'Black lives don't matter': Khayelitsha residents in limbo over housing project

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24-07-2023
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News 24
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Khayelitsha residents are still waiting for housing they claim was promised to them by the City of Cape Town in 2018. 

They say they are fed up with the empty promises.  

The City claims it is addressing the housing issue as a matter of urgency.

Residents of SST Section in Town Two, Khayelitsha, say they have been waiting in vain for proper housing after the City of Cape Town promised them in 2018 their wait was over.

Despite the promise that houses would be built on vacant land in Silvertown, nothing has materialised.

The site is abandoned, with people using it as an illegal dumping site.

Making matters worse, criminals have also moved in, using the vacant land as a hideout to rob and attack locals.

Khayelitsha Development Forum chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said people were dying while waiting for homes.

Recently, he added, two people died in a fire that left 25 others displaced.

Tyhido said the two victims were among those who were waiting for houses from the City.

"Those deaths could've been avoided had the City kept its word and provided our people with decent housing. Our people should not be living like this," he added. 

"It is evident black lives don't matter to the local government, which is very sad.

"Just a simple signature from the City and local government could've saved the lives lost." 

Khayelitsha resident Vicky Twani, 51, said she had been waiting for proper housing for five years and felt she might die without ever getting a house.

"I get very sad when I think about how we have been taken for a ride by this government who keep promising us that we will get sorted out with proper housing."

Twani added her wish was to have a decent toilet her family could use, since they currently must walk far to get to one.

Many locals refused to walk at night due to load shedding and the fear of being attacked by criminals who, she said, targeted residents making their way to the toilets.

"We have no choice but to use buckets at night and empty them the next day.

"Sometimes, the buckets are so full of human waste that residents must use plastic bags to relieve themselves in. Then it gets dumped on a nearby field or even close to our shacks."

Twani added she believed she would get a house one day, but until that day came, she would continue to make the best of what she had.

"No one wants to live like this, yes, we are grateful to have a roof over our heads even with the occasional leaks, but at the end of the day, our family is together," she said.

Resident Nobom Twlise, 42, said government officials told them earlier this year the housing project would commence "shortly".

However, she added, they had not been given an estimated time frame as to when eligible residents would move in.

"It's a waiting game for us, but I already feel so despondent about whether the housing project would be completed or not.

"Living in shacks is really not nice, I wish I could've had my own house already because then life would be so much more enjoyable," Twlise said.

"I'm tired of struggling. I'm tired of having to look for alternative ways to use a toilet instead of walking long distances to get to a decent one."

Twlise shares a house with four other family members and said every day came with new challenges.

"The lack of decent toilets, no showers, constant dumping of goods, leaking roofs, load shedding and extreme coldness that filters through the house at any given time are just some of the concerns residents living in dilapidated shacks face," she added.

The City said it owned the vacant site but added it had given power of attorney to the provincial government to enable it to submit a land use application to apply for the rezoning and subdivision of the area. 

"This approval is in order to develop a temporary relocation area which will provide approximately 770 residential units in three-storey blocks to accommodate transitory households in permanent accommodation," it added.

The rezoning and subdivision application, which included the approval of a site development plan, was approved on 6 April 2020.

The City said the developer had, in the interim, commenced with some work on the site.

"An application for the amendment of the approved plan of subdivision in order to accommodate the phasing of the development was submitted, and this application is currently nearing finalisation," it added.

The Ciy said:

The City, Western Cape government and relevant stakeholders are addressing the issues at hand as a matter of urgency.

The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure, which deals with housing, added while it was issued with power of attorney by the City, it had its limitations.

The department's Muneera Allie said the Silvertown project was delayed due to a land availability agreement (LLA) not being signed and approved by the City.

Asked when the housing project would commence, she added building work would start as soon as the department received a signed LAA which would allow for the submission of building plans approved by the City.

"This will enable the department to submit the building plans to the City of Cape Town for approval. Following the approval of the required building plans, construction will commence.

"It is important to note that the building plans cannot be approved without an LAA being in place," Allie added.

At least 771 dwellings will be constructed in a permanent multistorey transitional housing configuration.

Allie said the dwellings would each be split into two, delivering 1 542 houses to beneficiaries.

According to her, the project steering committee and sub-councillor in Khayelitsha were regularly kept abreast of the updates regarding the development through an appointed stake-holder management consultant.

The total cost of the development is estimated to be about R240 million which includes civil, electrical services and top structures.

"The housing project is funded from an emergency grant from the national Department of Human Settlements, with a portion being funded by the Department of Infrastructure," said Allie.