Bo-Kaap residents continue land protests
HE WAS “born and bred” on the slopes of Signal Hill, and raised his two children there.
Shahied Robain, 44, is sleeping on his mother’s couch while he says the City is selling public land to private developers.
Having been on the housing waiting list for the past 22 years, Robain said he would love the City to build houses on the land it is selling in his neighbourhood, Bo-Kaap.
He is one of several people who yesterday erected shacks along Voetboog Road in protest against gentrification and the selling of land to the highest bidder. “We are seeking to put pressure on them to build us houses instead of selling land to the construction companies.
“I was born and bred here and raised my two daughters here. Now I have to sleep on my mother’s couch because provision is not being made for us,” Robain said. The first shacks were erected about two weeks ago, and residents said the City’s anti-land invasion unit had tried to stop them.
A member of the Bo-Kaap Youth said the residents erecting shacks did not belong to any organisation but were merely concerned residents who wanted to preserve the area’s culture and heritage.
Mayco member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy Xanthea Limberg said: “The City is aware of the illegal land invasion. Some materials and partially built vacant structures have been removed following complaints… All these structures were erected illegally without the consent and approval of the City.”
Transport and urban development mayco member Brett Heron said: “Now that the new Municipal Spatial Development Framework has been approved, we will move into a phase of adjusting district and local spatial plans.
“I expect to deal with the Heritage Protection Overlay Zone (HPOZ) for Bo-Kaap as part of that process. I am engaging with the proposed HPOZ and the results of the public participation which occurred in the previous term of office and prior to the realignment of the City, which created the Transport and Urban Development Authority.”
“We will provide a way forward within the next few weeks. I can assure the Bo-Kaap residents that the heritage resources within the Bo-Kaap area are valued and their concerns are not being ignored.
“As indicated, buildings, artefacts and other structures older than 60 years are already protected and cannot be altered or demolished without permission from Heritage Western Cape.”
Last week, Western Cape High Court Judge Robert Henney granted property developer Blok Urban Living’s interdict against “all other persons trespassing, unlawfully conducting themselves or attempting to trespass or unlawfully conduct themselves” from entering and disrupting construction on the site, in Lion Street, where the City had approved the development of 56 residential units.
The SA Human Rights Commission had also been ordered to facilitate talks between developers and residents regarding concerns over construction in the area.