Call for faster delivery after Irene's death

The government should up its game in response to the landmark Grootboom judgment by the Constitutional Court in 2000 by ensuring that millions of poor South Africans living in dire circumstances are better housed, civil society organisations said.

This follows the death of Irene Grootboom, the housing activist who died after a short illness last week.

The Anti-Eviction Campaign said Grootboom was an inspiration and a model for the poor.

"But, unfortunately, Grootboom would be remembered for living and dying in a shack," said the campaign's Ashraf Cassiem.

Cassiem said Grootboom "was humiliated during the case", as she was fighting for the rights of 510 children and 290 adults who had lived in poverty in the Wallacedene informal settlement.

He said the judgment, which had instructed the state to devise and implement "a comprehensive and co-ordinated programme to realise the right to adequate housing", had not been executed as thousands of desperate people remained homeless. "Just like Groomboom, who was a fighter, we won't give up."

Julian Apollos, the attorney who represented Grootboom and others in the case, said yesterday that for Grootboom to die in a shack, "was a sad reflection on how we have failed to meet expectations in the new democracy".

He said Grootboom did not want to be glorified through the case, "but thought it the right thing to fight for … the poor".

André du Plessis, of Intern Africa, a group fighting for better living conditions for the poor, said: "I remember her, she was made the biggest political soccer ball in South Africa … kicked from one goal post to the other … there are hundreds like her today who are still being kicked like that."

Steve Kahanovitz, of the Legal Resource Centre, said the Grootboom judgment was "incredibly important … It forces government to deliver houses to desperate people … and (government) is still struggling to get it right".

The Treatment Action Campaign said civil society had to ensure provisions of important judgments such as the Grootboom case were implemented by applying pressure on the government. - Cape Argus