Umlazi

Umlazi
Umlazi
Umlazi Show map of KwaZulu-Natal Umlazi Show map of South Africa Umlazi Show map of Africa  Umlazi shown within KwaZulu-Natal
Location within Durban  Umlazi
Coordinates: 29°58′S 30°53′E / 29.967°S 30.883°E / -29.967; 30.883Coordinates: 29°58′S 30°53′E / 29.967°S 30.883°E / -29.967; 30.883
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
Municipality	eThekwini
Established	1845
Area
• Total	47.46 km2 (18.32 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	404,811
• Density	8,500/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	99.4%
• Coloured	0.1%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	0.1%
• Other	0.1%
First languages (2011)
• Zulu	91.4%
• Xhosa	3.0%
• English	2.1%
• S. Ndebele	1.2%
• Other	2.3%
Postal code (street)	4066
PO box	4031

Umlazi is a township on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. It is the fourth largest township in South Africa, after Soweto, Tembisa and Katlehong. The township is the only township in the country that has its own registration plate, which is NUZ. Umlazi is divided into 26 sections, A through to Z, with the exception of I, O and X, but with an addition of AA, BB and CC.

According to legend, the name Umlazi comes from "umlaza", the Zulu word for the sour acid produced from fermented or sour milk. It is believed that when King Shaka was passing through the area, he refused to drink from a local river claiming it had the taste of "umlaza". The area was called Umlazi after this incident.

Umlazi, like many townships in the urban areas of Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, and Johannesburg, is witnessing increased private and government investments, as seen in the construction of new shopping complexes, primary and secondary schools, universities of technology and libraries.

The new educational infrastructure is particularly important, as an affordable, easily accessible quality secondary education is valuable for many children in Umlazi, particularly with regards to their search for employment following school (most do not attend tertiary institutions due to their family's financial resources).

Mangosuthu Highway is the most popular road in Umlazi and it links the residents to the many sections. There are now three shopping malls in Umlazi, the Philani Mega Mall, Kwa-Mnyandu Mall and Umlazi Mega City Mall which is located just off the freeway that exits to Umlazi. The recently built KwaMnyandu Shopping Centre opened its doors on the 5th of June 2014.