Category Archives: Emacambini

M&G: Listen to the shack-dwellers

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-06-24-listen-to-the-shackdwellers

Tens of thousands of shack-dwellers in South Africa are doomed to be evicted to transit camps.

by Kerry Chance, Marie Huchzermeyer and Mark Hunter

Last week the Constitutional Court gave the green light for the eviction of 20 000 people from Cape Town’s Joe Slovo settlement to make way for the N2 Gateway Project. Most residents are to be relocated to the Delft temporary relocation area (TRA).

In 2005, 2 400 families from Langa, Cape Town, were relocated to a camp called Tsunami. In Johannesburg, 6 400 families in Protea South, Soweto, fought a plan to move them to a decant camp in 2007. In Durban, 52 families in Siyanda, KwaMashu, were evicted in December last year and moved to a transit camp to make way for a new freeway. Continue reading →

Urgent Statement from Several Members of the Macambini Development Committee and the eMacambini Anti-Removal Committee

Sunday, 14 June 2009

Urgent Statement from Several Members of the Macambini Development Committee and the eMacambini Anti-Removal Committee

We are concerned about recent statements made by Inkosi Kayelihle Wiseman Mathaba in the media. He was quoted as saying that he is now supporting the project by Ruwaad Holdings in Dubai to build the ‘AmaZulu World’ themepark that will result in the forced removal of 10 000 families from their ancestral land.

He is not speaking for the community. He cannot represent the views of the Macambini masses on this question as they were not consulted. Therefore we, and the people that we have been elected to represent, distance ourselves from his pronouncements.

Our position remains consistent. We will not accept any form of ‘development’ if it results in evictions. We cannot accept any development where the masses pay the price for the enrichment of the few. However we are open to proposals for development that will create wealth for the whole community without resulting in evictions. It still seems to us that the proposed development by Sport City International will be able to achieve this. It is much smaller but much more humane.

Construction on ‘AmaZulu World’ was supposed to begin in December last year. It did not as a direct result of our struggle. We will not accept any development that results in any evictions and we will, therefore, never accept the ‘development’ proposed by Ruwaad Holdings. Neither the former Premier (S’bu Ndebele), the King or the Inkosi have the right to give the people’s birthright to Ruwaad Holdings. The Macambini people will determine their own future.

At the moment we wish to remain anonymous in order not to be pressurised by the Inkosi. However we will issue a further communication soon.

Click here for background information on the struggle against forced removal in eMacambini.

Mercury: Who really benefits from big corporate deals?

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http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4988934

Who really benefits from big corporate deals?
Elites always try to tell society that their interests are everyone’s interests, but self-interested corporate propaganda is not neutral analysis

May 20, 2009 Edition 1

Imraan Buccus

MUCH has been said in the past few days about the last-minute bid to prevent Vodacom from listing on the JSE this past Sunday.

On Monday South Africans were greeted with the news that the courts had rejected the attempts at preventing the listing, and the Vodacom listing on the JSE would now go ahead. South Africans – well, mainly the wealthy ones – breathed a sigh of relief.

Cosatu and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa had lodged an urgent interdict to stop the listing of Vodacom, following Telkom’s sale of 15 percent of Vodacom to the UK’s Vodaphone for R22.5 billion, thus increasing Vodaphone’s stake in Vodacom to 65 percent.

Now Cosatu is threatening to mobilise its members to join rival networks as an indication of the trade union’s unhappiness with Vodacom.

So, why the fiasco, and in whose interest is the foreign investment by Vodaphone, one may ask?

Well, over the weekend a leading Sunday newspaper led with a story arguing that “South Africa’s reputation as a business-friendly economy is in jeopardy”, and “the message is that SA does not offer a predictable, stable business environment”.

Losses

For far too long in South Africa and in other parts of the world, we have been forced to view events that affect all of us, more so those who live on the margins of society, from the perspective of elites. What the media hasn’t hammered home is the fact that this deal would lead to massive job losses in a country that is already facing an “unemployment bloodbath”.

