Grim Xmas for Cape Town fire victims

It will be a grim Christmas for many Capetonians after raging fires burned down homes in some of the poorest and richest areas of the city on Saturday.

Between 300 and 400 people were left homeless after a fire destroyed about 100 shacks at an informal settlement in Philippi on the Cape Flats, while by 7pm, a blaze still raging unchecked on the mountainside above uparket had gutted one home and damaged nine others.

Firefighters were Saturday evening also battling another fire, burning in veld in the Big Bay area on the eastern shore of Table Bay, and which city fire chief Piet Smith said was "running towards houses".

All three fires were fanned by a raging south easter.

City disaster management spokesperson John Brown said the shack fire, which started around 11am and spread rapidly, was put out quite quickly.

Those affected by the fire would be housed by the local community. The cause of the fire was unknown and no injuries were reported Smith told Sapa shortly after 7pm that ten Camps Bay homes had been affected by the raging on the slopes of Table Mountain.

"One was gutted, the other nine were just affected, damaged by fire," he said.

It is understood that the owners of the gutted home are away on holiday.

The houses hit by the fire were in Prima and Medburn roads, Camps Bay and Geneva drives, and Hely Hutchinson Avenue.

Helicopters, which have been on the scene since 11am, were still water-bombing the fire as darkness approached.

"It's not under control yet," Smith said.

The fire also licked round the corner of Table Mountain and burned an area of fynbos above the lower cable station before it was brought under control.

On Saturday evening firefighters were damping down flareups in trees above houses in the upper reaches of Gardens and Oranjezicht.

Off duty and reservist firefighters have been called in to fight the Camps Bay blaze along with teams from South African National Parks and Working on Fire.

City disaster management services spokesperson John Brown said every disaster management staffer had reported for duty, as well as a number of volunteers, members of the public from as far afield as Atlantis.

Earlier on Saturday afternoon, disaster management evacuated residents from several houses in Camps Bay.

The cable station and a number of roads in the area were also closed off.

Smith had earlier appealed to hikers on the mountain to leave the area. - Sapa

Don't build shacks under powerlines

Municipalities and electricity supplier Eskom are fighting an uphill battle to convince people in informal settlements not to build dwellings under high-voltage powerlines.

People living under the lines are in danger of being electrocuted should one of them snap and land on homes. Strong winds increase the chances of line breaks.

Maintenance teams who have to service the lines also have great difficulty in gaining access to them because of the high density of dwellings built below them.

Eskom and City of Cape Town officials have met with community leaders to emphasise the dangers of living underneath high-voltage lines, but sometimes this has been to no avail.

Eskom spokesperson Eone de Villiers said: "People who build houses or dwellings directly under power lines are not only breaking the law, but they are putting themselves, their families and their possessions at serious risk, as these lines are not insulated and carry power of a very high voltage.

"If a power line drops onto the roof, the roof becomes live as most of these houses are roofed with corrugated iron," De Villiers said. She again appealed to the public to stop building houses or dwellings underneath power lines.

Natural events such as lightning increased the risk. Because of storms, wind and general fault conditions the chances of lines snapping are increased.

"The risk of being injured is increased if power lines or conductors are damaged or their condition has deteriorated over time. There are also other possible disasters that could occur such as veld fires or lightning strikes that can cause the lines to drop," said De Villiers.

Marius van Rensburg, Eskom Field Services Manager, said people living under powerlines at times caused unnecessary power cuts.

"To take precautions and prevent possible electrocution of people, Eskom (sometimes has) to switch off the Auto Reclose (ARC) function of some power lines within the Eskom servitude," he said.

"Such outages could take up to two hours as a line patrol must be done on the line before an attempt can be made to re-energise these power lines. This means outages take much longer than expected and exposure to the dangers of contact is so much greater."

Relocating the illegal occupants remained the responsibility of the landowner, which in many cases was the local municipality. Van Rensburg said continuous contact was maintained with all municipalities to make them aware of the dangers to people living under powerlines.

Brian Jones, an engineer in the City of Cape Town electricity department said they were aware of the risks.

"We have had an education campaign comprising workshops in the area just to educate the people. The big challenge is, once the area is cleared how do you keep it clear (from invasion)?

"One strategy is to put it into other use, such as turning it into playing fields, or use it for agriculture. But this remains a big challenge because of the constant migration of people to Cape Town." - Cape Argus

Stay out, occupiers warned

Cape Town - The City of Cape Town on Friday warned that would-be occupiers of the incomplete national housing project - the N2 Gateway complex - would be violating the law if they carried out their threat of occupying the units.

