Island residents in Site B are relieved after the City of Cape Town moved them to a safe place.
Last week, the residents made a passioned plea for a safe environment after their shacks were severely damaged by a damaged drainage system (“Islanders live in fear”, City Vision 14 April).
At least eight families have been temporarily relocated from Island to D section in Site C.
Resident Nomiselo Sirhayi said they are delighted with the move. “We are happy for now. We were warmly welcomed by the Site C community.
“The problem is, we don’t have electricity because Eskom refused to install it citing that we are going to stay here for less than six months,” said Sirhayi.
According to her, they will stay at the site for only two weeks. “The City said after they finish fixing the drain they will take us back. But we are worried what if it (the drainage) sinks again. And again it is going to be chaotic because our plots might not be the same size again, maybe become smaller,” she said, adding that they would have preferred a move to a temporary relocation area (TRA) in Mfuleni.
Ward 87 councillor Khayelethu Kama stated that he accommodated the affected residents in order for the City to speed up the process. “Island is under Ward 90 but we engaged with their leaders and agreed to temporarily keep them. The reason I had to step in is that most people who are affected by the broken pipe are the ones in Site C in my ward. That is why there is a drain burst all over here,” said Kama, citing that he is not aware how long it will take the City to fix the problem.
According to Kama, there are other three families that are supposed to be relocated to Site C.
“When we were there as community leaders we only identified eight families. But when the sub-contract went there to assess they identified another three families on top of that eight that we already identified,” he explained