Delft housing interdict bid fails

Cape Town - The provincial government has lost its court bid to bar seven community leaders from interfering with a housing project in Delft.

It sought an interim interdict against the seven, alleging that they were central to organising a series of protests - some of which turned violent - at the site of the Delft Symphony 3 and 5 Housing Project between March 11 and 22, and that they caused the unrest.

The construction site was, at times, temporarily shut down and there had also been damage to the site.

But the Western Cape government’s application was dismissed in the Western Cape High Court yesterday.

Acting Judge Michael Wragge found that it was up to the applicants (in this case, the provincial government), to demonstrate that the seven - cited as Zwelohlanga Ndiki, Xolani Thomose, Vuyisile Goqoza, Nomthulizi Meyeki, Loyiso Mtana, Siviwe Nondomga and Mncedisi Kolisi - had committed acts that interfered with its rights, or that it had a well-grounded apprehension that they might do so.

He said that the community leaders’ advocate, Michael Bishop, had argued that there was no evidence that his clients had committed or encouraged violent or destructive acts.

“I agree… I am driven to the conclusion that, far from inciting the crowd, the respondents… took steps to pacify and disperse the crowd,” said Acting Judge Wragge.

According to his judgment, work on the project started shortly after the contract was signed with Group 5 Motlekar Cape Joint Venture - though, the award of this tender is subject to a judicial review that is still pending in the high court - in February.

Unrest had first broken out on the site on March 11.

Other incidents also occurred up until March 22, when a security company was hired to secure the site. Since then, there had been no further protests and the contractor had resumed its building operations. While certain of the seven community leaders had been present at certain of the protests, they had told the crowd to leave the site.

On March 13, after a meeting with the local councillor failed to take place, several of the community leaders had requested the crowd to go home.

After one of them was arrested the following day - and advised by the police that he had been arrested for vandalising the councillor’s house the previous night - he discovered that despite his pleas for the crowd to go home, the community had embarked on a protest without them because they knew that their leaders would try to stop them.

Acting Judge Wragge also awarded legal costs to four of the seven.

- Cape Times

Joe Slovo shacks demolished

Cape Town - Five shacks in Joe Slovo, Langa, were torn down on Wednesday after their occupants defied an order to move to make way for a R480 million housing development in the area.

The Western Cape Human Settlements Department and the Housing Development Agency plan to build 2 639 houses in the Joe Slovo Phase 3 Project for families who earn less than R3 500 per month.

In demolishing the shacks, the department was enforcing a court order that the five families had signed on April 16, agreeing to move.

Ninety other families, who had been living in the same area, moved within the project area.

Three of the five so-called “sit-tight” families said they did not want to move until the department gave them a letter stating they would be entitled to a house in the new development. Five new shacks in a nearby area were erected for the evicted families.

The sheriff of the court led a group equipped with hammers and crowbars to the site. The owners were not home and the group went from one shack to the next, smashing padlocks. Belongings were put in bin bags and the structures were knocked down.

When Nolusizo Ndaba, 16, came home from school at about 2pm she found only a pile of her family’s belongings, including mattresses, boxes, blankets, pots and groceries.

“I’m going to wait for my mother to come back from work as I don’t know what to do next,” she said. “I didn’t know this was going to happen. For now, I have to look after our things until my mother comes back.”

Bruce Oom, the spokesman for human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, said they were happy they had not met any resistance from the community. “Everything went peacefully and smoothly, and we believe that we have done the right thing.”

- Cape Argus

Shack residents shiver in chilly Cape

Cape Town - Residents in low-lying areas across Cape Town are feeling the brunt of the rain this week and have been mopping up their rain-drenched homes daily.

More than 1 300 people have been affected in Endlovini in Khayelitsha since the weekend and residents in Europe in Gugulethu have puddles in their shacks.

The informal settlement is in a low-lying area.

Resident Chippa Themba said he would spend most of the week indoors, trying to keep his house dry.

“Even when it rains just once a day there will be a lot of water inside the houses,” he said.

Furniture would be damaged and there was no way people could adequately prepare themselves for rainy days.

“The people just try to fix their roofs, that is the only thing we can do. There is not even sand in the area that we can put at the doors so the water doesn’t come in that much.”

Themba said they received some assistance from the city, but the last time they were given any blankets was last year.

“Our children are also sick. Some people have carpets and those take longer to dry and their children stay sicker for longer. There is nothing we can do. We just have to wait until it is summer again.”

Last year, Cape Town experienced its coldest winter in decades. The average temperature in June and July was 12.4ºC.

Rain has been forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is expected to be a touch warmer, with no rain forecast.

The City of Cape Town said planning for this winter started last year.

“It followed a structured approach and included lessons learnt in dealing with challenges last winter.

“Mitigation measures are in place to prepare for any potential storm damage.

“The city is geared to deal with any major emergency events.”

- Cape Argus

Sit-tight families to be moved

Cape Town - Five families in Joe Slovo in Langa who have refused to move from an area earmarked for a R480 million housing development will be moved by authorities on Wednesday, the Western Cape Human Settlements Department has said.

MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela announced on Tuesday that the department would enforce a court order that the five families signed on April 16, agreeing to move in order for the project to go ahead.

“If people have to be moved in this way you do expect resistance but we have no choice. We won’t allow five households to stand in the way of providing 2 051 families with homes. We will be setting a very wrong precedent,” said Madikizela.

Madikizela said they had spent more than a year trying to engage with the families and had sent them three more notices subsequent to the court order.

“They are shifting the goalposts every time the officials go there and they have not told us why they do not want to move,” he said.

“It’s a very strange thing. Why would a community and certain community leaders not assist in a case where we want to build homes for people?” Madikizela asked.

Xolile Tolobisa, who lives in one of the five households, said they were refusing to move because the city had not given them anything in writing saying where they would be relocated to or if they were entitled to a house in the new development.

“We have been waiting for them to give us something in writing but we found a letter slipped under our door on Monday saying they are coming to relocate us,” said Tolobisa.

“I don’t know what their plans are but I will be at work tomorrow (Wednesday) and when I come back I won’t have a house.”

The department and the Housing Development Agency (HDA), plans to build 2 639 houses in the Joe Slovo Phase 3 Project and has budgeted R480m for this. The projects benefits families who earn less than R3 500 per month.

Madikizela said another 90 families, who had also been living in the same area as the five remaining families, have already voluntarily relocated within the project areas.

“This order stipulated that they would relocate to vacant sites within their environs, that they would be assisted to move, would not incur any costs and would also be provided with the same basic services they currently enjoy,” said Madikizela.

“This delay also means that the department faces the risk of having to pay the contractor appointed to build the houses because of the losses the business has incurred due to the stoppages.”

Community leader and chairman of the Langa South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), Michael Dumo said the department was consulting the wrong community leaders.

“We are now representing the community and this relocation is news to us.”

“We are not against the development of the area but we want a proper consultation to be done.”

