http://ewn.co.za/2014/06/03/Evicted-squatters-out-in-the-coldSanral evicts squatters in Strand

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Residents of an informal settlement in Strand have been forcibly removed from their homes in the Lwandle informal settlement. Picture: EWN/Lauren Isaacs

 

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  03/06/2014

 

Lauren Isaacs 
CAPE TOWN – Dozens of families who were evicted in the Nomzamo area in Strand on Monday face an uncertain future.

Hundreds of people in the Lwandle informal settlement were evicted after the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) obtained a court order to forcibly remove squatters from the land, which is privately owned.

Fifteen-year-old Xolelwa Pupu stared at her demolished house in disbelief when she arrived home from school on Monday afternoon. 

Her family was among those who lost most of their belongings, including their food, during the eviction and demolition of shacks.

Pupu says her heart sank when she saw the streets littered with burning rubble and heavy rain destroying their kitchen appliances and mattresses.

“My heart is broken. We don’t have something to eat now. We are hungry coming from school.”

As darkness fell, residents were still worried about where they would spend the night, with seemingly no relocation plans in place.

A ward councillor in the Nomzamo area has told Eyewitness News he is shocked by the eviction of dozens of families with no relocation plans in place. 

Mbuyiselo Matha says he has been frantically trying to find accommodation for the destitute families.

“There are more or less 300 shacks that have been demolished and some of the people’s homes were demolished while they were at work and their children were at school. As one can see, it’s a mess. People have nowhere to go. All their materials were taken.”

Meanwhile, Sanral has told Eyewitness News it was acting within the law in its eviction of the illegal squatters.

Sanral says it successfully obtained a court order to evict the residents occupying private land earmarked for a special project along the N2.

Sanral’s Vusi Mona says the land was declared part of a national road in terms of section 40 of the South African National Roads Agency Limited and National Roads Act of 1998.

He says community members were notified about the court order in January.

(Edited by Tamsin Wort)

Ten days after several hundred people were evicted from the Nomzamo (Lwandle) informal settlement near Strand [Cape Town], there is still no clarity about why they were removed.

Last Monday and Tuesday the residents were evicted after an interdict was granted to the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL) in the Cape High Court on 24 January preventing more people from occupying the land.

Vusi Mona, SANRAL spokesman, said last week that the land was to be used for a bypass on the N2, to allow traffic to flow freely around Somerset West.

But in a joint statement on 4 June, activist organisations Equal Education, Social Justice Coalition and Ndifuna Ukwazi, pointed out that SANRAL’s application to the court did not include plans for the N2 detour, though it did contain letters from residents of Strand Ridge, who live in formal houses next to the Nomzamo settlement.

Asked yesterday to explain, Mona referred GroundUp to the Ministers of Transport and Human Settlements.

Ndivuwo Wa Ha Mabaya, spokesman for the Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, did not explain why the application had not contained details of the detour. “Why was it necessary to attach it?” he asked in response to a list of questions GroundUp sent him.

Asked to show on a map GroundUp sent him where the detour would be, he responded, “Why?”

Asked when SANRAL’s work on the land was expected to start, Mabaya said: “When we are ready we will let you know”.

The demolished settlement is about one kilometre from the N2 in a densely populated neighbourhood.

In the court papers a couple living in a Strand Ridge house wrote, “Recently several squatters have erected shacks on the open field behind our security complex. The development is causing us, and the other home owners, severe discomfort.”

The letters from Strand Ridge owners complain about an increase in burglaries, noise, “lack of sanitation” and the effect of the informal settlement on property prices. One homeowner writes, “Do we have to wait until the children are raped and the older people are murdered before something gets done about this? SANRAL must come to the party and protect innocent taxpayers who live in the vicinity.”

“I urge you please to evict these people ASAP,” writes another.

Meanwhile, some of the residents who went to settle on land allocated by SANRAL in Blackheath returned to the Nomzamo community hall yesterday after meeting a hostile reception from Blackheath residents.

Transport minister Dipuo Peters said earlier this week the Nomzamo residents would be moved back to the land they were removed from.

Asked about this yesterday Mabaya said, “We are considering other options as Government.” He said he was “not aware of any dispute in Blackheath.”

The residents’ belongings are being stored by SANRAL in a facility in Somerset Business Park.

Asked how residents could be sure of getting their own goods back, he said, “The residents know their belongings, what is the question?”

Sisulu and Cape Town Mayor, Patricia de Lille, were meeting on the Nomzamo housing issue, he said.

Original article

South Africa: Bail for Ten Nomzamo Residents

By Barbara Maregele, 11 June 2014  

The ten people arrested during violent clashes between police and Nomzamo (Lwandle) residents during the evictions last week were given a hero’s welcome from supporters when they were released on bail today.

They were released this morning after spending a week in Pollsmoor Prison.

Last week, the homes of more than 800 people were demolished in Lwandle, Strand after the S A National Roads Agency (SANRAL) obtained a court interdict.

According to SANRAL, the land had been set aside for a future N2 freeway project.

This morning Albert Masakala and nine other Nomzamo residents made a brief appearance in the Strand Magistrate’s Court on public violence charges.

State prosecutor Clement Abrahams told the court there was no reason to keep the group in custody and the state had no objection to them being released on bail.

Magistrate Karen Scheepers granted the group R500 bail each and ordered them to sign in at Lwandle or Blackheath police station every Thursday between 8am and 8pm.

Land at Blackheath has been set aside for the Nomzamo families but Blackheath residents have objected to their arrival.

"I understand that the eviction matter is not finalised so you have a choice to sign in at Lwandle or Blackheath stations."

The accused are warned to stay out of trouble until their next appearance," Scheepers said.

She remanded the matter until 1 August for further investigation.

Outside court, about 50 Nomzamo community members holding branches and knobkieries chanted and danced waiting for the residents to be released.

The group erupted in cheers and clapping, lifting some of the residents onto their shoulders as they walked out from the holding cells.

"We are so happy they are out. It was a big concern that they were at Pollsmoor for so long. Now we can focus on the eviction situation," said resident Mandla Moyakhe.

The large group was escorted by a police van as they marched back to the Nomzamo community hall, where they are being housed.

Residents are expecting Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille and provincial and national government officials to address them later today.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201406111327.html

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