Francistown — Kgaphamadi is a settlement located on the western side of Francistown City.

The high population density, high unemployment levels, rising crime wave, alcoholism, environmental degradation, damnation and death characterise this sprawling shanty township.

The widespread poverty and destitution in Kgaphamadi are an indictment to the traditional but abiding notion that given the great achievements of modern civilisation, the city is the place where everybody can live a prosperous and dignified life.

Legend has it that the first people to settle at Kgaphamadi, which means a place of bloodshed, perhaps from bar brawls and street fights, came from what is now Area W, just across the Tati River to the east of where Kgaphamadi now stands.

This settlement was called Sodom - and like its biblical namesake, sin was the order of the day.

The Bechuanaland Protectorate administration evicted the people of Sodom ostensibly to give way to some development projects, which evidently were never delivered.

There is a general belief that the real reason for the eviction was that the white settlers were not happy with the lifestyles of the community and decided to move them further away from the town centre.

Whatever the reason, Sodom, again like biblical namesake was reduced to oblivion albeit in a less dramatic fashion.

The relationship between the protectorate government and Tati Company on the one hand and the people of Sodom and later on Kgaphamadi on the other was fragile even at the best of times.

This black community did not take kindly to the introduction of taxes which had the effects of excluding so-called natives from certain economic activities such as the sale of beer. Protectionist laws were introduced which gave the Tati Company the sole right to sell beer.

Segregationist laws were introduced which forbade the blacks from entering certain recreational facilities such as the Grand Hotel.

Blacks were also not allowed to drink beer except the traditional brews.

Instead of giving into this economic oppression and racism the people devised ways and means to beat the system.

After brewing their beer, they would hide it from the jealous authorities by concealing the beer containers in the river under the sand or in a hole dug for that purpose in the house or bush.

It should be noted that some of the community leaders had worked in South Africa and knew racism when they saw it. Very soon, Kgaphamadi became the hotbed of political agitation.

Strikes and boycotts became the order of the day leading to the imprisonment of the political activists.

The Botswana Peoples Party (BPP), led by Phillip Matante, led the strikes and boycotts.The presence of African National Congress (ANC) cadres, who had taken refuge among the people, strengthened the resistance movement.

While Francistown, including Kgaphamadi was a tribal melting pot with people from all over Botswana, things changed when the town became home to the Witwatersrand Native Labour Agency (WENELA), a recruiting centre for South Africa gold mines.

Soon, recruits from as far afield as Nyasaland (Malawi), Tanganyika (Tanzania), Angola and South West Africa (Namibia) would lodge for a few days at the WENELA hostels on their way to and from the mines.

The miners, due to the superior cash power, became an instant hit to the ladies. As a matter of fact prostitution became a thriving business. The competition for ladies between Batswana men and the foreigners, whom Batswana contemptuously called Mangongongo, often led to fights and deaths.

Naturally, the arrival of the miners somewhat boosted the economy of Francistown because they spent some of their money in the local shops.

However, a dark cloud fell over Francistown, and by extension, Kgaphamadi in the mid 1970s when an aeroplane, popularly known by the locals as "Double Engine" crashed just outside Francistown airport, killing all the 78 passengers.

On board were the miners being transported back to their respective countries at the end of their contract.

Some of the people who had originally come as miners had got involved in some long-casting affairs with Batswana ladies and stopped travelling to South Africa.

Instead, they had taken interest in other economic pursuits. They later became Batswana and raised families.

Kgaphamadi, like all the other townships similar to it here and elsewhere in the world, is the product of an economic system that encourages inequalities. In fact, it is the product of a belief that town life is better than rural life.

The increase in rural-urban migration due to the "push factors" out of the rural areas and the "pull factors" from the city as well as the natural increase of population in Francistown through birth and the relative reduction in the death rates mean that the population is growing at a faster rate.

The failure of the manufacturing industry means that only a few people from low cost areas such as Kgaphamadi with limited access to relevant education and training, cannot access the limited employment opportunities.

This in turn results in poverty which itself begets crime due to desperation.

The station commander for Tatitown Police Station, Tebogo Madisa says that once people live in a town, they are under pressure to live an urban lifestyle adopting the latest fashion and owning the most expensive gadgets such as cell phones.

When they cannot access these, because they are unemployed, they resort to, pick pocketing, armed robbery, burglary and theft. Some resort to drinking in an attempt to cope with life.

Poverty and unemployment begets other social ills such as cohabitation between lovers. Kgosi Margaret Mosojane of Tatitown Customary Court argues that it is wrong for the people to stay together before marriage.

She views cohabitation as a recipe for emotional disaster because unlike married couples, people in this kind of relationship are, to all intents and purposes on their own.They cannot easily involve their parents in the resolution of their conflicts and hence there is neither security nor emotional support even in the event that one of the partners wants out and there is a dispute over the household goods.

Because of the high rate of unemployment in Kgaphamadi, people have become self-employed, chiefly running shebeens, being vendors and hawkers running kiosks and others. Like all other people in the informal sector they feel that government support is lacking.

Selebatso, a vendor in Kgaphamadi, argues that government should make available a facility for vendors to access loans to enable them to expand.

She feels that government should source their services as a way of empowering them and instead of helping the chain stores, they should, for example, buy fruits and vegetables from the vendors for the schools.

She believes that most vendors cannot make it on their own because, since their potential customers work in the town, they buy vegetables from the chain stores in town when they "knock off".

Ndakidzilo Ntuluki shares this view, another vendor in Kgaphamadi who feels that the informed sector, which provides a livelihood for those left outside the formal sector, should be fully recognised and supported by the government.

In the good old days, according to Kegope Ramotswere, Leseding Community hall was the place to go for good entertainment. South African bands such as Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens and the Dark City Sisters used to perform in this hall. Football was also part of the entertainment menu; the main teams in Kgaphamadi being TAFIC and TAFA.

Other economic activities include renting out houses. It is very common for one compound to accommodate more than ten people all using the same toilet. Because of the economic challenges, sometimes people come together into something called "motshelo" where they all contribute a certain amount of money to a fund.

The money is then credited to one of them each month on a rotational basis. There is yet another form of "motshelo" where an individual or group of people lends out money which money will be paid back at a certain interest rate.

However positive the people of Kgaphamadi are, this place is still viewed negatively by money. It is not far-fetched to speculate that some girls will not tell a potential suitor that they are a resident of Kgaphamadi because it is associated with poverty, violence and squalor.

Because of shortage of land as well as their desire to dissociate themselves from their past, some of the more fortunate sons and daughters of Kgaphamadi settle elsewhere but still make an associate visit to the place of their birth.

Kgaphamadi is a place of talent. With respect to entertainment, there are five football teams and several netball teams. Some of Botswana's football giants such as the late Jomo Nobody Mosweu are the "children" of Kgaphamadi.

The Francistown City Council (FCC) has stepped up its effort to improve the environment of Kgaphamadi. Through the Green Scorpion concept, cadres are sent out to inspect the environment, educate people and report to council. This will no doubt make Kgaphamadi more acceptable and a place to be proud of.