Tuesday, May 6, 2008

First Delft evictees to be moved

The first group of 100 people camping along roads in Delft since January when they were evicted from N2 Gateway houses they illegally occupied, will be moved to a new site from Thursday.

The site, about a kilometre from where the evicted people are squatting, has been serviced with more than 120 toilets and water supply points.

The City of Cape Town says it will provide the former backyarders with materials needed to erect their own structures.

The city expects the relocation to take four months at a cost of more than R20 million to ratepayers.

The mayoral committee member for Housing, Dan Plato, said the city did not expect problems with the provision of materials as there had been a month ago when it was forced to postpone relocation plans because of the increase in cost and a lack of corrugated iron sheeting.

However, Plato said he was bracing himself for resistance by a group of about 300 of the evicted who have refused any city aid.

The city estimates that 850 people are living in tents along Symphony Road and Silversands Way.

Plato said he had been inundated with calls from other Cape Flats communities, both black and coloured, who said that if the Delft evicted did not take up the new housing offer, they would be prepared to move to the site themselves.

Last week the city stopped providing food aid to the evicted people.

"It was part of the package of humanitarian aid. But now these people need to become self-sufficient.

"No time will be the correct time to discontinue the food. The point is, when are they going to look after themselves?" said Plato.

He told the city's housing portfolio committee that many of the evicted people were employed and could afford to feed themselves.

The city would try to help the really destitute who could not feed themselves.

The backyarders found themselves on the wrong side of the law after they unlawfully occupied the N2 Gateway houses in Delft in December

They allegedly moved in after being incited by DA councillor Frank Martin to do so, in protest against the way houses were allocated. - Cape Argus

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