Let us build our own

RESIDENTS of Fisantekraal have been living in informal and inhuman squatting conditions for more than 20 years.

The residents were very excited when they got news that the government would finally afford them an opportunity to build their own houses.

However, the excitement was shortlived when they were told the City of Cape Town had entered into a partnership with Garden City and the latter company would be determining the type and the size of their houses. They protested, resulting in a number of community members being arrested and forced into a protracted trial that has been dragging on for three years.

More than 1 000 people living in the squatter camp and backyarders of Fisantekraal came together to establish a housing association known as the Sakhu’uluntu Housing Project.

Through the association they wanted to show the City of Cape Town that the people of Fisantekraal would like to participate in building their own houses through the People’s Housing Process.

The aforementioned programme is the policy of the government for communities who choose to build their own houses. This People’s Housing Process allows communities to determine the type of their houses, provides scarce skills training and creates business and job opportunities for the unemployed.

In September, Sakhu’uluntu submitted a housing business plan to the City of Cape Town for the 1 000 housing members. The business plan was rejected by the officials of the City of Cape Town. The residents did not understand and felt that they were being discriminated against.

This is so as other communities were afforded the opportunity to choose the People’s Housing Process. The latter communities included Witsand in Atlantis, Wallacedene in Kraaifontein and many more. As a result, a complaint was lodged with senior officials of the city, the mayor and the premier of the province, but all their pleas fell on deaf ears. What is clear is that the residents were being forced into a partnership with Garden City, a partnership they rejected from the onset.

The people of Fisantekraal are determined to enforce their right to access to houses and will engage in a protest march organised for today.

Following are some of the demands to the National Minister of Human Settlements and the Office of the Public Protector.

The housing business plan from Sakha’uluntu Housing Project be accepted and approved to allow the residents of Fisantekraal informal settlement and backyarders to build their own houses under the Enhanced People’s Housing Process.

The National Minister of Human Settlements to place the funding of the BNG housing development led by Garden City in Fisantekraal on hold as it does not have beneficiaries, since it has been rejected by the people of the area.