- Cape Argus

Cape protesters ignore interdict

Cape Town - Protesters blocked roads near Cape Town International Airport on Monday morning despite an interim interdict banning such behaviour, the City of Cape Town said.

The Western Cape High Court last week granted the city an interdict against 89 former employees of toilet service company Sannicare and seven people associated with the ANC Youth League.

Utility services mayoral committee member Ernest Sonnenberg said on Monday that the sheriffs of the High Court or the SA Police Service were required to stop any conduct in contempt of the court order.

A group of people disrupted and blocked the roads around Borchards Quarry.

Sonnenberg said the interim interdict prohibited a certain group from interfering with service delivery, city staff, and property.

It also prevented the respondents from blocking any roads into and surrounding the N2, Borchards Quarry, NY108, the R300, Klipfontein Road, Stock Road, Symphony Way, Sheffield Road, and Vanguard Drive.

“The city views threats of violence and the disruption of basic service provision in a very serious light, and will not allow the actions of a small minority to affect the living conditions of the majority of citizens,” Sonnenberg said.

“We will continue to use whatever legal channels we can to stop this well co-ordinated attack on city staff, innocent citizens, and public property.”

Sannicare janitors responsible for cleaning communal toilets blocked a portion of the N2 highway with burning tyres last week and dumped faeces on the road, in protest against being dismissed.

Soon after, the city complained that residents who escorted city officials to neglected toilets were threatened.

ANCYL regional chairman Khaya Yozi denied last week that its members had played any part in the toilet dispute.

“These are very extreme and unfounded allegations. It's just poor of the city, when they are caught with their pants down, to blame it on someone else,” he said.

“We are not involved in these threats or violence whatsoever.” - Sapa

Gigantic effort needed to de-racialise residential spaces - Tokyo Sexwale

Department of Human Settlements budget speech by Minister Tokyo Sexwale in the National Assembly

1. Introduction

In his inaugural State of the Nation Address (SONA) President of the Republic, Mr Jacob Zuma made three pronouncements in respect of the then Department of Housing. These are, name change from housing to human settlements, policy change and the practicalisation of this new paradigm to transform the landscape of housing in South Africa forever.

Over the last four years, we remained seized with the implementation of this new mandate (Outcomes 8). Without any equivocation we state: A firm foundation has been laid towards a sustainable and integrated human settlements objective: Vision 2030.

Consequently, we have a comprehensive strategy premised upon three segments: Housing for the poor; for the GAP Market; and for the middle to the high income earners.

2. Implementing the Vision 2030 Strategy

2.1 Housing for the poor - grant beneficiaries

The main focus of our housing delivery strategy remains the poorest of the poor, many of whom are in and around informal settlements. At this stage, the following message must be clear: Our government does not build slums, imikhukhu, amatyotyombe! These squalid areas have their roots in the Wars of Dispossession, the 1913 Land Act whose centenary is commemorated this year and in subsequent apartheid policies. These policies gave rise to landlessness and joblessness which saw, and continues to see, the destitute escaping rural poverty towards urban areas.

Let me repeat what I said at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University concerning slums.

"They are essentially shanty towns littered across all provinces particularly around the more affluent Metros and municipalities. This therefore results in a situation of the classic undesirable urbanisation, which is driven less by economic growth and more by the rural-urban migration of the poor and jobless."

Question: What steps have we taken to address this? As stated, our focus remains the poor. Over the last four years, our department has thus far, delivered, through grants, over 750 000 houses and housing opportunities.

This has made it possible, during this term of government, for the total housing provided since 1994 to break for the first time, into the 3 million units threshold for those earning from R3 500 to zero; to be precise 3,3 million houses and opportunities now at the cost of R85 000 each towards breaking the backlog of 2,1 million houses for 8 to 10 million people.

2.2 GAP Market Housing - The financially assisted.

The second element of our strategy concerns financial guarantees for affordable housing. This policy for citizens who earn above R3 500 to R15 000 was announced by the President in his 2012 SONA. The department's task is to implement this Finance Linked policy which covers housing for, amongst others, school teachers and principals, police and members of the armed forces, nurses, firemen, prison warders, and blue collar workers. The good news is that this is now a reality and is being rolled out in all provinces via the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC).

Our implementing agency is the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) through a financial instrument called FLISP - Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme. This supports all qualifying beneficiaries with the certainty of being granted loans, bonds or mortgage facilities by Banks and other financial institutions.

At this amount, beneficiaries have an option to buy an existing house, to build a new one or to purchase land. Therefore, to all those people lost in the GAP Market, earning too much to qualify for an RDP house and too little to access Bank finance we say: Rest assured. This government cares - we back you to get your bond!

2.3 Housing for middle to high income earners

We rely upon three instruments which are the Home Loans and Mortage Disclosure Act, the Community Schemes Ombuds Services Act and the Estate Agency Affairs Act. Thanks to the sterling work of the EAAB Administrator, Mr Taswell Papier, this structure has been stabilised.

In summary, the three elements of our strategy are all critical and applicable for different requirements within the comprehensive human settlements environment. Quite clearly, the continuous allocation of grants for free housing to the poorest of the poor is unsustainable going forward. Strictly speaking, this is more of a welfare programme approach than a long lasting housing policy as this programme is driven by the triple evils of unemployment, poverty and inequity. For as long as this is the case, so long shall this programme remain because we as the ANC government are committed to the poor and shall not abandon them through no fault of their own.

It stands to reason therefore, that given the current socio-economic circumstances, the most optimal and practical human settlements strategic approach is that of the enhancement of the Finance Linked programme.

It is noteworthy that the assistance we provide to our citizens in this regard - black and white - empowers them to become real estate owners; to become real participants in the capital markets as asset owners; real players in the property market as sellers or buyers; as well as in the financial markets where they can borrow against their assets to advance other economic interests. The need therefore, to speed up the issuing of Title Deeds to home owners can never be more emphasised.

3. Integrated human settlements development challenges

3.1 Deracialisation of Residential Areas

Top of the list of all budgetary challenges that confront the entire country is that of having to tackle the unique question of deracialising residential space. This, more than anything else, reflects the real evil of apartheid social engineering which motivated the United Nations in 1973 to pass a unanimous resolution declaring apartheid a crime against humanity. To undo this will take gigantic efforts over a long period, requiring major resources.

At this stage, it is noteworthy to indicate that the United Nations Habitat has requested South Africa to host its next conference on human settlements issues later this year.

Our residential deracialisation strategy is underpinned by seven elements.

3.1.1 Firstly, Deracialising White Suburbs by continuing to oblige Banks through Home Loans and Mortgage Disclosure Act (HLAMDA) and to provide loans to black people desiring to purchase property previously exclusive white suburbs.

3.1.2 Secondly, Inner City Housing

Spearheaded by our agency, Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), the department has over a period been purchasing many high rise buildings in the centres of major towns and cities. They are refurbished and transformed from office space to rented family units, some with an option to buy. This social housing is popular amongst young couples, students and single mothers.

