Joe Slovo backyarders forcefully re-occupy City land

BACKYARDERS of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Milnerton have forcefully re-occupied City-owned land as they claim they have nowhere else to go.

About 20 structures have been erected by the residents since Sunday. Last week the city’s anti-land invasion unit dismantled the shacks for the fourth time and said it will keep on dismantling the shacks as they are illegal.

Zoleka Nondalana, one of the residents, said people need to understand that it is not that they want things for free but they are struggling to keep up with rent as many owners keep on increasing the amount charged.

“Here you will find that in a family of many people, there is only one source of income which is a pensioner; in others they depend on the grant money of the children, so when rent is high, they are left with no money. People say we just want freebies and that is not the case. If they could come and stay, even if it is for a month, they will see our struggle,” Nondalana said.

She said people were not putting up structures because they were ignorant or arrogant but some had been chased away as they could not pay rent so they had to put their shacks up again.

The case of the seven protesters who appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on charges of public violence was postponed to Friday.

On Friday, two MyCiTi buses and bus station were pelted with stones.