The City of Cape Town says it is to seek a court order allowing it forcibly to move 141 families who have been squatting beside Symphony Way in Delft since February and refuse to leave.
The families were among hundreds of people who in December invaded N2 Gateway houses from which they were later evicted under a court order.
Most of the people accepted a council offer of accommodation in a nearby temporary residential area, but the Symphony Way squatters, led by the Anti-Eviction Campaign, say they won't move unless they are given proper homes.
"They are taking up space next to a key secondary road that has been closed to traffic," mayoral committee member for housing Dan Plato said on Monday.
"Our officials talked to them on many occasions. Now a legal process has started."
It would be up to the court to decide when the families should move, Plato said.
The city's executive director for housing, Hans Smit, said transport authorities had complained that the road's closure meant vehicles, particularly public transport vehicles, had to use a longer route along Delft Main Road, adding to traffic flow at peak times.
"You can't open that road with people living next to it," Smit said.
"The city's position is simple - they must get off Symphony Way.
"We've engaged them, but they have a simple attitude - they want houses. We can't promise houses, but there are options available to them. They have to follow the normal process to get houses.
"A court order is not an option the city wanted to follow, but we don't accept that they live next to the road. We're not talking about taking them far away. There is a temporary residential area about 300 metres away."
Anti-Eviction Campaign leader Ashraf Cassiem said the Symphony Way squatters would remain firm in resisting being moved as they believed the city used temporary residential areas as dumping grounds for homeless people.
"We don't know of any legal process, but from the start we rejected a temporary residential area. In (such) areas parents can't raise their children. (These areas) are unhealthy, unsafe and undignified.
"We are not of the impression that if people move to temporary residential areas they will get homes soon.
"At the Tsunami temporary residential area, people have been there for seven years and at Happy Valley, for 12 years. They were supposed to be temporary places, but seven and 12 years are in no way temporary."
- Cape Argus
The families were among hundreds of people who in December invaded N2 Gateway houses from which they were later evicted under a court order.
Most of the people accepted a council offer of accommodation in a nearby temporary residential area, but the Symphony Way squatters, led by the Anti-Eviction Campaign, say they won't move unless they are given proper homes.
"They are taking up space next to a key secondary road that has been closed to traffic," mayoral committee member for housing Dan Plato said on Monday.
| 'The city's position is simple - they must get off Symphony Way' |
It would be up to the court to decide when the families should move, Plato said.
The city's executive director for housing, Hans Smit, said transport authorities had complained that the road's closure meant vehicles, particularly public transport vehicles, had to use a longer route along Delft Main Road, adding to traffic flow at peak times.
"You can't open that road with people living next to it," Smit said.
"The city's position is simple - they must get off Symphony Way.
| 'They were supposed to be temporary places, but seven and 12 years are in no way temporary' |
"A court order is not an option the city wanted to follow, but we don't accept that they live next to the road. We're not talking about taking them far away. There is a temporary residential area about 300 metres away."
Anti-Eviction Campaign leader Ashraf Cassiem said the Symphony Way squatters would remain firm in resisting being moved as they believed the city used temporary residential areas as dumping grounds for homeless people.
"We don't know of any legal process, but from the start we rejected a temporary residential area. In (such) areas parents can't raise their children. (These areas) are unhealthy, unsafe and undignified.
"We are not of the impression that if people move to temporary residential areas they will get homes soon.
"At the Tsunami temporary residential area, people have been there for seven years and at Happy Valley, for 12 years. They were supposed to be temporary places, but seven and 12 years are in no way temporary."
- Cape Argus
No comments:
Post a Comment