Masiphumelele

A housing protest outside the department of housing's offices in Wale Street, in Cape Town, came to an abrupt halt on Tuesday when one of the protesters was seriously injured after being run over by a taxi.

Shocked onlookers turned around at the sound of screeching brakes, only to see a woman flying through the air and fall in the street after being hit by the taxi.

The woman was believed to be Karin Chubb of the Black Sash.

After the accident the protesters dispersed, with some going into the Housing Department's offices

After the accident the protesters dispersed, with some going into the housing department's offices.

A shocked passenger in the taxi remained seated while the driver stood outside. Bystanders tried to help until an ambulance arrived 10 minutes later.

The accident happened as Masiphumelele residents blocked access to the provincial department on Tuesday morning to protest against what they say is government red tape that is jeopardising a housing project in the area and donor funding of more than R1-million.

At stake is the groundbreaking housing initiative of the Amakhaya Housing Oumelelrganisation in Masiphumelele near Fish Hoek, which has been beset by government red tape.

Once complete, the project will provide homes for more than 1 200 residents who lost all their belongings in a 2006 fire.

'More delays will destroy our plans'

Residents have rebuilt their shacks, but conditions remained dire, with only 40 toilets and three taps on the site.

However, all the residents have been registered since the fire and will be the recipients of the Amakhaya Ngoku homes, designed by architect John Shaw if the process can overcome bureaucratic hurdles.

In a statement on Tuesday morning, the residents decried the provincial department of housing "blocking (their) efforts at building (their) own homes".

"We are not begging for houses", they said, but they were begging the department to respond soon, because "more delays will destroy our plans".

They say building costs are increasing and the land they have secured will not remain available forever.

Amakhaya Ngoku (Homes Now) has raised R10,5-million in private donor funding, but some donors would pull out if there were any further delays by the department, the organisation says.

The project received conditional approval for an Institutional Housing Subsidy in August last year.

But protesters say housing department officials are refusing to process the documents as the project has not yet been registered on the National Housing Database something that can only be done by the provincial Housing Department. - Cape Argus