Paper short abstract:

Using the case of Ikemeleng (which means stand on your feet), a settlement located just outside Rustenburg, this article explores the social transformation of informal settlements that have emerged on the margins of platinum mines in Rustenburg.

Paper long abstract:

The post-apartheid period in South Africa has witnessed an emergence of a large number of informal settlements in urban peripheries and on the margins of mines. These settlements have been characterised by violence, precarity and uncertainty. Consequently, residents of such communities often resort to insurgent practices in their quest to have access to basic amenities. Using the case of Ikemeleng (which means stand on your feet), a settlement located just outside Rustenburg, this article explores the social transformation of informal settlements that have emerged on the margins of platinum mines in Rustenburg. The article analyses the centrality of community protests in residents of informal settlements' everyday struggles to access basic amenities from municipalities and mining companies. It argues that the etymology of informal settlement names reflects the everyday challenges that residents of such settlements face. The article also analyses how 'service delivery' protests in informal settlements are entangled with the establishment and development of community leadership structures.