City still waiting for ‘reworked’ HDA application
LESS than 10 days before the planned relocation of more than 1200 Langa railway dwellers to a parcel of land in the Philippi Wedge area, the City is still waiting for a “reworked” application from the Housing Development Agency (HDA) and Prasa.
This as the work on the site, which is subject to the City’s approval of the Section 68 application for emergency housing by the HDA, has also not started.
In September during the signing of the Social Compact document between the Central Line dwellers and the government, HDA Intergovernmental Relations and Stakeholder regional manager Mbulelo Ncedana indicated that immediately after HDA got consent, they would start with a process of engaging with the receiving communities. However, no decision had been made yet.
Cape Coloured Congress president Fadiel Adams said the community was against the relocation and would only agree if the space was shared. Adams said the relocation of the illegal dwellers was equivalent to rewarding criminality.
“Building shacks on the railway line is a criminal act and these people should be forcefully removed. We have tens of thousands of people living here in backyards, but they refuse to trespass on other properties. It is such people that must be rewarded,” he said.
Save Mitchells Plain campaign member Shahiem van Nelson placed the blame at the doorstep of the ward councillors whom he said were not paying attention in their wards, sub-councils or their agendas.
“Now this community is faced with additional threats and more protests action from those who are upset or disgruntled that they must be moved. There has been no public participation that took place from HDA, Prasa or the City, and our communities deserve to know what is happening,” he said.
Spatial Planning and Environment mayoral committee member Eddie Andrews said that after seeking legal advice on the utilisation of section 68 of the municipal planning by-law for this project, the City advised the HDA and Prasa that they needed to improve the submission for it to be compliant with section 68 and the initiation of the process to be considered by the City council.
Alternatively, Andrews said the agency was informed that it may consider submitting a formal land use application to the City for assessment or consider alternative or additional land for an application for this purpose.
Andrews said the City was awaiting a reworked or a different submission, on the options provided to the agency before it could proceed with its consideration of the process. The HDA said it would respond today.