3.1.3 Thirdly, Inner City Land

Through our Housing Development Agency (HDA), the department has acquired land parcels inside the cities from other government departments and State Owned Enterprises. These strategic pieces of land have been used for settling families.

3.1.4 Fourthly, Outer City Districts

Outer City Districts within the immediate proximity of city boundaries is land which is acquired from other Departments, or in partnership with the private sector, for housing construction. This is earmarked at integrating people within the expanding outer city parametres, a walking distance to vital amenities and facilities.

We congratulate companies that have come on board the Each-One-Settle-One campaign by building thousands of homes upon our subsidies for their employees, particularly in the mining industry.

3.1.5 Fifthly, "No-Man's-Land": Town and Township

The evil utilisation of land as a buffer by the architects of apartheid resulted in the creation of "no man's land" between Johannesburg-Soweto, Cape Town-Gugulethu, Pretoria-Mamelodi, Durban-Umlazi, Port-Elizabeth-KwaZakhele, to name a few, resulting in the black areas having little or no amenities and facilities.

Our approach is to focus on building integrated human settlements in this space to locate people closer to the towns and cities.

3.1.6 Sixth, Townships Upgrading Strategy

It is inevitable that the black townships which were created as a reservoir of labour far away from white cities must be upgraded to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants. On our part, we empower municipalities through the accreditation process by giving them direct funds and authority to construct human settlements within their jurisdiction.

It is for this reason, among others, that in partnership with the Department of Higher Education and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, we launched a four-year Bachelor's Degree in Human Settlements Development, the first of its kind, which will later extend to Masters and Doctoral levels. The same degree will be offered by the Universities of Fort Hare and UNISA in the future.

3.1.7 Seventh, new non-racial towns and cities

Our mandate is to establish new non-racial towns and cities to concretise the principle of a united people in non-racial residential areas.

The new town of Lephalale - Joe Slovo City -under construction in Limpopo, driven by the economies of the Medupi Power Station, is an example in point.

3.2 Other Human Settlements development challenges

3.2.1 Other challenges confronting us are about greater coordination together with other related government departments responsible for big ticket items like bulk services, electrification, water and sanitation, sewerage plants, roads, transportation, etc.

The Presidential Infrastructure Coordinating Committee (PICC) whose efforts are beginning to bear fruit is the answer to the required coordination.

3.2.2 It is unacceptable given the fact after the passing of budgets by this House, we always speedily transfer funds to provinces and accredited municipalities. Many of them discharge their responsibilities perfectly well and are applauded. Yet some fail to spend.

Where some of them do, they sometimes resort to fiscal dumping which often results in shoddy workmanship leading to the wasteful practice of rectification amounting to billions of rands. The newly appointed Board of the National Homebuilders Regulatory Council (NHBRC) carries a huge responsibility in respect of safeguarding proper procedures in the construction industry countrywide.

Furthermore, mindful of the positive work by the Portfolio Committee led by Chairperson Dambuza in its oversight responsibilities, I urge the committee, including the Select Committee to redouble its efforts in coming down hard upon those responsible. On our part, we have taken some of the severest actions against those who engage in shoddy workmanship or fail to adhere to norms and standards on, for example, sanitation.

It is totally unacceptable that although we provide funds, responsible government entities and certain municipalities fail to even build a simple toilet whilst there is a serious stench of the bucket system in some parts of the country. Where they are built, some are left uncovered such as in the recent scandalous cases in Makhaza and Moqhaka, in the Western Cape and Free State respectively, even prompting the Human Rights Commission to get involved!

Our response of taking away funds from poor performers, as required by the law, will continue but is inadequate. Capacity issues need to be addressed. Most importantly, political parties must ensure that their deployees are capable - and there is nothing the matter with cadre deployment - and in turn such deployees should select appropriately qualified employees for the public service.

Our commitment and resolve to rooting out and exposing corruption remains undiminished. We continue to take a dim view of those housing beneficiaries who are engaged in double dipping - a practice of people coming from other parts of the country where services such as sanitation and housing have already been provided for them, yet they flock to informal settlements. This is wrong.

Others engage in the corrupt conduct of selling their houses before the expiry date, including to foreigners, with the help unscrupulous lawyers and fly-by-night estate agents. This is fraudulent. We implore members of civil society to expose such chance takers who, like many we have caused to be prosecuted, should face the full might of the law.

4. Budget focus 2013/14 to 2015/16

The department has been allocated a budget of R28.1 billion for the 2013/14 financial year representing an increase of R2,9 billion. The allocation is expected to grow to R32,7 billion in 2015/16. The conditional grants to provinces constitute a R53, 7 billion over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period while the Urban Settlements Development Grants to municipalities will be receiving an allocation of approximately R30 billion in three years of MTEF.

The conditional grants and transfers to Human Settlements Institutions constitute 97% The total capital grant allocation amounts to R26.1 billion which consists of the Human Settlements Development grant of R16.9 billion, the Urban Settlements Development Grant of R9 billion and the Rural Households Infrastructure Grant of R107 million in 2013/14.

To conclude, the National Development Plan states: "The inefficiencies and inequalities in South Africa's settlement patters are deeply entrenched. Bold measures are needed to reshape them."

In the context of all we have articulated, the 2013-2014 human settlements budget is important to the extent that it's a continuation of the critical stimulus we provide to the total economic development of the country. Our budget should be seen as a catalyst in this process including job creation through our twin empowerment and construction programmes of Women and Youth Builds.

Incrementally throughout our term, the budget has been earmarked primarily to address the poorest of the poor. In continuing to do so, let there be no doubt that our quest is not to be patted on the back for chasing numbers at the cost of quality.

We are mindful that in addressing the unique challenges of reengineering integrated human settlements in our country, there can be no socio-economic equality without providing our people with quality. On this, there is no compromise.

I thank you.

- Issued by the Department of Human Settlements, May 22 2013

Protesters loot hawkers’ stalls

Cape Town - Delft residents who were making their way through the city centre after a day of protesting outside the Western Cape High Court looted hawkers’ stalls.

The residents from Delft’s TRA5 had come to town to support seven community leaders against whom an urgent application had been brought in the high court. As they reached the Grand Parade many grabbed goods from hawkers’s stalls before fleeing towards Cape Town Station.

The court application had been brought by the provincial Department of Human Settlements against the leaders for disrupting construction of new houses which are intended for TRA5 residents.

The case is back in court on Thursday.

The residents were due to receive houses built using alternative building materials, but the residents said that they wanted brick houses.

Bruce Oom, spokesman for MEC for Human Settlements Bonginkosi Madikizela, said they had applied for an interdict against the seven leaders so that the building work could be continued without disruption.

The community leaders have been accused of intimidating building workers on the site and preventing them from performing their duties.

“The department has a mandate to deliver houses to those people who need them most, and at stake are the housing needs of thousands of people due to the unhappiness of a few individuals.”

