Exposed to the elements
SPARKING ANGER: SHACK RESIDENTS LEFT TO SUFFER IN COLD AND RAIN
City says it has court order to stop occupation of land in nature reserve.
The City of Cape Town antiland invasion unit, accompanied by law enforcement, demolished five shacks at a site called Xakabantu in Vrygrond, in the rain on Thursday afternoon.
On Friday morning, most of the people whose shacks were demolished had left the area to find shelter.
We found a small group of people helping to rebuild Asavela Mqhokweni’s home. He had lived in the shack since April. He is 29 and unemployed.
He said he just watched as his shack was demolished, because he did not want to get arrested.
On Thursday night, he sheltered beneath what was left of his flattened shack as the storm hit.
“We are very angry because no one should be out of their house in this rain,” said Nomapha Marcus, who runs the local soup kitchen in Xakabantu for Vrygrond United 4 Change.
She said a large contingent of law enforcement and the antiland invasion unit arrived at midday and started to demolish the homes.
She said the officers became aggressive when people started to film them.
Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for the city’s law enforcement, said “rounds were discharged to disperse the crowd who had started acting in a violent manner”.
Xakabantu is on the outskirts of Vrygrond, close to the Coastal Park landfill site. It has seen conflict between the city and local residents for many years, according to Nonkosi Fodo, secretary of the Vrygrond Development Forum.
Fodo said there were about 150 structures in Xakabantu, most of them built by people leaving cramped rooms in Vrygrond. She said that the city demolished shacks on a regular basis, but the last demolition was in April.
“All we want from the city is for them to come to the table and engage with the community and come to an agreement,” said Fodo.
Malusi Booi, mayoral committee member for human settlements, said: “Xakabantu is on City of Cape Town-owned land and is not eligible for housing as it forms part of False Bay Nature Reserve.”
He said that the city has “had ongoing consultations with the group about ongoing attempts to illegally invade this land” and the city had been granted a court order to prevent the occupation.
Booi said the “city will continue to remove unoccupied and illegal structures to prevent the occupation of land”. – Republished from GroundUp