Actions by non-beneficiaries in Mfuleni criminal, preventing assistance to fire, flood victims
15 July 2020
The City of Cape Town absolutely condemns the repeated attempts to invade the Bosasa development in Mfuleni earmarked for vulnerable beneficiaries from Mfuleni’s Burundi informal settlement and BM Section in Khayelitsha. It is believed the torching of a bus as well as a petrol bomb that was found in one of the City-owned units is also the work of a group of Mfuleni residents from Ward 16. Over the weekend, they attempted to invade 150 units. They are not the rightful beneficiaries of the units. According to the existing agreement, residents from Mfuleni Ward 16 have already received their units. It is now the turn of other rightful beneficiaries, as per the agreement, from Burundi informal settlement and BM Section. Members of the same group continue to block the relocation of the rightful beneficiaries to their new homes.
Those who attempted to illegally occupy the units, and continue to do so, are not the rightful beneficiaries. The rightful beneficiaries are from the Burundi informal settlement in Mfuleni and BM Section in Khayelitsha. The City, and Cape Town as a community, should continue to condemn these illegal actions that affect rightful beneficiaries of housing projects.
The BM Section beneficiaries are the ones who were primarily affected by the big December fire in 2013 and to this day have been waiting to be accommodated but due to the various challenges of vandalism, violence and attempted illegal occupation, among others, can’t be.
As for the Burundi beneficiaries, they have again this weekend been severely affected by flooding. And we have not been able to move them to dry homes in the Bosasa development as was the plan.
There is an existing Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), and an amended version, which has been agreed to by all parties, including the Ward 16 Mfuleni leadership. The beneficiaries from this ward have already received their units.
To emphasise:
The rightful beneficiaries, as per the agreement, from Mfuleni Ward 16 were already allocated units.
The rightful beneficiaries from BM Section and Burundi informal settlement are next in line to be accommodated.
It cannot be that the leadership of Mfuleni Ward 16 in particular now goes against the agreement after the originally identified people of Mfuleni Ward 16 have already been accommodated. What about the rightful beneficiaries from Burundi informal settlement and BM Section, what must happen to them?
The emergency accommodation at Bosasa is being allocated according to the verified beneficiary list, as units are constructed and become available, and in line with the National Housing Emergency Code.
There are allegations that the applicable leadership in Mfuleni have ‘sold’ units to people in Mfuleni – of course these units are not theirs to sell. This is illegal and criminal. The City asks anyone with evidence to please contact the nearest South African Police Service office or to send an anonymous tip off to the City for investigation.
‘The City will continue to act to prevent the illegal occupation of its land and finished developments as it has a responsibility to the rightful beneficiaries of projects. It also needs to safeguard the housing allocation process and prevent queue-jumping and to protect residents from settling on unsuitable land prone to flooding especially. With the weekend flooding, it is clear residents on newly invaded land have been the most affected by flooding.
‘The City is mindful of the acute need for housing opportunities across the metro. We are making every effort to address this matter and to provide services within a planned and fair manner wherever possible within the constraints that are being experienced.
‘Land invasions hold a severely negative impact for Cape Town and all of its people. It also impacts on the City’s limited budget and projects in the Integrated Development Plan that cannot proceed due to resources that are constantly being diverted to the provision of basic service in areas that were never intended for residential use, is not sustainable. This is especially serious in light of the reduction of national government grants for human settlement developments in Cape Town,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.
Anonymous tip-offs welcomed:
Residents can report illegal activity that is taking place or that has happened or is still to happen. For anonymous tip offs, please call 112 from a cell phone (toll free) and 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 for emergencies.
End
Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
