‘Area unsuitable for informal settlement’

Call for calm in Siqalo after two days of violent protests

AFTER two days of violent protests, residents of the Siqalo informal settlement say all they want is proper service delivery. An ATM at a garage was blown up, a truck torched and a fruit and vegetable stand was set alight by protesters. The residents have been there since 2012. There are not enough taps and toilets in the informal settlement.

During a recent meeting, Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela announced that residents would be relocated.

The City reiterated that the informal settlement was not suitable for housing and that they could not build houses there. According to mayco member for informal settlements Xanthea Limberg they were unable to install electricity at the site.

“Due to illegal sand mining the land is also corroded,” she said.

Madikizela asked for calm in the area. He and other MECs visited the area on Saturday.

“The delegation presented to communities plans to benefit Siqalo informal settlement, following their demands of the provision of services in the area. The Department of Human Settlements plans to accommodate Siqalo informal settlement in the Southern Corridor Catalytic Project, which will create over 51 000 housing opportunities. Development plans are already in place and the department is awaiting approvals from the City of Cape Town,” Madikizela said.

During another meeting in Mitchells Plain, various organisations also called for calm in the area.

Douglas Jacobs, a resident from Mitchells Plain, said: “Every day people are dying in Mitchells Plain. We are looking for solutions to what happened in Siqalo. We want meetings where all residents are present, not separate ones. We are very concerned about the situation there because there are also people who are stirring up things. The last time we had so much violence in Mitchells Plain was with the land invasions in Tafelsig,” he said.

ANC provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said there was a lot of land in Cape Town that could be used for housing.

“There was also a criminal element during the march and it must be investigated. As well as those who incited the hatred. There is also a lot of misinformation about the protest. One of them is that a mosque was set alight. It is untrue,” he said.

The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) the Housing Assembly, Siqalo Committee Hawkers Against Crime and the Water Crisis Committee also released a statement on the issue.

“Fundamentally it is the failure of the City of Cape Town to provide housing and services for residents, which is at the heart of the protests…

“To have 13 taps, no electricity and inadequate sanitation in Siqalo is not acceptable. In the rest of Mitchells Plain, thousands of backyard dwellers and residents are on the waiting list for long periods, often more than 20 years. In fact, this is a general problem in many areas around the city.”

‘TO HAVE 13 TAPS, NO ELECTRICITY AND INADEQUATE SANITATION IS UNACCEPTABLE’