In a statement, the city's director of human settlements, Seth Maqetuka, said the site near Langa was still a construction site and that there could be no accommodation available at this stage.

"It has come to the attention of the City that there are some members of the community around the N2 Gateway who have intimated that they would be invading those units that are deemed ready for occupation.

"It is critical to say that this would be illegal and those people involved in such an act would face the consequences thereof," said Maqetuka.

Part of the complex that generally looks complete still had some work to be done around it, for example landscaping.

Maqetuka said the process to allocate people to the units has been drafted and would be workshopped with all relevant stakeholders.

He appealed to all stakeholders to assist in this process and ensure fewer hold-ups in the allocation of housing in the Western Cape. - SAPA

Houses ‘are paid up’

ANGRY Lentegeur residents are refusing to co-operate with the Western Cape government’s ‘Krismis Box’ plan which promises to scrap rental arrears.

Earlier this year, Premier Ebrahim Rasool along with Housing MEC Richard Dyanti announced that plans would be made to finalise the housing issue.

“Because the Old House of Representatives didn’t do their job properly, we now sit with a housing problem that has to be solved,” Rasool told residents in one of the classrooms at Lentegeur Senior Secondary where the meeting was held.

“By Christmas the people of Lentegeur must feel that the problem has been solved around the housing issue which has been coming on for years.”

Rasool added that there will be definite relief for residents.

“For most people there’ll be great relief, but for others not,” he said.

“The housing MEC has applied his mind so that the arrears, the R12.5 million, could be reduced to just over R1 million. People can work with us to pay their outstanding debt which would be very minimal. Community development workers will inform residents what they owe and where to go for assistance. Our plan is to assist everyone.”

It was further stated by the head of the provincial housing department, Ms Shanaaz Majiet, that the local department of housing will be stationed in the area in the following weeks to inform residents of their balances.

However, a few residents are refusing to be involved in the process.

Mr Ebrahim Jenniker, a resident, said they are calling on the government to “prove where the arrears are coming from”.

Jenniker said many of the houses, were valued at around R14 000, were bought in 1987 and through resident’s own calculations, “we have already paid our houses finished”.

“In 1993 we already paid R7 200 on our homes. We were then told that we would receive R7 500. So if you add it up, by that time our houses were finished paid,” said Jenniker.

He added that because local government did not have any records, they “can’t answer where the arrears comes from”.

Ms Pat Debba, whose house was orginally valued R13 152, said she received a statement from local government stating that she had a balance of R85 000.

“Where does these arrears come from. We can’t ask questions because they don’t have the right answers. Housing is not a political issue, it is a human issue.”

Debba said many residents were questioning “where our money really went”.

According to Debba, although the houses were valued at around R14 000, certain residents have received statements of arrears totalling around R16 000, R25 000 and R81 000.

“Our receipts are worth more than our debt,” said Debba. She added that her own receipts added up to more than her arrears.

Another resident, Mrs Ragmat Gedaar whose house was valued at R12 656, is in possession of R26 000 worth of receipts. After a visit to the housing department’s points in Mitchell’s Plain, she has discovered that her arrears is R1 500.

Debba said the situation has infuriated residents.

“This is no Krismas Box. The people of Lentegeur want nothing for free, we have paid our houses and we want things to be resolved.” - MetroBurger

Province's R44m tender 'bungle'

A company that offered R44 million for part of the grounds of Jan van Riebeeck High School is planning to take the Western Cape government to court over an apparent tender bungle.

After dithering for 17 months about the offer for 2.4ha of prime land in Tamboerskloof, the province finally awarded the tender to a black empowerment company in October. In the meantime, however, the land had increased in value by R23m - from R43m to R66m.

Last month the provincial cabinet inexplicably reversed the decision and decided to call for new tenders, despite a handwritten note by public works MEC Marius Fransman expressing concerns about the delay.

Yesterday, Fezile Calana, chairman of Rowmoor Investments 490 - the company that lost out - said they intended issuing a summons against the province today.

"The summons will say that the government dealt with the tendering process unprocedurally," Calana said. "We will call on the court to reverse the decision.

It is intended to develop the property for housing.

Invitations to tender for the land were first advertised in April last year and closed that May 19.

Rowmoor Investments 490 offered R44m, nearest to the estimated value of R43m. But the province then delayed for almost 18 months before recommending Rowmoor be sold the land.

