Swellendam warns low-cost housing activists
SWELLENDAM Municipality has warned it will act against activists who are occupying land along Main Street in Suurbraak.
Members of the Suurbraak Civic Association took over the piece of land, known as Rossouw Plain, erected temporary structures and were refusing to move at the weekend.
The activists have been protesting against the lack of housing and service delivery related to basic infrastructure.
Makeshift shacks were erected at Rossouw Plain nine days ago. Suurbraak Civic Association chairperson Burton Beukes said the protest was also against the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development as well as the Minister of Human Settlements.
“No low-cost housing has been built in Suurbraak for 20 years and more than 500 people are currently on the housing waiting list. However, the person who collected our memorandum (yesterday), we believe, is only a staff member at the municipality,” said Beukes.
He said this was the same attitude that the mayor and his administrators displayed at a meeting three weeks ago.
Mawubuye Land activist and Suurbraak resident Renette Heunis said there was no transparency regarding land in the settlement.
She said most of the land was meant to belong to the community, but it was being sold off. Even their pine forest was being sold from under their noses, Heunis said.
Suurbraak Youth Movement chair Donovan Julius said programmes for the youth of Suurbraak had never been a priority for the Swellendam municipality.
He said the municipality expected the poor community to find funding, while not providing any assistance.
Swellendam Mayor Nicholas Myburgh issued a statement on the municipality’s Facebook page in which he addressed many of the issues raised by the activists.
Myburgh said the municipality received approval to build 85 houses, which was reduced to 35, due to “the difficult slopes of land”.
He said the municipality would continue to fight for more housing.
“We are proceeding with the construction of the 35 houses in Suurbraak. Of course, this is not much, but it is a start,” said Myburgh.
He said the pine forest income was a mere R350 000 and that those spreading rumours have been misleading the community.
He added that, annually, the municipality spent in excess of R8 million on Suurbraak, while receiving only R6 million in rates and taxes.
He implored the community of Suurbraak to work with the municipality for a better future.