And finally after twenty five years of poverty the area is going to celebrate its 25th anniversary by holding the first ever Khayelitsha Festival at the Oliver Tambo Hall in October.

The festival will be financed to the tune of R800 000 by the City of Cape Town.

The event is scheduled to take place from the 24-26 of October this year.

City of Cape Town mayor Helen Zille said during the media launch at Oliver Tambo Hall on Monday that the event will uplift and encourage the people of Khayelitsha to fight unemployment and poverty.

She said the launch starts a festival that will make a big difference in people’s lives in Khayelitsha.

“Remarkably 2008 heralds the 25th anniversary of the vast sprawling community of Khayelitsha.

“The festival will reflect and crystalise the genesis of Khayelitsha over the last 25 years.”

Zille said Khayelitsha was a symbol of victory from the apartheid government.

She said the Khayelitsha festival will become the principal annual hallmark event in Khayelitsha that will draw together business, SMMEs, youth, community organisations, consumers, media and thousands of people on an annual basis to celebrate creativity, energy, richness and diversity of Khayelitsha and surrounding communities.

Zille said the festival should be seen as a powerful social cohesion for the wider community to participate and celebrate with Cape Town as a theatre and Khayelitsha the stage of the event.

“Khayelitsha is a great and important suburb which people always treat as an area outside Cape Town.

“Opportunities that will be created by the festival are going to be successful.

“We want to create Khayelitsha as a brand and the best outcome for people to want to invest in the area,” said Zille.

Lorraine Plasky said the people who built the first houses in Khayelitsha on 6 June 1983 felt dejected.

Plasky said: “PW Botha was the president of the country back then and demanded that all black people who don’t have a dompas had to live in Khayelitsha or go back to the Eastern Cape.

“The biggest challenge for Khayelitsha now is economic divide.

“The challenge is for the people of Khayelitsha to take the opportunity to invest in the area especially emerging and established business people in the area.”

Opening the event was Isango Portobello group from Khayelitsha under the leadership of Pauline Malefane of uCarmen eKhayelitsha fame.

The group sang one of the most popular resistance songs of the struggle at the time “Asiy’eKhayelitsha”, much to the excitement of those who attended the event.

The diverse business exhibition stands and dazzling entertainment programme encompasses choirs, gospel, lifestyle, Kwaito, food, budding entrepreneurs, traders, young people, sport stars and emerging local entertainers and will instill real pride in Khayelitsha.

Zamayedwa Sogayise, of the Khayelitsha Development Forum, said he was surprised how soon the festival was organised.

He said negotiations for the Khayelitsha Festival took place early this year and the festival will take place in October.

Sogayise said the road was short but not easy.

He said there were many developmental programmes taking place in Khayelitsha but these where not directly going to the people.

“This festival will deal directly with the people of Khayelitsha.

“The festival should be seen as a cohesion vehicle for the wider community to particpate in bringing the first and second economy of the City of Cape Town together in a grand community celebration,” said Sogayise.