Three hours. This is the length of time it took to postpone an application in the Cape High Court for a week.
The applicants were the Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu, housing company Thubelisha Homes and local government and housing MEC Richard Dyantyi.
The respondents were about 4,000 residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement, who represent the families living in that area.
They came to fight an application by the government to have the residents removed from the land next to the N2 to make way for the next phase of the N2 Gateway Project.
Temporary housing has been arranged for them in Delft.
But the residents refuse to move and have united in their efforts to be heard by the Cape High Court.
The residents arrived in their thousands by train early Wednesday morning and flocked to the court.
Those elected as leaders of the group addressed Cape Judge President John Hlophe.
Mzwanele Zulu told the court the residents attended because they wanted the court to see that they wanted to be heard.
He asked the court for six months' grace, saying that they needed time to raise the money to pay for legal representation.
But Steve Kirk-Cohen, SC, who is acting for the government, said this was too long, adding that the matter was "of considerable urgency".
Judge Hlophe adjourned for an hour to give the residents time to establish the way forward. When they returned, Kirk-Cohen told the court that the Legal Resources Centre had been approached and that it would make a decision on whether to represent the residents by next week.
Kirk-Cohen also said there were many residents who were not opposed to the relocation and asked the court to request that they be allowed to do so without being intimidated.
Fiona Bester, of the firm Chennells Albertyn, said she had also been approached by one of the residents, Siphiwo Penze, to represent him and his "task team" in the application.
Judge Hlophe asked Penze about this and he confirmed that he had approached Bester to represent all the residents.
Judge Hlophe told the parties that it was clear that the residents wanted to be legally represented and that they had a right to be legally represented.
The only way forward was to postpone the case so that the residents could finalise that aspect and for Bester to obtain proper instructions.
He postponed the application to October 4.
But, before adjourning, Judge Hlophe thanked the residents for their co-operation and appealed to them to act within the law.
"We realise that this is an emotive issue," he said, adding that it would be best for the residents to find trained legal representatives.
After the proceedings, the Director-General in the Department of Housing, Itumeleng Kotoane, told the media he thought it was fair to give the residents an opportunity to obtain legal representation.
He said it was important for the residents to understand that the relocation was only temporary.
"We are doing it in the best interests of the people," he said.
He added that some of the residents did not qualify for subsidised housing and they were there to stir up the emotions of the rest of the group.
Zulu said it was not true that some of the residents were willing to move. - Cape Times
The applicants were the Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu, housing company Thubelisha Homes and local government and housing MEC Richard Dyantyi.
The respondents were about 4,000 residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement, who represent the families living in that area.
They came to fight an application by the government to have the residents removed from the land next to the N2 to make way for the next phase of the N2 Gateway Project.
Temporary housing has been arranged for them in Delft.
But the residents refuse to move and have united in their efforts to be heard by the Cape High Court.
The residents arrived in their thousands by train early Wednesday morning and flocked to the court.
Those elected as leaders of the group addressed Cape Judge President John Hlophe.
Mzwanele Zulu told the court the residents attended because they wanted the court to see that they wanted to be heard.
He asked the court for six months' grace, saying that they needed time to raise the money to pay for legal representation.
But Steve Kirk-Cohen, SC, who is acting for the government, said this was too long, adding that the matter was "of considerable urgency".
Judge Hlophe adjourned for an hour to give the residents time to establish the way forward. When they returned, Kirk-Cohen told the court that the Legal Resources Centre had been approached and that it would make a decision on whether to represent the residents by next week.
Kirk-Cohen also said there were many residents who were not opposed to the relocation and asked the court to request that they be allowed to do so without being intimidated.
Fiona Bester, of the firm Chennells Albertyn, said she had also been approached by one of the residents, Siphiwo Penze, to represent him and his "task team" in the application.
Judge Hlophe asked Penze about this and he confirmed that he had approached Bester to represent all the residents.
Judge Hlophe told the parties that it was clear that the residents wanted to be legally represented and that they had a right to be legally represented.
The only way forward was to postpone the case so that the residents could finalise that aspect and for Bester to obtain proper instructions.
He postponed the application to October 4.
But, before adjourning, Judge Hlophe thanked the residents for their co-operation and appealed to them to act within the law.
"We realise that this is an emotive issue," he said, adding that it would be best for the residents to find trained legal representatives.
After the proceedings, the Director-General in the Department of Housing, Itumeleng Kotoane, told the media he thought it was fair to give the residents an opportunity to obtain legal representation.
He said it was important for the residents to understand that the relocation was only temporary.
"We are doing it in the best interests of the people," he said.
He added that some of the residents did not qualify for subsidised housing and they were there to stir up the emotions of the rest of the group.
Zulu said it was not true that some of the residents were willing to move. - Cape Times
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