of South Africa,” says Mbatha.
Migrants
 Tradition and culture still have deep roots in AlexStill a mecca for migrants today, many residents of Alex are foreign nationals and people from other provinces, mixed with the descendants of its first residents. Many of its teens drop out of school for a variety of reasons – pregnancy, poor academic performance, hopelessness. In Alex, the idea of a safe and secure neighbourhood with decent houses and adequate infrastructure is still a blurred reality.
Crime is on the upsurge, driven by poverty and hopelessness. Many youngsters spend their time hanging out on street corners, loitering with little intent; many find some solace in drugs and alcohol – the most prevalent social ills affecting the community.
Through his avid storytelling, Mbatha wants to renew the hopes of many a young person living in the area through teaching them about the history and heritage of the township, and encouraging a positive life.
He says being a freehold township hasn’t been all glamour for Alex. It is over-populated because of the influx of migrants, which has contributed to urban decay, crime, rat infestation, poverty and “deprivation”.
With the proliferation of shacks built throughout Alexandra, it cannot develop, he adds. “There is no sense of responsibility. The kind of living conditions is appalling. It’s overpopulated and congestion contributes to the place being unhygienic.”
He says in the old Alex, there was a sense of community in the streets and homes. Neighbours knew one another, their children were married to each other and life was reciprocal.
 The new generation“Alexandra was a very close-knit community; everyone knew one another. We had livestock, a child was raised by the community and it was community run. But things have changed,” he says.
Education
Many notable individuals have come from Alexandra, including intellectuals, diplomats, politicians, musicians, boxers, soccer stars and academics. “The education system in Alexandra was so good. That is why we had so many educated people because a time for loitering and sitting around was scarce,” he explains.
The one thing Mbatha remembers most about his childhood is that boredom never settled in. “We were never lonely. Even during the holidays we had something to do, like playing football. We had a professionally run soccer league. Sports and music have always been part and parcel of the culture of Alexandra.”
After the expropriation of properties, the anti-apartheid struggle intensified and people sought to make the state ungovernable. They started a campaign called “phambili ngomkhukhu” – loosely translated as “forward with shacks” – which encouraged people from rural areas to build shacks on abandoned and empty properties and stands.
“It’s very difficult to reserve now,” he says, adding that the only way authorities can get Alexandra in order is by giving the initial home owners their properties back, and then enforcing legislation.
He is nostalgic for the old community. Had it been developed without the first homeowners losing their land through the government’s expropriation, Mbatha believes Alexandra would have been a “posh, eclectic and eccentric suburb”.
Suburb
“It would’ve been a city, a township, a suburb in fact because we used to keep it clean. It was going to be cleaner because today we have tarred roads, pavements and lights. Without all these shacks it would be a beautiful township, and unique,” he explains.
 Times have changed but the Jukskei River still runs through Alex“When I think about it, closing my eyes thinking about how it would have been unique, my heart just becomes sad.”
He believes the first homeowners are turning in their graves because of how Alex has turned out. “It used to be a grand township in the apartheid years, but now that we have our freedom, the communal life has changed.”
Having survived the past 100 years is a milestone for Alex. “My dream is for the authorities to give back the properties to the initial owners and then you will have control over Alexandra because there’s no government that is going to control Alex the way it is,” he says.
“Alexandra has been a part of me since birth. My mother was born here in 1921.
“Now there’s lots of change; the youngsters are not involved. Alexandra has really changed. You’ve got these people building shacks and those people are uncontrollable, unlike the old Alexandra. Alexandrians used to be responsible for their township. It was like one big family,” he says.
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