The document recording the decision to award the tender to Rowmoor was signed by Fransman and Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool, as well as several top provincial officials including the chief financial officer, the chief director of asset management in the treasury, the head of legal services in the premier's office, and the head of public works.

Under the points system used to award tenders in the Western Cape, Rowmoor, the second highest bidder, scored highest with 77.

The stated reason for awarding the tender to Rowmoor was that it "lends itself favourably insofar as transformation and empowerment are concerned".

Based on this, the departmental monitoring and evaluation committee issued a report on September 1 last year concurring that the tender should be awarded to Rowmoor.

The tender document was submitted to the Western Cape property committee in February. Its members then split over the tender award.

The committee recorded its concern about the time that it had taken to evaluate the tender and in its submission to the cabinet, recommended the entire process be scrapped due to the delays.

The Department of Public Works overruled this and said that "although the market value may be much higher at this stage, the tenderers should not be penalised for the delay (almost a year)".

Concerns were noted in the resolution recommending the sale of the land to Rowmoor, including the fact that the assessed value of the land had increased by R23m - from R43m to R66m - since the first tender had been issued.

Despite this, the resolution recommended that Rowmoor be sold the land.

Fransman, who is in Cuba and could not be contacted for comment, signed the tender documents. In a hand-written note alongside his signature, he noted his concern at the "unnecessary delays in the bureaucracy" in the processing of the tender.

Fransman wrote that he concurred with the steps taken by his predecessor, Mcebisi Skwatsha, in awarding the tender. These included having "processed the matter to the premier".

The Cape Argus has the September 30 note from Fransman to Rasool, recommending the tender be awarded to Rowmoor. Signed by director-general Gilbert Lawrence and other top officials, the document was approved by Rasool on October 3.

But in an about-turn last month, the provincial cabinet decided to scrap the entire tender process.

Documents in the Cape Argus's possession, which include cabinet minutes dated November 2, show a decision was taken to reopen the tender and that "new offers to purchase be sought for Erf 1526 in Tamboerskloof".

The minutes of the cabinet meeting do not give reasons for the reversal.

In addition, the cabinet said the Department of Transport and Public Works had to ensure "all reasonable steps are taken to speed up the process of accepting an offer to purchase and awarding a tender".

The cabinet minutes state that the department is responsible for informing Rowmoor and other tenderers of the decision. The department is also responsible for inviting them to submit new offers.

But Rowmoor's Calana said his company had been told only two weeks ago that the property would again be put out to tender - and then only after its lawyer had asked for details on how far the process had gone.

Under the original tender conditions, the department reserved the right to negotiate further with the successful applicant on any aspect related to the tender.

But Calana said Rowmoor had not been consulted about the increased value of the property. His company had a copy of the second valuation, which it found "totally challengeable".

At the time of going to press the province had not replied to questions about the tender e-mailed last week. They were faxed yesterday.

Timeline

April 2004: Tenders are invited for Erf 1526, Tamboerskloof, vacant land of about 2.4429ha.

May 19, 2004: Deadline - 34 tenders are received.

September 1, 2004: Department of Transport and Public Works monitoring and evaluation committee approves the award to Rowmoor Investments Pty Ltd, which received the highest points.

September 20, 2005: Thami Manyathi, head of department, Transport and Public Works, signs the tender.

September 27, 2005: MEC Marius Fransman signs the tender.

October 3, 2005: Premier Ebrahim Rasool signs the tender.

November 2, 2005: Provincial cabinet decides that new offers to purchase be sought for Erf 1526. - Cape Argus

Heating up our health

The World Health Organization estimates that over 150 000 deaths every year since the 1970s can be directly linked to climate change. Leonie Joubert takes a look at health stresses facing the Cape where, ultimately, it is the poor who suffer most.
The heat wave which swept through Europe in the summer of 2003 pushed temperatures up 3.5°C higher than average, resulting in what was probably the hottest summer that region had experienced in 500 years. The journal Nature reports this month that during two weeks about 22 000 to 45 000 deaths* in the region were caused by this weather phenomenon. Most of these occurred among the elderly and infirm where heart and respiratory complications due to heat stress eventually proved fatal.

Exposure to temperature extremes can be expected across the Western Cape as a warming trend sweeps the region in the next 50 years. These episodes could be exacerbated in cities where urban heat islands (where heat is trapped over cities due to a complicated interaction of evaporation processes, impervious surfaces and changed vegetative cover) could push the temperature up by 5 to 11°C on that experienced outside of the city.

