| Lenasia | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): Lenz | |
|
Lenasia
|
|
|
Lenasia
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Metropolitan Municipality | City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality |
| Time zone | SAST (UTC+2) |
Lenasia is a large formerly exclusively Indian township south of Soweto in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Lenasia is approximately 35 kilometers south of the Johannesburg central business district and 45 kilometers south of the Sandton central business district.
Apartheid-era planners situated the group area for Johannesburg's Indians near the Lenz Military Base. The name "Lenasia" is thought to be a combination of the words "Lenz" and "Asia". The Lenz in question was one Captain Lenz who owned the original plot on which Lenasia is situated. Many of its early residents were forcibly removed under the Group Areas Act from Pageview(aka.Fietas) and Fordsburg, non-racial areas close to the Johannesburg city centre, to Lenasia. As segregation grew it became the largest place where people of Indian extraction could legally live in the then Transvaal Province.
Lenasia is now a vibrant and thriving community. With the advent of the new Trade Route Mall, Lenasia continues to expand. The community of Lenasia played a prominent role in opposing the national tri-cameral elections held in 1984 and 1989 under the apartheid era National Party government. This was an attempt to create separate legislative assemblies in South Africa for whites, Indians and coloureds in order to entrench racial segregation and perpetuate the disenfranchisement of the African majority in South Africa. Lenasia also played a role in the creation and activities of the United Democratic Front (UDF), the mass democratic movement that opposed apartheid in the 1980s and early 1990s before the unbanning of the African National Congress. Many of Lenasia's residents played a prominent role in the UDF structures and the broader anti-apartheid movement. Some of these activists became senior political figures after the first national democratic elections in 1994. It is a testament to the way that the people of Lenasia have embraced democracy that that the official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance took Lenasia in the last local council elections
Lenasia is now a rapidly-growing suburb with shopping malls, churches, mandhirs, mosques, banks and various commercial and industrial sectors. Three satellite radio stations, Radio Islam, Eastwave FM and Channel Islam International broadcast from Lenasia. The township is large, and divided into extensions including a major suburb produced from Lenasia, which is called Lenasia South and referred to as Daxina by the locals. There is also the newest addition, Extension 13
The younger generation tend to travel out of Lenasia to work for the big corporates. The growing population of Lenasia is a huge concern, as no additional land is being zoned for suburban development. Hence properties soar to exorbitant prices, making it more and more difficult for entry level income earners to afford to live there. This is repercussion of apartheid era land policies.
Many of the younger generation are now beginning to move out of the suburb because of increasing home prices, major traffic congestion en route to the city, as well as wanting to live in a more multicultural environment.
Although still a predominantly Indian area, Lenasia today is a more cosmopolitan and diverse suburb, providing a place to live for local coloured and African people, as well as recent immigrants and refugees.