Category Archives: Guguletu Square Mall

Police shoot residents in peaceful AEC protest against Gugs Mall

Gugulethu AEC Press Alert
29 October 2009 at 15h30

Police shoot residents in peaceful AEC protest against Gugs Mall

The Gugulethu police interrupted a peaceful protest by the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign this afternoon. Without warning residents at all, they shot at us with rubber bullets injuring dozens and arresting many others.

The much of the crowd was made up of old women and there were a lot of children also present. A 17 year old lady was shot in the face by the police and is now seriously injured and at the hospital.

At the moment we are not sure how many people have been shot and arrested. We do know, however, that today the police attempted to illegally ban the public protest which has been going on since Monday. From Monday through Wednesday, the police behaved respectuflly and helped escort us when we marched towards the mall. Today, they would not let us march. So a delegation of AEC activists went today to the Civic Centre in Cape Town to get a permit but we were prevented by police from entering the Civic Centre.

Why this sudden shift today in the way the police are treating us?

What we do know is that business tycoon Mzoli Ngcawuzele and councillor Belinda Landingwe have deep political connections and close friends within the Gugulethu Police. They have oppressed our movement in the past and shot at us before. They have arrested members of our movement and even physically threatened them through the use of local ANC thugs.

We believe that the police banned our march and then attacked us because we to big of a thorn in Mzoli’s side. We believe that the police attack was orchestrated by Mzoli and Belinda to prevent us from exposing the truth about the corruption and nepotism at the Gugulethu Square Mall. We believe that the police were ordered to attack us because we refused to work with the ANC’s Gugulethu Development Forum which plays party politics with our lives.

We believe that the attack on our movement corresponds with a dangerous trend in South Africa where the police are being militarised and being given political sanction to attack outspoken critics of the goverment such as the Anti-Eviction Campaign and Abahlali baseMjondolo (see Kennedy Road attacks).

Contacts: Malibongwe at 074 639 9551 and Mncedisi at 078 580 8646

AEC: Eyona Tenants joining in opposition to Guguletu Square Mall

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Guguelthu AEC Press Statement
1st December, 2008 – For Immediate Release

Today, the Gugulethu AEC, with the support of church goers, students and other local businesses, will close down construction of the Gugulethu Mall at 11h30am.

Eyona tenants who have already been evicted and who still face the threat of eviction, are now joining in solidarity with poor residents of the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign. Both are now opposing the corruption, lack of consultation, and anti-local orientation of the new Gugulethu mall.

The development of the Gugueltu Square Mall will destroy local businesses, sideline informal traders, and undermine resident’s ability to drive the development process. As much as big businesses would like it to have a human face, this near billion rand project will not benefit more than a couple residents from Gugulethu.

Facts about Eyona tenants threatened with eviction:

1.

SS Skhoma Butchery and Shirley Sigasana Takeway built their own structures and have traded in these structures at the old Eyona Shopping Centre for more than 25 years.
2.

Eyona Tenants’ first landlord was Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) under the old Apartheid government. After 1994, the new government (on behalf of the people) became the owner. The government itself along with government organisations such as the DTI and Khula made promises of ownership towards Eyona tenants.
3.

Eventually, without the community’s consent or consultation, government sold the land for R11.70 to Khula which then proceeded to directly engage big-business and ignore pass promises and obligations towards the community.
4.

With regards to the development of the Gugulethu mall, the DTI and Khula have manipulated and undermined the Eyona Tenants. All their promises have been made without written documentation. Along with the developers, they refuse to sign any type of lease agreements to ensure that their promises of space to trade become a reality.
5.

While the Eyona Tenants (in conjunction with the residents of Gugulethu) should own the land on which the mall is being built, they have received no compensation from government for the selling of their land towards helping establish big-business in Gugs.
6.

Instead, our democratically elected government is actively helping Khula, Wst Side Trading, Old Mutual and Group 5 in their unfair and deceitful evictions of the Gugulethu Eyona Tenants.
7.

By 30 November 2008, the remaining structure of the old shopping centre (the Butchery, Take-away and the Garage) are supposed to be vacated and then demolished. But without a court order, any attempted eviction will be illegal.

Today, 1st December 2008 at 11h30, the Gugulethu community (including members of the Anti-Eviction Campaign, students, church goes and other local businesses) will show their support for the Eyona Tenants by stopping construction on the mall and protecting the remaining structures from being demolished.

The Struggle Continues!

For comment, please call Mncedisi at 078-5808-646 and Speelman at 073-9825-725.

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For more, please visit the website of the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign at: http://www.antieviction.org.za
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