Category Archives: Mandela Park Backyarders

Backyarders to march today on MEC Madikizela

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10 October 2012
Mandela Park Backyarders Press Statement

Backyarders to march today on MEC Madikizela

The Mandela Park Backyarders will be marching in Cape Town to the offices of MEC for Human Settlements Bonginkosi Madikizela today at 10am.

The march will demonstrate our disappointment in the MEC and his broken promise that he made two years ago.

Two yeras ago, Madikizela wrote us a letter telling us that 80 plots in Mandela Park were to be given to poor backyarders in Mandela Park for the purposes of housing. Now, two years since the promise, the community is still in possession of this letter of empty promises. Since the letter was written to us, they have never followed up with us and have refused to meet with us or given us a blueprint for this development.

At the same time, whenever we attempt to get his office to reply, they continue to ignore us. We are now sick and tired of begging him to fulfill the promise he has made.

We demand that his office tell us exactly when they are planning on building these 80 houses and handing the land over to our community.

For more info, please contact

Slulami @ 0736200781
Khaya @ 0780241683

In Memory of our fallen African brothers in Marikana

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http://mpbackyarders.org.za/2012/08/25/in-memory-of-our-fallen-african-brothers-in-marikana/

In Memory of our fallen African brothers in Marikana

by Loyiso Mfuku Mandela Park Backyarders

We hereby send heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved families who recently lost their loved ones through state brutality on Thursday, 18th August 2012, in what has been dubbed “the Marikana Massacre”.

This is written to all those who still feel oppressed by anti-poor laws of this country and to the optimism that still thrives underneath the anti-poor economic establishments of the government. We are all bound by our conscience to identify injustices committed against those who demand their right to a dignified life.

All of us by now, through the atrocity committed by Lonmin, the government and the dominant trade unions, got a comprehensible illustration what happens to those who radically put forward their legitimate grievances. The constitutional obligations of this country protect “the right to life” for all our citizens until proven guilty in the court of law. Thus, the police had no right to “shoot to kill”, no matter what ill conceived justifications they put forth.

This tragic massacre has brought a feeling of sadness to almost all South Africans – except the government itself. The lack of leadership and vision in our country is a cause of extreme concern.

It is one thing for the state president to call for calm in the country and declare a period of mourning. It is another to hear the new police commissioner Riyah Phiyega making arrogant public pronouncements that spit in the faces and graves of the people that we were requested to honour and mourn.

The citizens of this country must put to scrutiny the media coverage on this matter regardless of their said claim of independence. The daily inhumane and violent conditions those workers live under – itself a form of violence – has been cast into the periphery of the media coverage.

Instead the primary focus is on the investors and the country’s reputation internationally. Have we regressed to a level where the lives of our people are juxtaposed with their monetary value?

The government has dismally failed to ask: How did we end up here? What type of the country allows its people to be exploited by wealthy foreigners in this diabolic manner?

If the are hundreds of workers arrested for the suspected killing of two police officers during the strike, why are there no police arrested for mass-murder which is also linked to the same event?

One does not need to be a rocket scientist to anticipate what will transpire in the Zuma-appointed commission of inquiry. We are already too suspicious and doubtful about the outcomes of the inquiry as it already seems to us biased in favour of those who oppress us.

The above questions seek to invoke critical thinking about the characteristics of this country.

We have bared witness to President Zuma in a business press conference reading a speech of sympathy rather than outrage.

This clearly shows what he read on that speech did not come from his heart, but were the words of someone else. He is painted as a sympathetic leader when he does not actually care at all, else resignations would have taken immediate effect. The mere fact he read a speech to console his people is not expected from an African elder, especially, a leader of his caliber given the fact that he was positioned as “a leader of the people”.

The very same President Zuma was heard uttering, “what have our nation become when we see people licking spears like that?”

This was a clear direct attack to the workers of this country. The nation can only speculate about what President Zuma told the Lomnin Mine bosses when he met them instead of meeting with the bereaved workers: “Let us create an investor friendly climate.”

We might be wrong, but given how our leaders have reacted to this matter, it leaves a lot to be desired.

As Mandela Park Backyarders:

* We condemn state response with high-level contempt.
* We support the inquiry but it should not be limited internally, SADEC should also appoint an inquiry that will also look deep into this matter.
* We also call on Lomnin mine bosses to be accountable about the mass slaughter.
* We also demand the employees to be granted their demand of R12 500 before they return to work.
* The president should issue a warrant of arrest to all 3000-armed police that murdered the workers.
* We also welcome the call that national MEC of police Nathi Mthethwa and Commissioner Phiyega should step down.
* We also plead with all social movements locally and internationally to pledge solidarity with the Marikana mineworkers.

Mandela Park Backyarders to join employment protest at Khayelitsha Hospital 10am tomorrow

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16 April 2012
Backyarders Solidarity Statement

Mandela Park Backyarders to join employment protest at Khayelitsha Hospital 10am tomorrow

Tomorrow, the 17th of April 2012, the Mandela Park Backyarders will be joining in solidarity with the Progressive Youth Movement and other community groups from all over Khayelitsha to protest the unfair job allocation processes at the new Khayelitsha Hospital. The protest will begin at 10am in front of the hospital.

It is appalling that the ‘grand opening’ of the facility is happening without informing or consulting residents of the community.

As there has been no consultation with the community, we, the residents of Khayelitsha, no longer consider this a genuine community development project but merely a smokescreen for the import of Tygerberg Hospital and its management and employees into Khayelitsha.