But residents argued in court that there were no grounds for an interdict since the last disruption had been on March 22 and work at the site had continued uninterrupted since the beginning of last month.

Outside the court, Zwelohlanga Ndiki, one of the respondents in the case, said residents had marched to the site after they heard that their new houses were to be built with material similar to asbestos slabs.

“There was no show house to show the people what kind of house they will be getting and the residents want an assurance that these houses will not collapse after eight years.”

Oom said the project was expected to be complete by March next year, “but due to various challenges with the project, the completion date may be extended by a few months”.

He said that houses built with alternative materials were in many ways superior to conventional brick and mortar houses.

“All houses have to meet the standards of the National Home Builders Registration Council, which independently guarantees the quality of the houses for five years after construction.”

Oom said a show house had been built by the contractor at another site and the community leaders had been invited to inspect it.

“Minister Madikizela has also communicated the process to the community, as well as the benefits of the new houses, and so the department is satisfied there has been sufficient communication.”

- Cape Argus

Public speaks on Cape stadium’s future

Cape Town - From seeing it demolished to make way for housing to selling it to interested bidders, the public has weighed in on what should be done with the money-guzzling Cape Town Stadium.

The city is reviewing public submissions after the first round of public participation drew to a close at the end of March.

The six most popular ideas which came out of 151 submissions were (in no particular order):

* Demolishing the multibillion-rand venue and developing it into a residential space.

* Public ownership models where people can buy a seat for a series of events.

* Selling the stadium.

* Converting it into a large indoor sports arena and conference venue.

* Developing it into a mega market.

* Donating the stadium to the Western Province Rugby Union.

The public was asked to comment on several plans for the commercialisation of the R4.2 billion stadium. The city plans to apply to the provincial government to overturn the record of decision, which bans commercial activity.

The city says it also plans to start another round of engagements about the future of the stadium with labour and business sectors in the city.

At a finance portfolio committee meeting this month the true costs of the stadium were revealed. The figures show that aside from the R4.2bn it took to build the stadium, the city has, since 2009 spent R436 million on running the venue.

So far, for this financial year, the city has made R12.2m from the venue, but the operating cost for 2012/2013 after depreciation amounts to R47.8m.

The total operating cost since 2009/2010 to date amounts to R436m.

The total income to the stadium in the same time period amounts to more than R92m.

The mayco member for tourism, events and marketing, Grant Pascoe, could not give all the details of the comments, as the full public participation report first has to be tabled at next month’s portfolio committee meeting.

“At this stage we have to give serious consideration to the public’s comments, as it is all part of having the record of decision overturned.

From the submissions received we can see that the majority of people took their time to go through the proposals and really thought through their comments and put considerable effort into it.

“We appreciate the time and effort people made to comment, as this is an important matter for all ratepayers,” Pascoe said.

He said the city was in continual talks with the Western Province Rugby Union and was trying to secure the best outcome for all parties.

The city has previously indicated, in terms of its business plans, securing the union would be the most viable.

Pascoe said most of the six most popular ideas for the stadium were in line with the business plan options the city presented to the public, barring the one which suggests demolishing the stadium for residential use.

“The public’s ideas are on the table and they will be taken seriously.”

They had to be taken into consideration throughout the process of applying for the record of decision to be overturned, Pascoe said.

- Cape Times

Cape Town seeks toilet interdict

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town intends seeking an interdict against the people disrupting the servicing of toilets in informal settlements, an official said on Wednesday.

Utility services mayoral committee member Ernest Sonnenberg said services had been affected in Kanana, Barcelona, and Boystown, in Gugulethu.

“We have met with our attorneys and will be getting the interdict soon. We can't say exactly when,” he said.

Sannicare janitors responsible for cleaning communal toilets blocked the N2 highway with burning tyres on Monday and dumped faeces in the road, in protest against being dismissed.

At the weekend, residents escorted city officials to service toilets which had been left unattended because of the labour action.

“Last night (Tuesday), we received reports from community members in Europe (in Gugulethu) that they were being threatened by members of the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), who, it is alleged, threatened to burn their homes,” Sonnenberg said.

“The city will work with all relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate any such claims.”

ANCYL regional chairman Khaya Yozi denied that members had played any part in the toilet dispute.

“These are very extreme and unfounded allegations. It's just poor of the city, when they are caught with their pants down, to blame it on someone else,” he said.

“We are not involved in these threats or violence whatsoever.”

He said ANCYL leaders had played a mediating role between Sannicare and its former contract workers.

“The employees were told by their contractor that they were dismissed, but they protested because they were actually employed by a sub-contractor. There was also a discrepancy in salary being offered.”

Yozi, who is a councillor for the Nyanga areas of Vukuzenzele, Lusaka and Zimbabwe, said he and other councillors had convinced the janitors to keep on cleaning the toilets.

“The toilets are being cleaned on the basis of our intervention. We said to the cleaners: we pledge solidarity with your march, but look, we live here with yourselves. They need to be cleaned.”

Yozi asked the city to take a greater leadership role in the dispute.

Sonnenberg said six city employees had been attacked in the past few weeks. A city vehicle was set alight a month ago in Kanana.

On Friday, a city official was attacked while driving in a marked car through Boystown. He was hit on the head with a brick and glass was shattered on his arm. He was taken to hospital for treatment.

On Monday, city staff were apparently singled out and threatened.

“What is becoming increasingly clear is that the intimidation of city staff and disruption of major transport routes is part of a well co-ordinated strategy,” Sonnenberg said.

“The city will not stand idly by while our staff are being attacked, and while the rights of innocent citizens to sanitation and other services is threatened.” 

- Sapa

Protesters cause more Cape traffic chaos

Cape Town - Protests on the N2 on Monday morning resulted in traffic chaos for thousands of commuters as the inbound and outbound lanes were closed.

Nyanga residents staged a service delivery protest from early this morning.

The protesters burnt tyres at the Airport Approach intersection and littered the N2 with the contents of portable toilets and piles of burning rubbish.

The highway was closed at Airport Approach and at Borcherds Quarry. Police had not made any arrests at publication time.

City Traffic Services spokeswoman Inspector Maxine Jordaan said major delays were experienced on alternative routes because of the added influx of traffic. “The N2 is one of the main arterial routes into the city. If it is affected, the ripple effects extend to all detours, resulting in backlogs.”

The outbound lanes opened at 10.25 this morning, but the inbound lanes remained closed at publication time.

A group of workers contracted by the City of Cape Town cleared obstructions on the N2, including piles of human excrement.

Several callers to 567 CapeTalk this morning expressed frustration at police, who were seen to be “monitoring” the situation, but who did “nothing” to clear up the obstacles blocking the road.

Responding to the complaints, Cape Chamber of Commerce president Fred Jacobs suggested that the police consider employing more people and extend their mandate to “alleviate” such situations as quickly as possible.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Andrè Traut defended the officers.