Economically marginal communities - which in many cases includes the farm labourers tending the Cape's vineyards - are expected to be hardest hit as informal or poor housing is not insulated against the heat.

The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predict that climbing temperatures and changing rainfall regimes will increase the spread of infection diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. The incidence of diarrhoeal disease and salmonella-related food poisoning can also be expected to climb while changing weather patterns will undermine food security, leading to malnutrition and increased vulnerability.

Malaria and similar diseases aren't associated with the Cape but tuberculosis (TB) is the most important communicable disease in the region, with the prevalence increasing sharply in recent years due to the HIV/AIDS incidence. A report into the vulnerability of the Cape to climate change, released by provincial government in mid-2005, said that because TB is linked to the standard of living conditions and climatic conditions, this association will have to be scrutinised more closely in future.

Extreme events such as floods, also expected to increase in the region, will seriously impact poorer communities living on the Cape Flats particularly as sewage and storm water systems are compromised by flood water. This could lead to outbreaks of water-borne diseases associated with diarrhoea.

Food security is expected to be stressed by the increase in drought and flood events. As is so often the case in times of famine, it is not a complete lack of food which leads to starvation and death, but a lack of money to buy increasingly expensive food. Once again, it is the poor who suffer most in times of food shortage. Should food supplies drop, malnutrition will leave these communities more vulnerable to illness and the opportunistic infections associated with HIV/AIDS.

The provincial report admits that it is 'not clear at present what health impacts a change in temperature would have in the Western Cape' but does list the above issues as ones which could impact the region as the Cape warms and dries and experiences increased extreme weather events. When it comes, the impact will be counted in lost work days and cost of treatment. Ultimately, though, it will be measured in the loss of human life not only to the economy, but also to the families of those left behind. As Nature again points out: given the bulk of the pollution causing this fallout in vulnerable countries such as Africa originates in developed countries so many thousands of kilometres away, climate change is a 'global ethical challenge'.

*Last month's column Pay up for flooding my vineyard! said that 14 000 deaths were attributed to the heat wave. Both figures originated in Nature but from different papers. - SA WineNews

Cape Town seeks extra R750m for housing

CAPE TOWN — The Mother City needs an extra R750m a year over the next five years to eradicate its housing backlog, mayor Nomaindia Mfeketo said yesterday.

This would help the city meet its target of 20000 houses a year for the next five years and reduce the backlog of 260000 houses, she said at a meeting that included President Thabo Mbeki and Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu.

Providing houses at this pace would enable the city to replace 100000 informal structures with appropriate housing by 2014, the deadline set by government to eradicate slums, she said.

Cape Town, which has doubled in size over the last 20 years, faces an influx of about 16000 families a year from rural areas because it is the only metropolitan area within a radius of 700km.

Mfeketo also urged Mbeki to speed up the release of available government land for housing at sites such as the military bases at Youngsfield, Ysterplaat and Wingfield.

Mfeketo was addressing Mbeki and other cabinet ministers, including Sisulu, Environment and Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk and Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool at a municipal imbizo — part of Mbeki’s nationwide consultation with local government linked to the Project Consolidate service delivery programme.

Project Consolidate, launched last year, supplies technical, administrative and financial expertise to 136 of the country’s 284 municipalities. Eleven years after the end of apartheid, many local authorities have been unable to supply their residents with basic services such as water, power and sanitation.

The ninth and final imbizo in the series was concentrating on Cape Town and specifically Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, which make up a third of the city’s population.

It was the first time that all three tiers of government have gathered to discuss the problem areas surrounding service delivery, economic development, transformation, financial viability, good governance and community participation.

Sketching what she called was a serious challenge to the city, Mfeketo also called on the national treasury to lift the city’s budget ceiling from the current R900m to R1,2bn for five years to assist the city to increase its spending on housing relative to the rest of its budget.

Mfeketo said the city received a national housing grant of an average of R325m a year and based on government’s subsidy formula for first time buyers this would build an average 7750 units a year. This amount only catered for 48% of the new inflow of home seekers into the province and would “not even begin to impact on the existing backlog”.

Mfeketo also said there was a need to identify settlement opportunities along the west coast and to the north of Cape Town.

Summing up the deliberations Mbeki said anything government did would succeed or fail depending on what was achieved at local government level.

He said the imbizo had agreed that the metro council, provincial and national government would meet early next year to assess what needed to be done to speed up developments in housing, service delivery, job creation and crime. - Business Day - News Worth Knowing

2000 shack fires in Cape Town

Cape Town - More than a hundred people have died in nearly 2000 shack fires in the City of Cape Town so far this year, the city's communications division said on Tuesday.