The argument doing the rounds is that the government had assured the international business world that it would be business as usual under the new regime. What people have not been focusing on is the fact that those at the base of social strata have voted the new regime into power, believing that there would be hope for the poor as the leader of the ruling party somehow embodies the hopes and aspirations of the poor.

Also, the new government has developed at least five focal priority areas, with a prominent one being job creation.

Elites always try to tell society that their interests are everyone’s interests. But this is quite clearly not the case.

Take the case of the AmaZulu World theme park planned for eMacambini here in KwaZulu-Natal. This abomination will, if it goes ahead, result in the eviction of 10 000 families. Of course, those elites who stand to benefit from this “foreign direct investment” will present it as being in the national interest.

While it might be in their interest, it would obviously be a total disaster for the 10 000 families that risk eviction.

If we are going to develop into a society that can have a rational and open conversation about development and social justice, it is essential that that we stop presenting self-interested corporate propaganda as neutral analysis.

When foreign direct investment creates decent jobs and develops the productive capacity of the country, it is to be welcomed. But when it is simply about enriching local elites in exchange for the right to plunder our resources, it must be opposed by all right-thinking people.

Solution

The idea that the solution to our problems is always “investors and tourists” is an idea that, in essence, says that rich foreigners will solve our problems.

It is an idea that says that we should do whatever we can to make our country and economy attractive to rich foreigners looking for profit.

Corporations seek profit, not social justice. They account to their shareholders, not to the poor or the working class in the countries where they do business. In fact, very often their profit-seeking is also a risk to ordinary middle class people.

The idea that the pursuit of profit by elites is somehow in the interests of society as a whole was very powerful after the Cold War. But that idea collapsed in the wake of the financial crisis that saw squatter camps return to American cities for the first time since the 1930s. It is an idea that is as dead as the idea that Soviet-style state communism is in the interests of the people.

If our public conversations and our media are going to grapple with the complexities of reality, it is time to recognise self-interested corporate propaganda for what it is. It is time to recognise the self-evident fact that a people-friendly economy is not exactly the same as a business-friendly economy.

Sowetan: Khayelihle Mathaba arrested

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http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=986864

IFP man arrested at poll point
24 April 2009
Mhlaba Memela

IFP strongman and member of the provincial government Nkosi Khayelihle Mathaba will appear in the Nyoni magistrate’s court on Tuesday.

On Wednesday evening police arrested the leader of the Macambini tribe after he allegedly parked his vehicle and blocked access to the ZZ Mathaba Creche voting station in the area.

“When police requested that he move his vehicle he refused and became violent.

“He was arrested and charged at the Nyoni police station for contravening Section 97 of the Electoral Act,” said police spokesperson Phindile Hadebe.

“At 1am yesterday morning he was released on bail of R300 by police,” she added.

Last December, Mathaba led his community to protest against the provincial government’s R44 billion tourism project in the area by a Dubai developer, Ruwaad.

Mathaba negotiated a counter deal with another Dubai-based developer on the basis that his people would not be moved from their ancestral land.

Police arrested 10 protesters who refused to disperse and instead placed burning tyres on the road and threw stones at passing motorists.

COHRE Letter to S’bu Ndebele on eMacambini

16 January 2009

Mr Sibusiso Ndebele
KwaZulu-Natal Premier
Premier’s Office
Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal
PO Box 412
Pietermaritzburg 3200

Re: Forced eviction of 10 000 families from eMacambini for AmaZulu World

Dear Premier Ndebele,

The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) is an international human rights non-governmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices throughout the world. COHRE has consultative status with the United Nations and Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. COHRE works to promote and protect the right to adequate housing for everyone, everywhere, including preventing or remedying forced evictions.

COHRE is deeply concerned about the threatened forced eviction of up to 10 000 families of the Macambini community from their communal land in rural KwaZulu-Natal, to make way for AmaZulu World, a multi-billion Rand project proposed by Dubai-based property development group Ruwaad Holdings. The Provincial Government of KwaZulu-Natal and King Goodwill Zwelithini (trustee of the Ingonyama Trust Board that administers the Macambini communal land) have endorsed this project. In May 2008, the KwaZulu-Natal Premier signed a memorandum of understanding with Ruwaad Holdings, and in October 2008, attended the Dubai Cityscape 2008 real estate exhibition together with King Goodwill Zwelithini for the official unveiling of the project.

