At least 4,000 informal structures would be flooded this winter, but the City of Cape Town said its winter readiness programme was being hampered by the provincial government's refusal to release the land it needs for housing and emergency relocation.
Mayor Helen Zille said at Wednesday's mayoral committee meeting that the province last year "refused" to hand over land that could be used for emergency housing after heavy floods.
"It was a real crisis."
But Local Government and Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi said the city had not used the "significant portions of land" allocated by the province since 2001.
"I have repeatedly asked the city to provide a list of all the land that was ceded to it by the province and how the land is being used. The city has no basis to make any claims that we are not releasing the land."
Dan Plato, mayoral committee member for housing, said many families refused to relocate to dry land. Others deliberately occupied high-risk flood spots so that the city would relocate them to a better area.
He said the city needed to work with the province to resolve the matter.
"This is a thorny issue for us. We need to come up with different mechanisms or we will have to use community halls (again, during the next floods)."
Hans Smit, housing executive director, said the city could expect between 4,000 and 6,000 structures to be flooded during the rainy season.
He said the city did not have the political support of the provincial Housing Department to make land available. Three sites in the east of the city had been identified as alternative land, but Dyantyi had not yet agreed to release them, he said.
Dyantyi cautioned the city against using the land issue as "extreme political expediency".
Meanwhile 400 families who unlawfully occupied council houses will soon be able to say they are living legally.
The mayoral committee yesterday agreed to recommend that council legalise their occupation if "strict" criteria are met. The previous administration had put a three-year moratorium on evictions, which made it difficult for the city to now remove the families. - Cape Times
Mayor Helen Zille said at Wednesday's mayoral committee meeting that the province last year "refused" to hand over land that could be used for emergency housing after heavy floods.
"It was a real crisis."
But Local Government and Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi said the city had not used the "significant portions of land" allocated by the province since 2001.
"I have repeatedly asked the city to provide a list of all the land that was ceded to it by the province and how the land is being used. The city has no basis to make any claims that we are not releasing the land."
Dan Plato, mayoral committee member for housing, said many families refused to relocate to dry land. Others deliberately occupied high-risk flood spots so that the city would relocate them to a better area.
He said the city needed to work with the province to resolve the matter.
"This is a thorny issue for us. We need to come up with different mechanisms or we will have to use community halls (again, during the next floods)."
Hans Smit, housing executive director, said the city could expect between 4,000 and 6,000 structures to be flooded during the rainy season.
He said the city did not have the political support of the provincial Housing Department to make land available. Three sites in the east of the city had been identified as alternative land, but Dyantyi had not yet agreed to release them, he said.
Dyantyi cautioned the city against using the land issue as "extreme political expediency".
Meanwhile 400 families who unlawfully occupied council houses will soon be able to say they are living legally.
The mayoral committee yesterday agreed to recommend that council legalise their occupation if "strict" criteria are met. The previous administration had put a three-year moratorium on evictions, which made it difficult for the city to now remove the families. - Cape Times
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