The total number of shacks destroyed was estimated at over 8000, leaving some 28 000 people destitute.

The total cost of providing relief for fires in informal settlements for the year would be over R13m, a figure which excluded the cost of actually fighting the fires.

The relief given after a recent blaze at the Doornbach informal settlement alone amounted to R2.1m.

This included the cost of a rebuilding starter kit, two meals per person per day, one blanket for every individual and a special social grant from the provincial government.

City fire chief Piet Smith said the city had launched an awareness campaign to alert residents and visitors to the dangers of fires.

Fire and rescue services, and disaster management staff had been distributing safety pamphlets at informal settlements.

Fire engines have been going to the settlements to familiarise crews with the areas and to meet inhabitants to educate them on fire safety. - News24

Mixed reaction on Cape housing allocations

There has been mixed emotions from 1 000 families who received empty plots and communal toilets at De Doorns in the Hex River Valley in the Western Cape.

Richard Dyantyi, the Western Cape housing and local government minister, who was expected to explain why there are no houses, failed to pitch up. Some families who have been on the housing list for over 10 years, have expressed dissatisfaction with the empty plots, while others who lived in a nearby informal settlement have shed tears of joy in an expression of happiness.

Thobeka Madikane (38), a local resident, says she has spent her entire life in a shack having to share a toilet with hundreds of her neighbours in a river bed. With tears in her eyes and gulping for breath, she says her plot of land although almost bare, and her toilet that she has to share with four other families is a dream come true. Manny Sotomi, the chief director for housing and planning in the province, says handing over vacant plots, earmarked for development is not ideal but the best solution to the housing crisis. - SABC

Corrupt municipalities named

Cape Town - Emfuleni in southern Gauteng is one of five municipalities the Democratic Alliance "named and shamed" on Wednesday as among the most-corrupt, inefficient and financially mismanaged in the country.

Emfuleni includes the towns of Sebokeng, Sharpeville and Vanderbijlpark.

Briefing the media, DA provincial and local government spokesperson Willem Doman said the inability of many South African municipalities to deliver had reached crisis proportions.

Releasing a DA report on what it termed "the rot in African National Congress municipalities", he said factors such as corruption, financial mismanagement and under-qualified and overpaid officials, were undermining attempts to mend this situation.

An example was Emfuleni, where more than a quarter of households didn't have access to water, almost the same number were without sanitation, and the housing backlog stood at 65 688 homes.

Corruption and nepotism

According to 2001 figures, the municipality was home to about 658 000 people, most (almost 85%) of whom were black.

Doman said it had been identified as one of 136 municipalities that needed to be "rescued" by the national government.

Doman said: "Emfuleni has failed to receive an unqualified report from the auditor-general for the past three years, and has been blighted by corruption and nepotism.

"The most notable was the R1m kickback received by council officials last year for selling off council assets at prices considerably lower than the market rate.

"The discovery earlier this year that the chief financial director has employed his wife, his two sons and his daughter in his department was an astonishing case of nepotism."

Despite the municipality's shocking state, the municipal manager received a R150 000 performance bonus on top of his R775 000 salary this year.

Culture of non-payment

According to the DA report, Emfuleni had "the worst culture of non-payment of all municipalities in the country", with a debtor collection period of 489 days.

The ANC-run municipalities of Phumelela in the Free State, Greater Kokstad in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbombela in Mpumalanga, and Bitou in the Western Cape also exemplified "the rot at local level".

Doman said Bitou, which included the up-market tourist town of Plettenberg Bay, "illustrates that even municipalities that have a fairly good revenue base can compromise delivery through poor financial management and corruption".

"Bitou was declared bankrupt last year by the Auditor-General."

He said the AG's report had revealed details of unauthorised credit card expenses of more than R100 000 by Bitou municipal manager George Seitisho, who had also taken irregular loans of up to R250 000. - SAPA

Cape Peninsula fire leaves one dead, four injured

The second fire that hit the Doringbach section of the Du Noon informal settlement in the Cape Peninsula has left one person dead and four others slightly injured. The fire broke out early this morning.

Residents say they have not been able to determine the cause of the fire. The fire follows reports that two additional fires were deliberately started after yesterday's devastating blaze, which destroyed about 500 shacks.

Wilfred Solomons, a spokesperson for the Cape Town disaster management unit, says about 300 shacks were gutted in the latest fires, which broke out at around midnight.

