Johannesburg - The City of Joburg is delighted that Vilakazi Street in Soweto has been incorporated in the new Mzansi Monopoly - the South African version of the game.
Vilakazi Street, in Orlando West, was one of 22 destinations that South African board game lovers voted for earlier this year for to be on the first localised edition of Monopoly.
The street boasts two Nobel Peace laureates: Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who received the prize in 1984 and Nelson Mandela in 1993.
Vilakazi Street is also home to internationally renowned Sakhumzi and Nambitha restaurants. Both have local cuisines on their menus.
Joburg Tourism’s Laura Vercueil said the city is delighted from a tourism awareness and destination perspective. “This is testament to Vilakazi Street’s uniqueness and importance as a heritage site,” she said.
The street is one of the city’s biggest tourist attractions, drawing visitors from all corners of the country and the world every day.
Siphiwe Thabethe, country marketing manager of Hasbro SA,, said Monopoly Mzansi represents South Africa’s rich cultural diversity and natural beauty.
The new edition has strong links to the Mandela legacy with the inclusion of Vilakazi Street and Robben Island, he added.
The special localised Mzansi edition features four transport hubs and 22 landmarks.
The newest transport hub to make it on the board is the Sandton Gautrain station, which is also in Joburg.
“South Africans are known for their pride in their country, which is why we are extremely excited to present the final locations that made it on board, as they truly represent South Africa’s rich cultural diversity and natural beauty,” Thabethe said.
Some locations are old favourites: the Kruger National Park, Gold Reef City and the Union Buildings.
A few new trendy spots, such as Nelson Mandela Square, Maboneng, 4th Avenue and the Oyster Box, have also been added.
The Kruger Park, Cape Town’s Boulders Beach, the V&A Waterfront, Kimberley’s Big Hole, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Table Mountain, Joburg’s Maboneng and Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are among the chosen destinations.
Some properties are natural heritage sites such as The Cradle of Humankind and St Francis Bay, with Durban Beach front (The Golden Mile), Florida Road and uShaka Marine World vying for the most affordable locations on the board.
Over the past few years, numerous regional country versions of Monopoly have been produced and to date the game is licensed in 103 countries, with Monopoly Mzansi being the latest addition.
Locations include:
Transport - King Shaka International Airport, Sandton's Gautrain station, OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport.
Brown - The Big Hole, Kimberley, Addo Elephant Park
Light blue - Durban Beachfront (The Golden Mile), Florida Road in Durban, uShaka Marine World.
Pink - Drakensberg, The Oyster Box Hotel, Kruger National Park.
Orange - Cradle of Humankind, Gold Reef City, Union Buildings.
Red - Nelson Mandela Square, 4th Avenue in Parkhurst, Vilakazi Street.
Yellow - Maboneng Precinct, St Francis Bay, Robben Island.
Green - Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Boulders Beach.
Dark Blue - V&A Waterfront andTable Mountain.
Who was Vilakazi?
Benedict Wallet Vilakazi (January 6, 1906 to October 26, 1947), was a Zulu poet, novelist, and educator. He was born at the Groutville Mission Station near KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal.
Bambatha kaMshini, as he was named at his birth, spent his childhood between herding the family cattle and the mission school. At the age of 10, he transferred to St Francis College, Mariannhill, a Roman Catholic monastery. There he was baptised with the name Benedict Wallet although, at his mother’s insistence, he kept the family name Vilakazi. He obtained a teaching certificate in 1923 and taught at Mariannhill and later at a seminary in Ixopo.
In 1933, Vilakazi released his first novel and a second in 1935. He obtained a BA degree from Unisa in 1934 and began work in the Bantu Studies Department at Wits University. In 1936, he and linguist CM Doke created a Zulu-English dictionary.
He became the first black South African to teach white South Africans at university level.
His poetry became increasingly political, dramatising the exploitation of not only the Zulus but of black Africans generally.
Vilakazi is also noted for his scholarly work on oral tradition, and the Zulu and Xhosa languages.
In March 1946, he became the first black South African to be conferred a Doctor of Philosophy degree. He died the following year in Joburg of meningitis. - From Wikipedia
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