Family of activist finally takes possession of new home
COMMUNITY housing activist Irene Grootboom, who eight years ago won a landmark case against the government for better housing, did not live to hold the keys to her own house.
Western Cape MEC for housing Whitey Jacobs handed over the house in Wallacedene, Cape Town, to her family yesterday, just months after Grootboom died in a shack.
Construction of the four-roomed house, in a street named after Grootboom, started soon after her death in July.
Grootboom rose to prominence in October 2000 when she represented 510 children and 390 adults living in appalling conditions in the Wallacedene informal settlement .
They successfully challenged the government in the Constitutional Court to provide them with proper housing.
After the ruling, Grootboom and her community were moved to another section of the settlement and the department of housing approved plans to build her a house.
Jacobs claims a bungle by the City of Cape Town caused delays.
He said: “It is unacceptable that we are giving her house to her family only after she has died [given] the struggle she waged … so that other South Africans can be housed. City of Cape Town had a problem with the contractor and the project had to be [put out to tender again].”
Since the ruling, water and sanitation have been provided for residents in the area while houses and schools were being built.
When more than 270 houses were handed over to the community in July this year, Grootboom lay helplessly in her two-room shack, sick with pneumonia.
Four days later, on July 30, she was dead at the age of 39.
Grootboom’s younger sister, Patricia, said the house honoured her late sister.
“It is hard to tell how I feel, but I’m glad. She died without a house, but at last they helped build the house. History has been made today. The house is a legacy for family. We can pass it to future generations,” she said.
The housing department has promised to build 9600 houses for the community.
- The Times
COMMUNITY housing activist Irene Grootboom, who eight years ago won a landmark case against the government for better housing, did not live to hold the keys to her own house.
Western Cape MEC for housing Whitey Jacobs handed over the house in Wallacedene, Cape Town, to her family yesterday, just months after Grootboom died in a shack.
Construction of the four-roomed house, in a street named after Grootboom, started soon after her death in July.
Grootboom rose to prominence in October 2000 when she represented 510 children and 390 adults living in appalling conditions in the Wallacedene informal settlement .
They successfully challenged the government in the Constitutional Court to provide them with proper housing.
After the ruling, Grootboom and her community were moved to another section of the settlement and the department of housing approved plans to build her a house.
Jacobs claims a bungle by the City of Cape Town caused delays.
He said: “It is unacceptable that we are giving her house to her family only after she has died [given] the struggle she waged … so that other South Africans can be housed. City of Cape Town had a problem with the contractor and the project had to be [put out to tender again].”
Since the ruling, water and sanitation have been provided for residents in the area while houses and schools were being built.
When more than 270 houses were handed over to the community in July this year, Grootboom lay helplessly in her two-room shack, sick with pneumonia.
Four days later, on July 30, she was dead at the age of 39.
Grootboom’s younger sister, Patricia, said the house honoured her late sister.
“It is hard to tell how I feel, but I’m glad. She died without a house, but at last they helped build the house. History has been made today. The house is a legacy for family. We can pass it to future generations,” she said.
The housing department has promised to build 9600 houses for the community.
- The Times
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