Meanwhile, Richard Dyantyi, the Western Cape local government and housing minister, says they plan to move the community from the area as soon as appropriate land becomes available. Dyantyi visited Doringbach section today. He promised that his department will speed up its processes to properly house this community.

"People settle where they see an empty piece of land and sometimes where they settle it is not necessarily a place meant to settle people where you would have hydrants and other amenities, but when they are here you can't then say they can't be here. All we need to do really is to up our pace in terms of how we move forward about what we need to do about them it might not necessarily be here but we look into speeding up that process." SABC

Today - I am the JAM

LOCAL COMMUNITY JOIN IN UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL EVENT:

CITIZENS UNITE ONLINE TO DEBATE URBAN SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES DECEMBER 1-3, 2005

(Cape Town) — Issues of key interest to the south Africa region, including Cities, Shacks, Alternative Housing and Sustainable development will be part of the Habitat JAM, an unprecedented online global conversation and collaboration. Local residents and experts are joining together to ensure the western Cape is heard during this global 72-hour Internet event to be held December 1-3, 2005.

This revolutionary form of democratic discussion was introduced as part of the preparations for the third session of the World Urban Forum, which will be held in Vancouver, Canada in June 2006. The Habitat JAM will help forge a holistic view on some of the most urgent and controversial urban issues, to turn ideas into action.

The Habitat JAM will connect tens of thousands of academics and students, planners and builders, politicians and ordinary citizens from across the globe in real time, all contributing ideas and expertise to the global problem solving session. Moderators will include government leaders, celebrities, royalty, and key thinkers. The purpose of this Internet discussion is to find actionable ideas to solve key urban issues, such as:

· Improving the lives of people living in slums

· Sustainable access to water in our cities

· Environmental sustainability in our cities

· Finance and governance in our cities

· Safety and security in our cities

· Humanity: the future of our cities

“By organizing local events and providing access to internet technology, we hope to include as many local points of view as possible to bring into the Habitat JAM,” says Andre du Plessis from InternAfrica. “To solve these urgent and controversial issues which affect our region’s cities, we need to ensure the World Urban Forum hears from us directly.”

This unprecedented 72-hour internet event needs your point of view.

Imagine the results that could be achieved.

Go to http://www.habitatjam.com/ to register and take part.
The World Urban Forum is an initiative of the United Nations Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT), and is held every two years. World Urban Forum 3 will bring together as many as 100,000 people to debate ideas and issues about urban development in a global context of rapid change. “We all need the technology and the information to enable us to participate in the process of lifting up our living environment,” adds Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN-HABITAT.

Tell your friends and colleagues about the Habitat JAM!

Common Myths About Housing Rights

Though it is now generally accepted that the right to housing exists under international, regional and domestic laws, there remain a number of misperceptions regarding the content and implications of this right. Many of these are similar to the misperceptions associated with economic, social and cultural rights. To assist our readers in better understanding the content and implications of housing rights, we have outlined some of the common myths about housing rights followed by a refutation of these myths, followed by more realistic views of what housing rights really mean. There are many false myths about housing rights, but the following five are perhaps the most common:

Myth: The courts cannot protect housing rights. This is one of the most common myths propagated about the right to housing and other economic and social rights. The notion that housing rights are non-justiciable is usually based on a comparison with civil and political rights. Proponents of this myth believe, among other things, that unlike civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to housing, are too vague and too cost-intensive (requiring government action rather than inaction) to be litigated, and can only be implemented in a piecemeal fashion on the basis of policy, but not on law and justice.

Reality: Not only is the right to housing one of the most developed economic, social and cultural rights in terms of content, but a number of the constituent elements of the right to housing are adjudicated in courts of law, tribunals and other legal and quasi-legal forums on a daily basis. For example, in many countries Landlord-Tenant relations are regulated by legislation and enforced in courts or tribunals; discrimination with respect to accommodation is prohibited in national human rights legislation in countries across the world and land claims are commonly brought before adjudicators. Moreover, almost all countries have passed legislation on various aspects of housing, much of which can be brought before the courts. Concurrently, regional and international human rights bodies, such as: The European Court of Human Rights ; The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ;The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination have directly considered housing rights issues in their case law or jurisprudence. General Comment No. 4 adopted by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, identifies six specific areas within the right to housing that are capable of judicial scrutiny: legal appeals aimed at preventing planned evictions through the issuance of injunctions; legal procedures seeking compensation following an illegal eviction; complaints against illegal actions carried out or supported by landlords in relation to rent levels, dwelling maintenance, and racial or other forms of discrimination; allegations of any form of discrimination in the allocation and availability of access to housing; complaints against landlords concerning unhealthy or inadequate housing conditions; and class action suits in situations involving significantly increased levels of homelessness.

