Atlantis, Western Cape
Encyclopedia
Atlantis is a town in Western Cape
, South Africa
, roughly 40 km from Cape Town
. It has approximately 210,000 residents. The city suffers under high levels of poverty and unemployment. It was established during the Apartheid era as a community for Cape Town's Coloured
s, in order to move them out of the city.
The government of the day attempted, in anticipation of the influx of people, to provide an employment base by instituting a program to encourage industry, through subsidies and other inducements, to locate there; this effort was not particularly successful. Several factors, including the Six Day War between Israel and Arab nations, forced the government of the day to rethink its strategy in terms of subsidisation of industries located in the town.
The withdrawal of subsidies meant that many factories found themselves having to foot bills not formerly anticipated, including high transportation costs. This led to the migration of businesses closer to and into the Cape Town CBD (to be closer to means of transportation, including Paarden Island, Killarney and Epping, as well as the airport and harbour).
Currently, only about 3% of the original companies still have business in Atlantis. But the plethora of organisations lending social and economic assistance to the people of Atlantis are in a struggle to have upper leadership of development here.
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, roughly 40 km from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. It has approximately 210,000 residents. The city suffers under high levels of poverty and unemployment. It was established during the Apartheid era as a community for Cape Town's Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
s, in order to move them out of the city.
The government of the day attempted, in anticipation of the influx of people, to provide an employment base by instituting a program to encourage industry, through subsidies and other inducements, to locate there; this effort was not particularly successful. Several factors, including the Six Day War between Israel and Arab nations, forced the government of the day to rethink its strategy in terms of subsidisation of industries located in the town.
The withdrawal of subsidies meant that many factories found themselves having to foot bills not formerly anticipated, including high transportation costs. This led to the migration of businesses closer to and into the Cape Town CBD (to be closer to means of transportation, including Paarden Island, Killarney and Epping, as well as the airport and harbour).
Currently, only about 3% of the original companies still have business in Atlantis. But the plethora of organisations lending social and economic assistance to the people of Atlantis are in a struggle to have upper leadership of development here.