A group of Gugulethu residents who notoriously invaded a piece of land earmarked for the construction of houses next to the Gugulethu Multi-Purpose Centre are now demanding houses.
The residents illegally moved into the site in February 2017. However, they were swiftly moved into the hall to make way for the construction of houses as part of the Luyolo Housing Project.
To date, more than 90 families, including children, are currently crammed into the hall. With the threat of cold and winter rains upon them residents say they have been forgotten.
Speaking on behalf of the residents, Nomawethu Maki said their concern is that winter rains are approaching and their children are going to be sick.
“We’ve been waiting for too long,” she said. “The City has forgotten about us. We’ve seen other people from other areas relocating to their new houses, but there’s no-one talking about us.”
Maki added that most of the people staying in the hall were Gugulethu backyarders. She described their living conditions as appalling.
“There’s no privacy here,” she said. “People are doing as they please. We must endure because we don’t have another place to stay. Other people, especially on weekends, are always drunk and are making noise or sometimes fighting.”
Maki described the environment as bad for children.
She highlighted the poor services in the community as something that affected them. “Some of the flushing toilets and taps are broken and it’s cold here. The City never bothered to come and fix them.”
Maki accused local councillor Bongani Ngcombolo of ignoring the residents’ plight.
However, he has shifted the blame to the City of Cape Town. Ngcombolo says City officials are “playing party politics” and the City had no proper plan for the residents.
“Initially, the City promised to move the residents to a land in Philippi. And suddenly it is quiet and doesn’t say anything about them. I’ve been trying to push for them to be relocated even during my first term as councillor.”
Mayco Member for Community Service and Health Patricia van der Ross said the Recreation and Parks Department was aware of the illegal occupation of Luyolo Recreation Centre in Gugulethu by individuals.
She said the property belongs to the City and is under the management of Recreation and Parks.
“The facility was built for sports and recreational purposes, in accordance with the needs of the broader community,” Ross pointed out. The building was never intended for domestic occupation and has been vandalised beyond repair. The long-term impact of this illegal occupation is also both exorbitant in terms of cost and prohibitive in terms of usage.”
She said the tenants illegally occupying the building were issued an eviction notice and a process managed by the City’s Legal Department is underway.
According to the City’s records, no offer of alternative accommodation for the “unlawful occupants” was made by the City’s Informal Settlements Management Department.