Myth: Housing rights require the State to build housing - free of charge - for the entire population. Opponents of housing rights have often argued that recognising housing rights would require governments to build housing for the entire population - an entirely State-based, State-determined and State-driven approach to housing. Presumably, this myth came about based on literal interpretations of the term “right to housing”, and the notion that if the right to housing is granted to all, individuals would demand housing from the State despite the limited resources of the State to meet such demands.

Reality: The right to housing has never been interpreted under international law to mean that States must provide housing, free of charge, to all who request it. Under international law, once a State accepts the obligations attached to the right to housing, it agrees to endeavour, by all appropriate means possible, to ensure that everyone has access to housing resources adequate for health, well-being and security. Upon assuming legal obligations, States are required to undertake a series of measures which indicate policy and legislative recognition of each of the constituent aspects of the right to housing, thus creating the necessary conditions so that all residents may enjoy the full entitlements of the right to housing within the shortest possible time-frame. This is both reasonable and realistic. Although international law may not require States to provide housing for everyone who requests it, some countries have voluntarily taken on this responsibility. Legislation in Finland, for example, makes it mandatory for local government to provide housing resources for the severely handicapped under certain circumstances. In other contexts, homeless children in South Africa, homeless families in the United Kingdom, victims of natural disasters or others with acute housing needs in many countries do have rights to immediate housing relief. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has also provided some insight into whether States have to construct housing for all upon demand. The Committee has indicated that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) requires States parties (that is, States which have ratified the ICESCR) to provide minimum subsistence rights for everyone regardless of the level of economic development of the country. This means that States parties must ensure, at the very least, minimum essential levels of each of the rights in the ICESCR, including the right to housing. Thus, a State party in which any significant number of individuals is deprived of basic shelter and housing would be failing to discharge its obligations under the ICESCR. In meeting their obligations under the ICESCR, States are required to give due priority to those who are most vulnerable and disadvantaged and consequently least able to achieve the right to housing themselves. In other words, State parties should provide housing or access to housing resources to those people who are homeless, inadequately housed or incapable of acquiring the bundle of entitlements that correspond with housing rights.

Myth: The State must fulfill all aspects of the right to housing immediately. Many States are fearful of the right to housing because they mistakenly believe that the right to housing requires them immediately implement all housing rights obligations to comply with international law.

Reality: Of course, it would be ideal if States could fulfill all aspects of the right to housing immediately. International law has recognized the impracticality of this and has responded by interpreting this right to mean that States parties will have some legal obligations that must be undertaken immediately and others that are more long-term or progressive in nature. In other words, protecting and enforcing the right to housing will involve some immediate action and some future action, all of which will eventually lead to the full, society-wide, enjoyment of this right. The immediate action required by State parties to the ICESCR arises out of article 2(2) of the ICESCR which stipulates that States parties “undertake to take steps … by all appropriate means, including particularly the adoption of legislative measures”. In its General Comment No 3, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has interpreted this phrase to mean that State parties are obliged to immediately begin to adopt measures towards the full enjoyment by everyone of the right to housing. While the full realization of the right to housing might be achieved progressively, steps toward the goal must be taken within a reasonably short time after the Covenant is ratified by the State. The means by which this must be accomplished include - but are by no means limited to - the adoption of legislation. The Covenant also recognizes that some aspects of the right to housing may not be capable of immediate realization. In turn, according to the Covenant, States are obliged to undertake to achieve progressively the full realization of the rights contained in the ICESCR. The use of the term “progressive realization” is a recognition that full realization of all economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to housing, will generally not be able to be achieved in a short period of time. This does not mean, however, that States can indefinitely defer efforts to ensure the enjoyment of the rights in the Covenant.

Myth: Housing rights are only necessary in developing countries. There is a tendency to discuss view housing rights as an issue solely affected developing countries where housing rights are denied to often massive portions of society.

