IOL: Mayor, city are ‘in contempt’

http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/mayor-city-are-in-contempt-1.1246499

Mayor, city are ‘in contempt’

By Anelisa Kubheka

Three years after being evicted and promised permanent homes, former residents of Siyanda Informal Settlement near KwaMashu are suing the eThekwini Municipality and its officials for not complying with a high court order.

It has been lodged by 37 residents who have been temporarily housed in transit camps on Richmond Farm, as well as Abahlali Basemjondolo – the South African shack dwellers movement. They want the mayor, city manager and head of housing to be held responsible, in their official and personal capacities, to be held in contempt of court for not complying with an order granted three years ago.

The Durban High Court order, granted in March 2009, compelled the municipality to correct the misallocation of houses designated to these residents at the Khulula Housing Project, by providing them houses of the project or to provide other houses commensurate to those in the project.

The municipality was also ordered to investigate the corrupt allocation, by its employees, of RDP houses in the housing project.

As it has been three years with no word from the municipality, the Socio Economic Rights Institute of South Africa’s (Seri) attorney for the families has filed court papers calling for them to comply with the eviction order and provide an outcome of the municipality’s investigation.

The municipality must also show what steps it has taken and will take in future, to comply with its obligation to provide permanent houses.

Should the municipality not comply, the residents would make an application for them to be held in contempt of court.

Abahlali Basemjondolo chairman, Sbu Zikode, said: “The corrupt allocation of housing in Durban has been a concern for Abahlali’s members for a long time. People are dumped in transit camps, told that it is just temporary and then left to rot while other people are allowed to jump the queue.”

He said the municipality was indirectly feeding this corruption by not following the more than two-year-old order.

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