COHRE has learned that the proposed AmaZulu World entertainment and mixed-use development will include an internationally branded theme park, hotels, shopping malls, residential complexes, golf courses and a giant statue of King Shaka, and is boasted as being the largest construction project ever to be undertaken in Africa. While plans to expropriate 16 500 hectares of land from the Macambini community appear to be underway, the Province has taken insufficient steps to engage in meaningful consultation with the affected community and obtain their written consent as required by law.

On 26 November 2008, over 5 000 members of the community marched in protest against the project, requesting in their memorandum that the Premier immediately withdraw from the project and respond to their grievances by 3 December. When the Premier failed to respond and acknowledge their grievances, members of the community set up road blockades along the N2 freeway on 4 December, in an attempt to draw attention to their imminent eviction. COHRE is deeply disturbed to hear that members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) responded with systemic violence against what was meant to be peaceful and nonviolent action, designed only to draw attention to the community’s plight. Approximately 30 people, mostly women, were shot with rubber bullets during and after the blockade. One woman remains in critical condition in hospital after being shot in the face at close range by an SAPS officer. Furthermore police officers reportedly went on a rampage attacking even those who were not involved in the road blockade and were in fact inside their homes along the N2 freeway. COHRE is also aware that ten people, including two school-age children, were arrested for ‘public violence’ and allegedly beaten systematically by police while being transported to holding cells. The violent repression by SAPS officers of legitimate protest and the violent attack on community members not involved in the protest are unjustifiable.

According to the eMacambini Anti-Removal Committee, formed in response to the threatened removal, the massive AmaZulu World project will entail the forced relocation of approximately 50 000 people from over 16 500 hectares of their communal land, with those who qualify for housing subsidies receiving government houses in a 500 hectare township near Mandeni. Those who do not qualify will presumably be rendered homeless. More than 300 churches as well as 29 schools and three clinics will also be demolished to make way for the theme park and other ‘attractions’. A large percentage of the Macambini community earn their living from the land or the ocean – growing sugar cane, vegetables and fruit; raising livestock; and fishing. Those residents who work at schools, clinics and at various other community facilities will also lose their jobs and their livelihoods. Reportedly, no plans have been made to economically rehabilitate those affected by the loss of their sources of livelihood. Many within the community have ancestors buried on the land. Demolishing and relocating an entire established community, as planned, would be economically, socially and culturally disastrous for its residents.

The eMacambini communal land is held in trust by the Ingonyama Trust Board, which is a land rights board as outlined in the Communal Land Rights Act No. 11 of 2004 and the KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act No. 3 of 1994. Section 2(b)(2) of the latter amended Act states that “the Trust shall, in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be administered for the benefit, material welfare and social well-being of the members of the tribes and communities…” Furthermore, section 2(e)(5) states that “the Ingonyama shall, as trustee, not encumber, pledge, lease, alienate or otherwise dispose of any of the said land or any interest or real right in the land, unless he has obtained the prior written consent of the traditional authority of the tribe or community authority concerned…” Thus, the communal land on which the Macambini community live and work, held in trust by the Ingonyama Trust Board (with King Goodwill Zwelithini as ‘Ingonyama’ or sole trustee), should be administered for the benefit, material welfare and social well-being of the community, and any decision to dispose of the land requires the written consent of the community authority concerned. These legislative imperatives have not been complied with in regard to the official endorsement of the AmaZulu World project by King Goodwill Zwelithini – an endorsement that has been given without the consent of the community living on the land who now face an uncertain and precarious future if the project goes ahead.

Section 28(1) of the Communal Land Rights Act states that a land rights board “must, in the prescribed manner and in respect of any matter contemplated by or incidental to this Act – (a) advise the Minister and advise and assist a community generally and in particular with regard to matters concerning sustainable land ownership and use, the development of land and the provision of access to land on an equitable basis; (b) liaise with all spheres of government, civil institutions and other institutions; and (c) monitor compliance with the Constitution and this Act” [emphasis added]. Section 25(5) of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of South Africa requires that “The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to foster conditions which enable citizens to gain access to land on an equitable basis.” Furthermore, section 26 of the Bill of Rights states that “(1) everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing; (2) the state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right; and (3) no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances. No legislation may permit arbitrary evictions.”

COHRE is deeply concerned that if the AmaZulu World project were to proceed, and 10 000 families forcibly removed from their land, the above constitutional imperatives would be violated.

COHRE would like to point out that the eMacambini Anti-Removal Committee has repeatedly asserted that it is not anti-development, but is opposed to projects that will lead to a violation of their basic human rights. In fact, the Macambini community, through their traditional leader Inkosi Khayelihle Mathaba, had advocated for an alternative development project, which envisages a ‘sports city’ being developed on 500 hectares of the communal land, and would not result in any eviction or relocation. COHRE is disturbed to hear that the KwaZulu-Natal Premier is currently suing Mathaba for defamation over statements he allegedly made during a meeting where the project was discussed. Based on reports by members of the Macambini community, COHRE understands that the action against Mathaba is another attempt by the state to silence dissent.

COHRE respectfully reminds the Government of South Africa that according to Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), as it is interpreted in General Comment No 7 of 1997, for forced evictions or relocations to be considered as lawful, they may only occur in very exceptional circumstances and all feasible alternatives must be explored. If and only if such exceptional circumstances exist and there are no feasible alternatives, can evictions be deemed justified. Regardless of whether the evictions are justified, affected persons must have access to appropriate procedural protection and due process must follow. Although the Government of South Africa is not a party to the ICESCR, they have signed the Covenant and are bound in terms of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties not to act contrary to its object and purpose.

Further, the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement, which address human rights implications of development-linked evictions and related displacement in urban and rural areas, require that States must ensure that evictions only occur in exceptional circumstances, and must give priority to exploring strategies that minimise displacement. Section 32 states that “comprehensive and holistic impact assessments should be carried out prior to the initiation of any project that could result in development-based eviction and displacement, with a view to securing fully the human rights of all potentially affected persons, groups and communities, including their protection against forced evictions. ‘Eviction-impact’ assessment should also include exploration of alternatives and strategies for minimizing harm.” Moreover, section 37 states that urban or rural planning and development processes should involve all those likely to be affected, with section 38 requiring that “all potentially affected groups and persons, including women, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, as well as others working on behalf of the affected, have the right to relevant information, full consultation and participation throughout the entire process, and to propose alternatives that authorities should duly consider.”

It is clear that many of the above provisions have not been met, and the fact that the KwaZulu-Natal Premier and Director-General, as well as King Goodwill Zwelithini, have openly endorsed the AmaZulu World project without the community’s support and participation is deeply disturbing. Thus, COHRE urges the Premier to immediately:

* issue a statement announcing the withdrawal of his endorsement of Ruwaad Holdings’ AmaZulu World project and halt all plans to expropriate land held by the Macambini community;
* begin a new process of engagement and meaningful consultation with the Macambini community and all relevant stakeholders around a mutually beneficial development project for the eMacambini area that is compliant with domestic and international human rights law;
* initiate an inquiry into the violence unleashed by members of the SAPS against peaceful protestors on 4 December 2008;
* provide immediate medical relief and compensation for injuries and damage to property caused by members of the SAPS;
* withdraw the defamation lawsuit against Inkosi Khayelihle Mathaba.

We look forward to your response and to an ongoing dialogue with the KwaZulu-Natal Province on the rights of its people to be consulted on issues around the development of their land, and on the myriad problems associated with mass forced relocations. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Salih Booker
Executive Director

cc.

Dr Kwazi Mbanjwa
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Director-General

His Majesty Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekizulu

The Honourable Lindiwe Sisulu
Minster of Housing

The Honourable Lulama Xingwana
Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs

Raquel Rolnik
UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing