It was the dawn of democracy and for the first time poor people felt free to move closer to the city.
Land near Langa which had been used as a dump became home to a few hundred people searching for a better life.
Within a few years thousands of people, many from the Eastern Cape, thought of the place as a temporary home while they waited for houses to be provided. They named it Joe Slovo, after the first minister of housing in the new government, in the hope he would favour them with proper houses.
Slovo, also a member of the South African Communist Party, died of cancer in January 1995.
Today the area is distinguished by its banks of cement lavatory stalls, all on the bucket system, a system the provincial government promised to eradicate in informal settlements by this year. People do, however, have electricity, and rubbish is collected weekly.
Joe Slovo would have remained just another informal settlement had it not been for a series of devastating fires over the last seven years.
In 2005 almost 28 000 people were left homeless when a fire swept through the settlement; last year 4,000 people lost their homes in another fire. After every fire the city and the provincial government handed out starter kits to rebuild shacks, Capetonians opened their hearts and purses and new measures were introduced to prevent further fires.
One of the most ambitious was to have gaps 4m wide between the houses to allow fire engine access and prevent the easy spread of flames from one home to another. But the gaps were quickly filled.
In 2005 fires, which resulted in damage of millions of rands, prompted the City of Cape Town, the provincial government and the national Department of Housing to announce the N2 Gateway project.
While the houses were being built thousands of people had to move to transit camps in Delft.
Most of the people who moved to Joe Slovo over the years say they were either backyard dwellers, lived in overcrowded houses or in township hostels.
Now, with the second phase of the N2 Gateway about to get under way, they are being told they have to move to Delft.
But they fear that once proper accommodation has been provided there will not be room for all of them back at Joe Slovo. They also fear they will not be able to afford the rent in the new housing, and say they want free accommodation.
Residents said Delft was too far from their places of work and job opportunities.
In action reminiscent of the apartheid years, on Monday they barricaded the N2 with burning tyres, bringing rush- hour traffic to a halt. Angry protesters clashed with the police and rubber bullets were fired. A bread truck was looted and set alight.
Joe Slovo resident Thandeka Masila, 35, is a mother of four. "I was tired of living in the crowded
hostels in Langa where I lived with my dad. This was bush back then," she said, pointing at the jumble of houses that makes up Joe Slovo.
"We had to use our hands to cut them down and now all of a sudden these guys just come and evict us."
Masila took part in Monday's protest, which started around 4am. "I've been living here since 1994 and believe that I am entitled to stay here," she said, adding that she was upset and disappointed that police used rubber bullets on the protesters. "They shot me in my thigh," she said. "It seemed as if police were out to 'kill us like flies'."
She added: "I'm not going to Delft. They must rather take me off the waiting list."
This was a reference to remarks by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who threatened to remove Joe Slovo residents from the housing waiting list if they did not co-operate with the housing authorities.
The minister's comments led to furious outbursts from opposition parties and community organisations.
When Weekend Argus visited the settlement this week, residents were sitting outside their homes, chatting and playing cards. Women doing their washing said they were worried about their future.
Thembekile Mhlaba, 35, said: "We go and stand by the robots in the hope that a good Samaritan will pick us up and give us a job for a day or two. We walk as far as the city to look for work."
The area appears quiet. Police are still maintaining a presence to make sure residents don't disrupt the N2.
But many said "this could be the lull before the storm", and there are fears of further protest action this afternoon.
Thembisile Nqayi, one of the members of the Joe Slovo Task Team, a residents' organisation, said: "One of our members was arrested on Tuesday after the protest when he went to the police to ask for permission to hold a meeting with the residents."
- Cape Argus
Land near Langa which had been used as a dump became home to a few hundred people searching for a better life.
Within a few years thousands of people, many from the Eastern Cape, thought of the place as a temporary home while they waited for houses to be provided. They named it Joe Slovo, after the first minister of housing in the new government, in the hope he would favour them with proper houses.
| The area is distinguished by its banks of cement lavatory stalls |
Today the area is distinguished by its banks of cement lavatory stalls, all on the bucket system, a system the provincial government promised to eradicate in informal settlements by this year. People do, however, have electricity, and rubbish is collected weekly.
Joe Slovo would have remained just another informal settlement had it not been for a series of devastating fires over the last seven years.
In 2005 almost 28 000 people were left homeless when a fire swept through the settlement; last year 4,000 people lost their homes in another fire. After every fire the city and the provincial government handed out starter kits to rebuild shacks, Capetonians opened their hearts and purses and new measures were introduced to prevent further fires.
One of the most ambitious was to have gaps 4m wide between the houses to allow fire engine access and prevent the easy spread of flames from one home to another. But the gaps were quickly filled.
| 'I've been living here since 1994 and believe that I am entitled to stay here' |
While the houses were being built thousands of people had to move to transit camps in Delft.
Most of the people who moved to Joe Slovo over the years say they were either backyard dwellers, lived in overcrowded houses or in township hostels.
Now, with the second phase of the N2 Gateway about to get under way, they are being told they have to move to Delft.
But they fear that once proper accommodation has been provided there will not be room for all of them back at Joe Slovo. They also fear they will not be able to afford the rent in the new housing, and say they want free accommodation.
Residents said Delft was too far from their places of work and job opportunities.
In action reminiscent of the apartheid years, on Monday they barricaded the N2 with burning tyres, bringing rush- hour traffic to a halt. Angry protesters clashed with the police and rubber bullets were fired. A bread truck was looted and set alight.
Joe Slovo resident Thandeka Masila, 35, is a mother of four. "I was tired of living in the crowded
hostels in Langa where I lived with my dad. This was bush back then," she said, pointing at the jumble of houses that makes up Joe Slovo."We had to use our hands to cut them down and now all of a sudden these guys just come and evict us."
Masila took part in Monday's protest, which started around 4am. "I've been living here since 1994 and believe that I am entitled to stay here," she said, adding that she was upset and disappointed that police used rubber bullets on the protesters. "They shot me in my thigh," she said. "It seemed as if police were out to 'kill us like flies'."
She added: "I'm not going to Delft. They must rather take me off the waiting list."
This was a reference to remarks by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who threatened to remove Joe Slovo residents from the housing waiting list if they did not co-operate with the housing authorities.
The minister's comments led to furious outbursts from opposition parties and community organisations.
When Weekend Argus visited the settlement this week, residents were sitting outside their homes, chatting and playing cards. Women doing their washing said they were worried about their future.
Thembekile Mhlaba, 35, said: "We go and stand by the robots in the hope that a good Samaritan will pick us up and give us a job for a day or two. We walk as far as the city to look for work."
The area appears quiet. Police are still maintaining a presence to make sure residents don't disrupt the N2.
But many said "this could be the lull before the storm", and there are fears of further protest action this afternoon.
Thembisile Nqayi, one of the members of the Joe Slovo Task Team, a residents' organisation, said: "One of our members was arrested on Tuesday after the protest when he went to the police to ask for permission to hold a meeting with the residents."
He warned that their protests were far from over.
"Plan A has failed us, so yes we do have plan B but I can't reveal anything to you guys. You will just have to wait and see," he said.
- Cape Argus
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