He said the police’s mandate was “monitoring” and ensuring that “law and order” was maintained.

“The waste needs to be dealt with carefully and professionally. Police are not equipped to provide this service and it is thus the city’s responsibility.”

Jacobs said this morning’s delays were “massively damaging to the city’s economy”.

“With the background of the recent bus strike, this is once again our… productivity.

“People are late for work and the added stress means that they will be less productive,” he said, suggesting that a spokesperson for the protesters needed to be accommodated by the city in order to avoid future protests.

However, the Cape Argus was unable to locate such a spokesperson this morning.

- Cape Argus

Protest closes Cape highway

Cape Town - A section of the N2 highway in Cape Town was closed on Monday morning because of a service delivery protest, Western Cape police said.

Captain Frederick van Wyk said a group of people blockaded the highway with burning tyres and toilet pots near Airport Approach road from 4.20am.

“At this stage, both lanes on the N2 are closed and traffic is being diverted to alternative routes,” he said.

Police were monitoring the situation and no arrests had been made. - Sapa

Nkandla legal opinion writer did not see report

THE author of the legal opinion which saw the report into spending at President Jacob Zuma’s Nkandla homestead being kept from the public never saw the report

National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu based his decision to refer the report to the joint standing committee on intelligence on this opinion, of which Super Saturday Citizen has a copy.  

In it, Parliament’s senior legal adviser, Ntuthuzelo Vanara, wrote that he had to rely on “a brief background coupled with my security knowledge” to enable him to formulate a view on the legality of a possible referral of the report.     

“I am in an unenviable position, in that I am required to advise on a report that I have not had sight of,” wrote Vanara. 

Vanara proceeded to argue that because Zuma was the commander-in-chief of the defence force and the architectural plan of his private residence was a matter of national security, the report should not be made public. 

Vanara wrote that although the Constitution envisaged Parliament’s default position to be that of transparent governance, that because it was “safe to assume that parts of the report might contain intelligence information” it was reasonable and justifiable to refer the report to the closed committee. 

Addressing the classification of the report, Vanara cited a  Constitutional Court case.

In this case Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke stated that a mere classification of a report as confidential, secret or even top secret would not place the documents beyond the reach of the courts, because once documents were placed before a court they would be susceptible to its scrutiny and direction as to whether the public should be granted access or not.

Vanara argued the same should apply to the joint standing committee on intelligence with regards to the Nkandla report. 

As with the courts, the committee would have to weigh up the competing rights or interests carefully with a view to ensuring that the limitations it places on open justice is properly tailored and appropriate to the end it seeks to attain, wrote Vanara. 

This means that the committee will act as a quasi-court in that it will, at its discretion, decide which parts of the report will be made public, if any. 

Advocate Paul Hoffman of the Institute for Security Studies said that Vanara’s admission that he had not seen the report placed him in no position to “reasonably justify it being kept secret”. 

“The report’s subject matter covers a lot of material that has already been thoroughly ventilated.

“What possible point is there in now seeking to keep the matter a secret?” asked Hoffman. 

Hoffman stated that it was “far-fetched to suggest that any of the values (enshrined in the Constitution) were served” given the amount of publicity the upgrade has already enjoyed, nor does national security dictate that a report that presumably covered and attempted to explain the expenditure on the upgrades should be regarded as secret. 

“Whether any (aspects to national security) exist is impossible to say from where I sit and it is also impossible for Mr Vanara to say from his position, as expressed in his legal opinion,” said Hoffman.

- The Citizen

Nkandla: The details will, and should, be made public

The Minister of Public Works must have jumped for joy when he was told that details of the abuse of public funds to upgrade the private home of President Jacob Zuma and Nkandla could be suppressed by invoking the truly authoritarian National Key Points Act. Passed in 1980 – as the finger-wagging, lip-licking, PW Botha and his securocrats were consolidating their autocratic powers and creating new mechanisms to censor the media to prevent another embarrassing Info scandal – the Act is a true relic of an undemocratic and oppressive past. No wonder it is only invoked selectively in an attempt to hide aspects of some – but not other – scandals washing like the proverbial tsunami over the Zuma government.

When journalists reported that a plane full of wedding guests (attending the lavish wedding organised by the politically connected Gupta brothers) had landed at Waterkloof Air Force base, they probably did not realise that they were potentially exposing themselves to the risk of a three-year prison term for breaching the provisions of the National Key Points Act. This is because Waterkloof Air Force base has allegedly been declared a National Key Point – although there is no way of knowing whether this is true or not because the list of National Key Points is itself a state secret. (For all we know there is no list of places declared as National Key Points at all and our government makes up National Key Points as they see fit in order to cover up corruption and maladministration – we simply do not know.)

But when, first, Gwede Mantashe and then later several cabinet ministers also commented on the scandal, they must have known that they were running the risk of breaking an infamous Apartheid law – if Waterkloof Air Force base is indeed a National Key Point as alleged. But because they were trying to protect the president, they seemed to have shown little concern about the possible dangers of breaching the provisions of the National Key Points Act – and rightly so. Pity the same level-headed attitude about this Act is not in evidence as far as the corrupt use of public funds to upgrade the private home of President Zuma at Nkandla is concerned.

Section 10(2)(c) of the National Key Points Act states that any person who:

“furnishes in any manner whatsoever any information relating to the security measures, applicable at or in respect of any National Key Point or in respect of any incident that occurred there, without being legally obliged or entitled to do so, or without the disclosure or publication of the said information being empowered by or on the authority of the Minister… shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction liable to a fine not exceeding R10,000 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.”

This section is rather broad. It prohibits any person from revealing any information about any “security measures” (or lack of security measures, one would assume) applicable at a National Key Point. It also prohibits anyone from furnishing any information on “any incident” of terrorism or subversion that had occurred at the National Key Point. However, we are not allowed to know which areas have been declared National Key Points and we are asked to trust the relevant Minister who claims at will that this or that site has indeed been declared a National Key Point.

This means that the journalists and the ministers who furnished information to the public about the landing of a private plane at Waterkloof Air Force base and the relative absence of security measures at the time, as well as the manner in which the guests on that plane was dealt with, might – at a stretch – inadvertently have revealed information about “security measures” applicable at Waterkloof and in theory might have committed an offence in terms of the National Key Points Act.

But I suspect the journalists and the ministers will be safe from criminal prosecution. Although the section is indeed absurdly broad, the Act does not prohibit anyone from providing any information about the National Key Point at all. It is clear that the Act does not prohibit anyone from revealing any information on non-security related measures or incidents at a National Key Point. On this basis the journalists and the ministers who revealed information about the landing of a private plane at a National Key Point might escape criminal prosecution. They might argue that they only revealed information on events that took place there and did not reveal what security measures are in fact in place at Waterkloof.

If this is correct and if the journalists and Ministers did not commit a criminal offence when they revealed details of the Gupta plane landing, then the claim by the Minister of Public Works that the report on the Nkandla scandal cannot be made public and must be discussed behind closed doors because Nkandla is a National Key Point is demonstrated to be pure nonsense invented to hide the truth about the abuse of public funds. Just as the journalists and the ministers were allowed to reveal information around the landing of a plane at Watekloof, we are also allowed to reveal information about the use of public funds for the upgrade of the private home of President Zuma at Nkandla.

Soon the Public Protector will finalise her report on the Nkandla scandal. In a futile attempt to protect the president, the very cabinet ministers who ignored the possible infringement of the National Key Points Act in the Guptagate saga will invoke this law to try and suppress that report. Those of us who might obtain a copy of the Public Protector’s report might do well to follow the example of the various ministers by ignoring the absurd law and publishing the Public Protector’s report.

As a complainant in the matter I expect to receive a copy of that report. Taking my cue from the Minister Jeff Radebe, I promise to publish it on my blog as soon as I receive a final version of that report. After all, I have no evidence that President Zuma’s Nkandla home has indeed been declared a National Key Point, and would take any claim to the contrary by the Minister of Public Works with a pinch of salt.

And even if Nkandla had indeed been declared a National Key Point as claimed, a report dealing with the use of public funds to upgrade the private home of the president will surely not reveal information about existing security measures at Nkandla. For the same reasons the Ministers ignored section 10(2)(c) of the National Key Points Act when they discussed the landing of a private plane at Waterkloof, I will also ignore that section when provided with the Nkandla Report by the Public Protector.

Surely, if we agree with Minister Jeff Radebe, who said during the Guptagate scandal that “the truth shall set you free”, we all have a duty to expose rather than cover up corruption. It is for that reason – and because it will not break any law – that the Public Protector’s Report on Nkandla must and will be made public. 

- DM

- Consitutionally Speaking

'Nkandla secrecy undermines constitution'

Former National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli said on Tuesday the delays and the secrecy surrounding the various investigations into government spending on President Jacob Zuma's Nkandla residence was undermining one of the fundamental pillars of the constitution.

In January, Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said over R200 million had been spent on Zuma's home explaining that the money was used only for security upgrades.

Over the last few weeks Parliament had decided to discuss the public works probe into Nkandla behind closed doors.

 

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said one department had still not given her the information she had requested.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) confirmed it was still waiting for a a Presidential Proclamation to begin its investigations.

“One of the values of our constitution demands that we have a government which is accountable.” Pikoli said.

He added there was also conflict of interest that the President has to tell the SIU to begin its probe.

Zuma's home features underground bunkers, a clinic, a fire station, special quarters for police, and a helipad. 

- EWN

SIU against the ropes on Nkandla probe

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has confirmed that it has still not begun its investigation into the Nkandla debacle.

The unit made the statement three and a half months after Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi said the unit would probe government spending into the controversial Nkandla residence which belongs to President Jacob Zuma.

Nxesi made the promise while announcing that over R200 million had been spent on what he said was a security upgrade for the property.

The SIU said it's still waiting for an official proclamation that will allow it to investigate the Nkandla issue.

Corruption Watch head David Lewis said this means it could be a very long time before the unit actually makes a finding as Zuma is the only person who can issue the proclamation.

OTHER PROBES?

Meanwhile, It still remains unclear which state department is holding up the investigation into Nkandla.

Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's office said it plans to release a preliminary report on its investigation soon.

Her office confirmed that she was still awaiting crucial documents from government before she wraps up her investigation into the Presidential homestead.

Government has spent more than R200 million on consultants and security upgrades to Zuma's Nkandla homestead, using taxpayer's money.

The Public Protector is remaining mum on which department has been keeping crucial documents from investigators and also won't say which documents are still outstanding.

Both the Presidency and the Department of Public Works have been fingered as the culprits by various media houses.

The Presidency has refused to comment on these allegations.

Kgalalelo Masibi from the Public Protector office said, “The investigation is at an advanced stage the Public Protector hopes to release a provisional report soon.”

Meanwhile, the Justice Department's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has failed to start their own investigation into the matter. 

- EWN

Cape vows that bucket toilets will go

The City of Cape Town aims to do away with at least 958 bucket-system toilets by next year in an effort to alleviate a sanitation backlog.

During a press briefing on Sunday, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said some residents had rejected portaloos and had opted to use the bucket system.

In a statement, De Lille said: “The reality is that in some instances communities have rejected the use of PFTs (portable flush toilets) for a range of reasons.

“This is regrettable as… it is often the only available toilet technology for a community.”

Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said the reason some residents had rejected the portaloos was to “hold the city to ransom” because they wanted houses and flush toilets.

Madikizela said it had also been found that people pretending to be “gatekeepers” would claim to be mandated by “the community” to communicate with the city and would reject new systems.

But after investigation it was established that the “gatekeepers” were not in fact representing the needs of residents.

The city planned to not only engage with community leaders and gatekeepers but also to communicate with individual households.

The city said it was impossible to give everyone houses and flush toilets at once and that the portaloos were a “dignified option”.

De Lille said: “The city has already rolled out 11 300 of these portable flush toilets to communities, especially in informal settlements.

“We now plan to roll out another 12 000, of which we will prioritise 958 where we still have the old bucket system.”

In a warehouse depot in Woodstock there are about 12 500 portable flush toilets in storage, to be distributed to the areas identified as still using the bucket system.

The city said it serviced 958 bucket toilets.

“Sanitation investment” had been boosted, with funds spent on sewerage infrastructure increasing from R51 million in 2006 to R130m in 2011-2012.

The number of toilets in informal settlements has more than trebled from 10 591 to 34 225 over the same period, according to the city.

Social Justice Coalition’s Axolile Notywala raised doubts about the number of bucket-system toilets quoted by the city.

The coalition has been vocal regarding the monitoring of sanitation in the city. Last week, it raised the alarm about the monitoring of outsourced services.

“A lot of residents see it (porta-loos) as an improved bucket system – but still a bucket system,” Notywala said.

He said the city undermined research that showed that about half a million people did not have access to sanitation.

“Our research shows that the city is failing to monitor outsourced services,” he said.

Regarding those who did not want the portaloos, Notywala said: “There are people who don’t prefer to have the portaloos. But I don’t think the reason is that.”

He said the city had failed to explain to residents that the portaloos were a temporary measure.

“Because then people would be interested,” he said, adding that it was a generalisation to say residents were against the portaloos. (From IOL)

Spike in Cape Town land invasions

Cape Town - There has been a spike in the illegal occupation of private land in Cape Town, a mayoral committee member said on Thursday.

Human settlements councillor Tandeka Gqada said the occupation of the Marikana site in the city earlier this week, and other areas, seemed to be part of a co-ordinated effort to “make the city ungovernable”.

“The City is aware, through our law enforcement and other agencies, that information is being provided to groups of people regarding the location of vacant land which they can attempt to illegally occupy,” she said.

“Privately owned land, in particular, appears to have been targeted in a systematic fashion.”

The city said the housing problem should be solved within the confines of the law, to ensure a just and equitable process.

“Whilst we are deeply sympathetic to the plight of residents currently without access to formal housing, we have a duty to protect the rights of the hundreds of thousands of people who have gone through the correct channels in order to be provided with a housing opportunity by the City.”

Last week the City demolished shacks erected at the Marikana site in Philippi East, where the land had been set aside for other purposes. 

- Sapa

Dozens left homeless as fires raze shacks

Cape town - Nearly 60 people have been left homeless after fires broke out simultaneously in the informal settlements at Sonwabile Drive in Crossroads and at the Nonquebela railway station in Khayelitsha.

No one was hurt or killed, but 16 structures were destroyed in Crossroads, leaving 50 people displaced, and another three shacks were destroyed in Khayelitsha, leaving six people homeless.

Nine emergency vehicles were sent to Crossroads, while six vehicles went to the Khayelitsha fire.

It is not clear what started the Crossroads fire, but the Khayelitsha fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault that ignited bedding, said Wilfred Solomons-Johannes of the city’s Disaster Risk Management Centre.

Crossroads residents said the fire spread so quickly that they fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

An hour-and-a-half later residents were salvaging what they could from the burnt rubble, alongside firefighters who were dousing the dying embers.

Barefoot and dishevelled, Siphsethu Kitchen, 21, walked from the badly damaged shack that she had shared with her mother and baby sister.

She was clutching a small envelope with her identity book and other documents. The fire, which gutted the living area, had been extinguished moments before it engulfed the family’s bedroom area.

“I am happy for this, because life can be difficult without an ID. At least I could save my baby sister. But still, I have nothing left. Not even shoes.”

Asked what she needed, Xoliswa Faleni, who lost her home of 12 years, said: “Clothes, food and shelter.”

Some residents said that they had family in the area, while others said that they were in Cape Town alone and would have to ask neighbours to take them in for the night.

Solomons-Johannes helped victims with food parcels, blankets, baby packs, clothing and building materials.

“When going to bed, residents should isolate electrical devices and extinguish gas burners, candles, lamps and paraffin stoves to prevent fires,” he said.

- Cape Argus

Cape Town Stadium’s bill so far: R436m

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has finally released the true costs of running the Cape Town Stadium - a whopping R436 million since construction.

As global megastars Bon Jovi rocked the 2010 World Cup Stadium on Tuesday night, and teen sensation Justin Bieber to follow on Wednesday, alarming figures have finally been made public.

On April 8, the Cape Argus published figures calculated by councillor Yagyah Adams, of the Cape Muslim Congress, who is on the finance portfolio committee, that the operating cost of the stadium from the end of 2009 until June this year was projected to be more than R300m.

Deputy mayor Ian Nielson’s office said the figures were incorrect.

At the time Kevin Jacoby, chief financial officer for the City of Cape Town, said the financial results for the various financial years were presented unclearly.

He would review the report and present it at the next finance portfolio committee meeting.

The new figures were presented on Monday. And instead of being less than the disputed figure of R300m, the new total is R436m.

On Tuesday, Adams and the Cape Argus submitted the following questions to Nielson, to which the acting mayoral committee member for finance, Brett Herron, replied last night:

Q: Have Cape Town ratepayers paid R436m since 2009/2010, in addition to the city’s contribution to the capital costs?

A: Yes.

Q: Was it known upfront that the city would be liable for such massive costs?

A: The City of Cape Town accepted the responsibility of World Cup and all its related obligations. Since the Cape Town Stadium is a strategic asset, the city has provided for costs. We however intend to minimise, as much as possible, the impact on the ratepayer.

This is why we undertook a feasibility study which is currently open for public comment on how to ensure our asset raises revenue in response to the capital investment. All inputs are appreciated.

Q: Why were there such high expenses at inception, as “general expenses” and “contracted services” and “consultant fees”? A total of around R238m was spent in the 2009/2010 financial year. What was this spent on? Were these more like “set-up costs”, or actual “running costs”?

A: We have to analyse (specific costs)… with more time. Significant operating cost were required for what turned out to be a very successful World Cup. Residents can be assured that we went through our normal, prudent procedures, taking into account our obligation to the event and the costs to the ratepayer.

Q: Over the full period, what were R50m in “employee-related costs” spent on?

A: The Cape Town Stadium is a strategic asset that belongs to all residents of the city. As such, we are obliged to care for it and ensure that it doesn’t fall into disrepair. This requires a high level of care from staff. Employee-related costs reflect this.

Q: What were almost R40m in “consultant fees” spent on?

A: More time is needed to respond.

Q: The operating surplus/loss for 2012/2013 is almost R48m, but includes R26m for “depreciation”. While this may be correct accounting procedure, is the annual actual “expense” therefore more like R22m for this year?

A: The Finance report to the portfolio committee was transparent and included all costs including depreciation, or a measure as to how the asset is consumed. Any Finance report that excludes depreciation would be an incomplete report. You may however categorise the costs and analyse separately.

- Cape Argus

In Langa, Cape Town: A dark combo of housing corruption & police brutality

Twenty-seven-year-old Siyabonga Magcida is in Groote Schuur Hospital today, under 24-hour police surveillance, because he is considered a flight risk. Yet he is severely injured, is connected to drips on both arms and is unable to walk or even speak. By JARED SACKS - DM.

The answer will take us back a full six years, when the Joe Slovo community first rose up to fight their pending eviction to the peri-urban township called Delft on the outskirts of Cape Town. Now, Magcida’s enemy is not just the housing department, but also his former comrades.

In September 2007 the community of Joe Slovo, a shack settlement in the township of Langa, rebelled against the directives of then Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's flagship N2 Gateway housing project. Spearheaded by the newly elected Joe Slovo Task Team, which was frustrated with Sisulu's perceived 'arrogance' for refusing to meet with them, the community decided to make their voices heard on the streets. They blockaded the N2 freeway for hours and were shot at when police decided to send the community back home.

Years later, the community still remembers this action as the turning point in its struggle against what was seen as an Apartheid-like eviction to a desolate township far from work, decent schools and other services. Despite losing (with conditions) at the Constitutional Court in 2009, public pressure against the eviction eventually forced its suspension.

One would think that this was a happy ending for the Joe Slovo community, as Minister Tokyo Sexwale and MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela triumphantly agreed to upgrade the settlement rather than evict them. However, this process seems to have been only the beginning of Joe Slovo's woes.

The development of Joe Slovo began with the involvement of Gates Foundation-funded NGO called Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) which has been instrumental in facilitating negotiations between the community and the provincial housing department. SDI quickly co-opted a number of Task Team leaders into their organisation, specifically hiring the respected Mzwanele Zulu to lead a newly formed Informal Settlement Network.

They then expedited an agreement between the community via the Task Team and the Provincial Department of Human Settlements. So far, so good. The community was happy they would get houses. The Province could claim to have turned around the failed N2 Gateway initiative.

