KwaDabeka is a
township in
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...
,
South Africa, located north-west of
Durban and means "at the Dabeka location".
Geography
KwaDabeka is situated approximately 24 km north-west of
Durban and 6 km north-east of
New Germany and forms part of the
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality which is Durban's
greater metropolitan area.
KwaDabeka is bordered by the
uMngeni River and
eMachobeni in the north,
Ntuzuma in the north-east,
Newlands West in the east,
Clermont in the south and
Wyebank in the west. KwaDabeka occupies an extensive area and is subdivided into multi-sections which are primarily in the form of letters. The sections include KwaDabeka Unit A to H, KwaDabeka Unit J to L, KwaDabeka Unit R to T and Siphumelele.
Most people speak about KwaDabeka as a township separate from Clermont, however Clermont KwaDabeka Tourism Development describes KwaDabeka and Clermont as a collective township and also as one of Clermont's 7 suburbs.
Challenges
Almost everyone who lives in the area is poor, and some live in abject poverty: we work with many child-headed households, in many others the breadwinners have
HIV/AIDS and are too sick to work, or simply have too few skills to be employed. The predominant problems in this community are poverty, HIV/AIDS, unemployment and lack of economic opportunity, crime, drugs, domestic violence and rape.
Transport
KwaDabeka is well connected to the rest of the eThekwini Municipality through the
M5. The M5 East (Dumisani Makhaye Drive, recently opened in 2017) links it to
King Shaka International Airport
King Shaka International Airport , abbreviated KSIA, is the primary international airport serving Durban, South Africa. Located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately north of the city centre of Durban. The airport opened its doors to passen ...
via the neighbouring suburbs of
KwaMashu, Newlands (East and West) and
Verulam, to meet the
N2 at
Sea Cow Lake (R102) or
Mount Edgecombe (M41). The M5 West (Dinkelman Road/Otto Volek Road) also links KwaDabeka with
Umbilo via
Pinetown (via the M32 Qashana Khuzwayo Road or M19 Umngeni Drive),
Queensburgh
Queensburgh () is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that is situated inland (southwest) from Durban and now forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban metropolitan area.
History
The hilly area was settled by people working in Durban who ...
and Sarnia. It is also linked to the
N3 (and
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...
) via Wyebank Road, which meets the
M13 (King Cetshwayo Highway) at
Kloof. However Wyebank Road is in desperate need of upgrades if it is to serve as the main arterial route linking Durban's Inner West suburbs with King Shaka International.
The taxi business is well-established in KwaDabeka, with a taxi rank at the
KK Hostel (Kranskloof Hostel, also the largest hostel in the Southern Hemisphere) serving as a base for taxis linking KwaDabeka's commuters with the rest of Durban.
KwaDabeka is also served by two of Durban's largest bus companies - Metro/KKC LTD and Durban Transport (colloquially known as 'umasipala'). However Metro buses are more frequent in KwaDabeka (and neighboring Clermont).
Tourism
There has been effort by the
eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and
Durban Tourism to establish tourism in the
townships surrounding Durban including KwaDabeka. Clermont KwaDabeka Tourism Development was established in 2013 as a community tourism organisation by Durban Tourism and the KZN Department of Tourism. The aim of the organisation was to give tourists a township experience and teach them about the history of KwaDabeka and the neighbouring township of
Clermont.
[{{Cite web, last=Nosipho.Mkhize, title=Township with a history, url=https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/local/hillcrest-fever/township-with-a-history-20160627, access-date=2021-06-01, website=News24]
References
Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality