Tsakane is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

located in

Ekurhuleni The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng. The municipality itself is a large suburban region east o ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was established during the early 1960s due to Apartheid's segregationist policies and was formally founded as a designated area. Tsakane is a Tsonga word which means joy or happiness. During the 2011 Census the population of Tsakane consisted of Black Africans (134,342), Coloureds (539), Whites (28), Indian/Asians (216) - 135,994 in total. The languages that are spoken are as follows:

IsiZulu Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal of ...

, Sotho, Xhosa, Setswana, Xitsonga, Ndebele and English. Tsakane is divided into different extensions: 1, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 5, 8, 9 and 22. Some of the Public schools in the area are Mamellong Comprehensive school & J.E Malepe Secondary school.

Health Services

Tsakane has one public hospital called Pholosong. The hospital serves a population of 900,000 people from Tsakane,

KwaThema KwaThema is a township south-west of Springs in the district of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1951 when Africans were forcibly removed from Payneville because it was considered by the apartheid government to be too clos ...

and

Duduza Duduza is a township west of Nigel on the East Rand, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1964 when Africans were resettled from Charterston because it was considered by the apartheid government to be too close to a white town. A local au ...

. There is one public clinic and other smaller surgeries and clinics in the township that take care of the health of the people around the township of Tsakane. Clinics help patients with health issues such as high blood pressure, cancer, HIV/AIDS blood tests and treatment, etc.

Economic Development

Economic development in Tsakane is centred in the area around the mall which also accommodates the police station, the Magistrates court, the stadium and the Municipal offices. There are 4 Shoprite stores in Tsakane and the malls and shopping complexes are forever busy throughout the week especially around the end of the month. There is a range of housing in Tsakane. Residences range from middle class houses (Ext 1,5,8 & 11) normal houses (central) to RDP houses (Mandela village, Ext 9,12,13,15 & 19).

Lifestyle

Tsakane has two

shopping center A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known collec ...

s, Tsakane Corner and The Square, and other smaller shopping centers which are located in different sections of the township: Duduza Rank, Extension 11 and Extension 19. Tsakane mall is not very big but has many stores and banks. Two well known

supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

in the mall that most people buy food from are Shoprite and

Spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

. Shoprite is also found in the other two shopping centers: Extension 11 and Extension 19 shopping centers. There are fast-food restaurants, clubs such as Dinangwe, Siyas Lounge and Tight Corner and other places that people go to on special occasions, such as on public holidays. Tsakane also boasts an active night life with bars such as: Chillas, Dinangwe and Welcome's place. The people of Tsakane like to eat out and support their local township food businesses which sell

bunny chow Bunny chow, often referred to simply as a bunny, is an Indian South African fast food dish consisting of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry and a serving of salad on the side. It originated among Indian South Africans of ...

or "kota" as it is referred to.

Sports and Leisure

Tsakane has one major stadium, Tsakane Stadium. The stadium is not large enough to host matches between big soccer teams like

Orlando Pirates Orlando Pirates Football Club (often known as "The Buccaneers") is a South African professional football club based in the Houghton suburb of the city of Johannesburg and plays in the top-tier system of Football in South Africa known as DStv ...

and

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) are a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premier Soccer League. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Lords" or "Chie ...

. Although lately the stadium has hosted some matches between the reserve teams of these big cubs in a tournament called the '' Diski Challenge.'' In addition to soccer games, the stadium is also often used for local activities such as government functions, school sports days, music festivals and religious gatherings.

Education

There are several Primary and Secondary Schools in Tsakane. Primary schools in Tsakane mostly start from Grade 1-7 whereas the secondary schools start from Grade 8 to 12 except for African School for Excellence which is the only secondary school that starts from grade 7 in the area as well as being the only Cambridge School in that area. Michael Mkwanazi Primary School Sizuzile Primary School

The African School for Excellence

The African School for Excellence (ASE) is currently the only private school located in Tsakane. The ASE model was designed specifically to address the needs and challenges of township secondary school scholars. The main difference between it and government public schools in Tsakane is that ASE uses the Cambridge curriculum. African School of Excellence TsakaneGauteng school buildings.JPG African School of Excellence Tsakane Gauteng school buildings 2.JPG African School of Excellence, Tsakane, Gauteng school buildings.JPG African School of Excellence Tsakane Gauteng school buildings 3.JPG African School of Excellence Tsakane Gauteng school buildings 4.JPG African School of Excellence Tsakane Gauteng school buildings 5.JPG African School of Excellence Tsakane Gauteng school buildings and landscape beyond.JPG African School of Excellence, Tsakane, Gauteng school grounds.JPG African School of Excellence, Tsakane, Gauteng building works.JPG

Communication, Arts and Culture

Radio Station

Tsakane has one community radio station called EK FM 103.6. The radio station serves as a community development and communication media for Tsakane, Kwathema, Duduza and Daveyton communities.

Newspaper

Tsakane has a local newspaper: The African Reporter. The African Reporter is a weekly newspaper distributed on Fridays across the East Rand with an estimated circulation of 22,000 newspapers.

Magazine

Tsakane also has a local magazine.

References

{{City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality Townships in Gauteng Populated places in Ekurhuleni