However, eventually things started going very wrong. There was a fight amongst the Task Team. People were resentful of Zulu's beneficial relationship as an employee at SDI. Also, a rival grouping called the ‘Residents’ Committee’ began to attract various sidelined community members.

Then, as the house building began, community members started to complain that the Task Team leaders were being hired as Community Liaison Officers and applying for tenders as subcontractors within the project. Zulu, for instance, is said to run a security company operating at the project.

Then the housing allocation process began. The agreement made by the community as a whole was that the elderly residents would get the first houses that were built, followed by long-term Joe Slovo residents. The remaining houses would later go to newer residents that had moved into Joe Slovo in recent years.

Yet, according to former Task Team member Mzimasi Ntwanambi, this allocation process was never followed. The Task Team apparently changed its strategy and allegedly began allocating the new houses to friends, to family, and to people who never resided in Joe Slovo but were willing to pay them a fee.

Those said to have drawn up new allocation lists that contradicted the older City list are Task Team members Zulu, Zikali and Dlamini, with the help of Housing Development Agency (HDA – formerly the infamous Thubelisha Homes) representatives known as Bongani and Thulani. The group is said to be behind the bulk of the housing misallocation in the project. Interestingly, Bongani and Thulani are also named by Abahlali baseMjondolo as being involved in the selling of temporary structures in the HDA-managed Langa Intersite.

As Cindy Ketani, an Abahlali activist, remarked, “I'm not surprised when they [the Joe Slovo community] are complaining, because we have experienced the same problem of corruption - where HDA works directly with the Intersite committee to sell temporary houses.”

In September, after most of the Task Team was among the first group of community members to be allocated homes, the Daily Maverick was present at a spontaneous protest by hundreds of residents who converged on the new home of Task Team chairperson Sifiso Mapasa. Then in December 2012, some disgruntled residents met with MEC Madikizela, who promised to immediately investigate the allegations of corruption. (There seems to have been no follow-up by the MEC's office.) Tensions remained high and on 13 January, a section of the community elected a new committee called the Area Committee.

There were now three committees in Joe Slovo vying for power: the Task Team, the Residents’ Committee and the Area Committee.

When the Task Team was asked to step down for being “illegitimate” and because they “no longer lived in Joe Slovo but in the new houses”, an Area Committee member named Peko recounts that Mzwanele Zulu told the community that “I will leave Joe Slovo when I die. It doesn't matter if I live in Joe Slovo or not. I am the leader here.”

(However, when the Daily Maverick spoke to Zulu, he turned the tables, accusing the Area Committee of lacking popular support except only amongst “a small minority of the community”. Zulu alleges that this new committee is causing problems and stalling development because they are “power-hungry”.)

Then everything came to a head. The Area Committee heard through the grapevine that the Task Team was going to demolish Chris Hani Hall – a structure built years ago to act as a community meeting-place for residents. When the Task Team moved into their new houses, they stopped holding meetings in the hall. During the day, it was then taken over by a crèche. By night, the hall became a place to hold Area Committee and community meetings.

Zulu explained the need to demolish the hall to make way for a road that would be extended through the settlement. Yet Area Committee members, upset that the community was not informed about this, retort that the road will not be built for at least a year and that surrounding shacks were not yet slated to be demolished. Why the hall? They say the real reason for the destruction of Chris Hani Hall was to prevent their committee from being able to meet.

On Tuesday morning, the Area Committee mobilised community members against the destruction of the hall. Zulu and Zikali of the Task Team arrived and then drove off. Only ten minutes later, six Law Enforcement and four SAPS vehicles arrived. In front of the community, Mzimasi recounts hearing an official speaking to Zikali over the phone. Area Committee leadership was said to have been named for arrest. Peko was identified as “the one who is wearing a Springbok t-shirt”.

As Mzimasi tells it, when the community resisted the demolition of the hall, Peko was grabbed, slapped around, pepper-sprayed and put into a Law Enforcement bakkie.

Photo: Police assaulting Peko, an Area Committee member.

Siyabonga Magcida was also grabbed and as photo evidence suggests, possibly choked by police. An entire can of pepper-spray is said to have been used on him as he tried to get out of the bakkie. As further punishment, Siyabonga was punched and kicked and had the bakkie's back door slammed repeatedly on his legs. Further photo evidence taken by two eyewitnesses and in possession of the Daily Maverick suggests these allegations of police brutality have merit.

Photo: Law Enforcement forcing Siyabonga Magcida into a police van where he is allegedly assulted and has the door slammed repeatedly on his legs.

While Peko was able to escape the bakkie when community members distracted police by throwing rocks, Siyabonga was out cold and wasn't so lucky. He was taken to Langa police station and then for a quick visit to Vanguard Clinic before getting locked up once again at the station. For at least five hours, Siyabonga's family was not allowed to visit him. Once he was seen by family, his condition was so bad that they were able to convince the station commissioner to send him to the hospital. Owing to the severity of his injuries, he was immediately transferred on arrival from Somerset Hospital to Groote Schuur.

Photo: Siyabonga Magcida in hospital.

Photographs taken of Siyabonga in hospital show serious discoloration and injury to the head as well as appalling gashes running the length of his legs. Currently, he is unable to walk, talk or respond to anyone who visits him.

Police were not available in time for deadline to comment on the case. Task Team Chairperson, Sifiso Mapasa, also was unaware of what exactly happened yesterday. He said he'd get back to the Daily Maverick once he knew. However, when Mzwanele Zulu was called late last night, his response to what happened to Siyabonga was to say that while he wasn't present during the alleged police brutality, he blames everything on the Area Committee, who he says started the violence. Zulu was unapologetic: Siyabonga “is suffering from a disease. He deserves what happened because it is the end result of his behaviour”.

This lack of empathy was astonishing coming from someone this Daily Maverick reporter has known for years. In fact, it was more astonishing than the actions of the police, who are often called out to back up well-connected locals against their political rivals.

In an email conversion, politics lecturer Richard Pithouse explained that “full measure has not been taken of the degree to which police violence is routinely deployed on the instruction of local political elites - councillors, their ward committees and so on. The reality is that for many people, the police are little more than thugs who act with impunity and in flagrant disregard for the law. They work in the interests of powerful people or are mediated through local political party or service delivery structures.”

Police rarely act as independent and unbiased arbitrators of disputes who carry out justice on both sides. Instead, they tend to pick sides and favour those who already have wider political favour. In this case, if accusations hold weight, the police are acting on the instruction of the Joe Slovo Task Team, who are backed up by powerful NGOs such as SDI, and important parastatal groups such as HDA and government departments (in this case, Human Settlements).

However, Siyabonga Magcida's aunt, who identified herself only as Noncedo, only “wants justice to be done”. DM

Main photo: Law Enforcement forcing Siyabonga Magcida into a police van where he is allegedly assulted and has the door slammed repeatedly on his legs.

All photos supplied by the community.