Inner city evictions ‘unjust’

Zonnebloem residents fight to stay near job opportunities

RECLAIM the City has shifted their focus on to 104 Darling Street in Zonnebloem, a dilapidated building from which the City wants to evict tenants.

At a recent meeting, the housing advocacy group invited residents to give an account of their living conditions in the building.

“The community was speaking on a number of issues mainly surrounding the safety and security of the area,” Reclaim the City’s head of organising, Nkosikhona Swaartbooi, said.

Eighteen families are occupying the building that was leased out by the national Department of Public Works. In recent years, the building has become neglected and faces a number of challenges.

“The City has been unlawfully trying to evict those residents and we have tried engaging with the City to tell them that the move is unjust,” Swaartbooi said.

Inner City organiser of Reclaim the City, Ntombi Sambu, said: “The meeting went well. People had the opportunity to see how those residents live… If we don’t stand up then we will be sent to the outskirts.”

She said they had decided to reach out to the public to come forward with donations such as building materials to fix the dilapidated building.

“The government is not doing anything about that building. When it rains it rains through the roof and the people’s belongings get wet,” Sambu said.

Safety issues were also raised, such as muggings and robberies.

Julian Sendin, a researcher at Ndifuna Ukwazi, said: “There has been no plan for social housing in the inner city and it’s ludicrous that you have a piece of land next to the building that no one is making use of.” He added that residents are desperate to live within the inner city to be close to economic opportunities.

In a similar case last year, a total of 15 Albert Road, Woodstock residents were given eviction notices and offered emergency housing in Wolwerivier, just off the N7, and in Blikkiesdorp and Delft. The residents rejected this offer, however, requesting the City to temporarily erect structures for them on vacant land in the area where they were currently living.