Reality: Every nation in the world faces at least some housing rights challenges, including the countries making up the European Union, the United States, Canada and Australia. For example, in its 1998 review of Canada, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that they were “gravely concerned that such a wealthy country as Canada has allowed the problem of homelessness and inadequate housing to grow to such proportions that the mayors of Canada’s ten largest cities have now declared homelessness a national disaster”. While it may be true that the housing conditions in affluent countries are relatively better than in non-affluent countries, this is an inappropriate comparison. The proper comparison is intra-State. That is, how do the housing conditions of disadvantaged groups compare with those of more advantaged groups in a particular society? Both developed and developing countries share a number of housing problems including rapidly growing homelessness, domestic violence, discrimination in the housing sector, particularly against the poor, illegal evictions, harassment of tenants and an increased reliance on market mechanisms to fulfil housing needs without a corresponding alteration of State policy to provide access to accommodation for those unable to access private housing.

Myth: Squatters are criminals. Throughout the world squatters (those who live on property to which they do not have legal title) are often treated as criminals, social deviants and lazy. In some instances, they are perceived as greedy free-loaders who want to get something (land, property) for nothing. In many countries squatters are arrested, physically abused, beaten, and sometimes even shot. Rarely are squatters provided with what they really need: security of tenure, housing, and to be treated with dignity and respect.

Reality: Treating squatters as criminals turns a blind eye to the economic and social circumstances that make squatting necessary. Think of it this way, without the buildings or lands they occupy, squatters would be homeless. While there are certainly exceptions, the overwhelming majority of the world’s hundreds of millions of people living in informal settlements (e.g., ’squatters’) want nothing more than to live in a safe and secure home which they can afford. The world’s homeless and inadequately housed population does not squat to break laws or get a free-ride, rather they are simply creating housing solutions when the legal housing sector fails to provide housing to all persons from all income groups. Squatting is an expression of desperation, but also of hope. If they had the means, most squatters would choose to live in adequate housing with secure tenure - just like everyone else. - COHRE

Defining Housing Rights

While the majority of the world’s population lives in some form of dwelling, roughly one-half of the world’s population does not enjoy the full spectrum of entitlements necessary for housing to be considered adequate. According to international human rights law, in order for housing to be adequate it must provide more than just four walls and a roof over one’s head; it must, at a minimum, include the following elements:

Security of Tenure. Security of tenure is the cornerstone of the right to adequate housing. Secure tenure protects people against arbitrary forced eviction, harassment and other threats. Most informal settlements and communities lack legal security of tenure. Hundreds of millions of people do not currently live in homes with adequate secure tenure protection. Security of tenure is a key issue for all dwellers, particularly women. This is particularly so for women experiencing domestic violence who may have to flee their homes to save their lives and for women who do not have title to their homes or lands and thus can be easily removed, especially upon marriage dissolution or death of a spouse.

Availability of Services, Materials, Facilities and Infrastructure. Adequate housing requires access to potable drinking water, energy for cooking, heating and lighting, sanitation and washing facilities, food storage, refuse disposal, site drainage and emergency services. When one or more of these attributes of adequate housing are not available, the right to adequate housing is not fully in place.

Affordability. The housing affordability principle stipulates simply that the amount a person or family pays for their housing must not be so high that it threatens or compromises the attainment and satisfaction of other basic needs. Affordability is an acute problem throughout the world and a major reason why so many people cannot access affordable formal housing, and are forced as a result to live in informal settlements. The lack of affordable housing is also a major problem in affluent countries where individuals and families living in poverty find it increasingly difficult to find affordable adequate housing. In many developed countries, when rental housing is unaffordable, tenants’ security of tenure is threatened as they can often be legally evicted for non-payment of rent.

Habitability. For housing to be considered adequate, it must be habitable. Inhabitants must be ensured adequate space and protection against the cold, damp, heat, rain, wind or other threats to health or structural hazards.

Accessibility. Housing must be accessible to everyone. Disadvantaged groups such as the elderly, the physically and mentally disabled, HIV-positive individuals, victims of natural disasters, children and other groups should be ensured some degree of priority consideration in housing. Both housing law and policy must ensure their housing needs are met. In many parts of the world, laws and policies do little to address the housing needs of the most disadvantaged but instead focus on already advantaged social groups. Additionally, in rental and housing markets, discrimination against disadvantaged groups is common and poses a significant barrier to housing access.

Location. For housing to be adequate it must be situated so as to allow access to employment options, health care services, schools, childcare centres and other social facilities. It must not be located in polluted areas. When communities are evicted to forced eviction section from their homes they are often relocated to remote locations lacking facilities or in polluted areas, near garbage dumps or other sources of pollution.

Culturally Adequate. The right to adequate housing includes a right to reside in housing that is considered culturally adequate. This means that housing programmes and policies must take fully into account the cultural attributes of housing which allow for the expression of cultural identity and recognise the cultural diversity of the world’s population. - COHRE