Umlazi

Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region.

It is the fourth largest township in South Africa, after Soweto, Tembisa and Katlehong. Prior to 1 December 2023, Umlazi was the only township in the country that had its own registration plate, which was NUZ. It 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 is approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) south-west of the Durban CBD, between the uMlaza River to the north and eZimbokodweni River to the south, with the smaller Siphingo River flowing in the southern parts of the township. It lies at an average altitude of approximately 101 m (331 ft) above sea level in the hills south-east of Durban.

Its neighbouring towns are Chatsworth to the north, Mobeni to the north-east, Malukazi to the south-east, the defunct Durban International Airport and Isipingo to the east, eZimbokodweni and Golokodo to the south and Esidweni, Inwabi and Ehlanzeni to the east.

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, 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 young residents do not attend tertiary institutions due to their family's limited financial resources.

There are now three shopping malls in Umlazi, the Mega-Philani Shopping Centre, Kwa-Mnyandu Shopping Centre 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 5 June 2014.