We have found that there is nothing transparent in the way the hospital has been built and how jobs have been allocated. The Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF), with which the authorities have claimed to have consulted with, is an unaccountable and undemocratic organisation that does not represent the interests of the Khayelitsha community. The KDF, was therefore used as a way for those in charge of the hospital to get around authentic consultation and remove the community from being the drivers of the process.

All are invited to join us tomorrow.

For more information, please contact:

Khaya @ 0780241683

Hellen Zille: Artificial borders and racism are inseparable, your refugee label is equal to racism

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Hellen Zille: Artificial borders and racism are inseparable, your refugee label is equal to racism

3 April 2011
Statement by the Mandela Park Backyarders

The recent statement made by Helen Zille which refers to Eastern Cape migrants as refugees and her subsequent justification of the term, illustrate her failure to understand how apartheid has misguided not only those blacks who were and continue to be oppressed, but also privileged white people.

On Sunday, Zille appeared on Radio Zibonele in Khayelitsha saying that she was not aware that her statement would create anger and frustration amongst black people.

This explanation by Madam Helen is quite similar to the common excuse of a school child who is warned by his/her parents not to wear school shoes after school hours. Yet, despite the warning, the child continues to wear his/her shoes and later, when confronted by the parents, claim that they just did not know what would happen to the shoes.

A similar situation occurred with Martinicans who, as a colony of France before the World War 2, considered themselves French and attempted to deny themselves their own ethnicity and race. But French sailors and officials saw them through the lens of racial prejudice thereby making it impossible for Martinicans to truly ever be equal in the eyes of the French.

Madam Helen no different from French sailors. We need to remind Madam Helen that before European outcasts and refugees colonised Africa and other parts of the world, there were no such name calling that sought to humiliate one because of his/her place of origin. It was the Europeans created artificial borders in Africa, dividing up the continent and confining blacks in Bantustans in South Africa and elsewhere thereby turning them into refugees in their own country. Artificial borders and the bifurcated state were accompanied by racism.

So it is in this context that we should look at the term ‘refugee’ which informed Madam Helen’s comments and by which she has insulted black people. She continues to look at black people through the lens of artificial borders that perpetuates racism and division in our country.

Zille’s was a reckless and a racist comment. It can easily lead to black on black violence such as what we have seen recently in Grabow.

To us, Zille’s comments brought back memories of the Afro-phobic attacks of 2008 but this time invoking such phobia between people already living in South Africa.

Rumours even abound in our township that Madam Helen was also alleged to have said that Eastern Cape migrants who left Cape Town during their festive holiday should be forced to remain in Eastern Cape in order to minimise influx. We wish to remind our fellow poor citizens that this alleged statement targets black migrants in ways reminiscent of 2008.

To us Madam Helen did not have to declare herself a racist in order for her to be one. By tracing back our history and where we come from we can safely arrive at the conclusion that artificial borders and racism are inseparable. By invoking artificial borders and divisions amongst blacks, no matter their ethnic background, Zille is invoking racist prejudice amongst South Africans

Therefore, we call on the people of South Africa to demand an apology from Helen Zille.

For more information contact Loyiso @ 0737662078 or Slulami @ 0736200781

We continue our call for Madikizela to resign

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1 August 2011
Mandela Park Backyarders Press Statement

We continue our call for Madikizela to resign

A few days ago, Madikizela attacked the Backyarders in a press statement after we found new evidence of corruption and calls for his resignation were published in the Cape Times.

First and foremost, it is important to give a clear picture that will clarify our position as the Mandela Park Backyarders for the benefit of those who don’t follow the housing crisis in Mandela Park.

Our response

We, the Mandela Park community, call for Human Settlements MEC of the Western Cape Bonginkosi Madikizela to produce the minutes of his supposed meetings with the Mandela Park Backyarders. We all know that those meetings with the Backyarders never existed. But he has lied and said that these meetings have recently taken place. He has continued to met with some of the Khayelitsha community, but never with us.

We, the Mandela Park community, call on Madikizela to not only do something about the Quick Project investigation into Project 493 (RDP houses) which found significant instances of corruption (which Madikizela refuses to do anything about), but also to investigate all other instances of corruption in all housing projects within Mandela Park. In his press statement, Madikizela claimed that the 12 houses that we have found to be corruptly allocated, were part of Project 493. He is wrong. The 12 houses which we found to be irregularly allocated are not part of the survey the MEC claims, they belong to a new project (unknown to residents in Mandela Park as we were not consulted) which began last year when beneficiaries were unlawfully allocated incomplete structures contrary to housing code.

Meaningful engagement

We must remind our the public and the media that the MEC is supposed to be a public servant to the people of the Western Cape. We are not his servants. We are protected by law which says that all public servants, including those that deal with housing, must meaningfully engage with affected community members even if that public servant doesn’t want to do so. This is the result of Concourt cases such as Grootboom, Olivia Road and Joe Slovo. In calling us hooligans, selfish and ignoring our legitimacy in the eyes of the community, Madikizela acting illegally and in contravention with the constitution.

We are convinced that his personal attack against the Mandela Park Backyarders is an attempt to stamp out the truth about his failure to deal with nature and complexity of the Mandela Park housing crisis. This crisis began years back, long before he became the MEC, but he continues with the same policies as his predecessors.

False promises and lies

In his public address in September 2009, Madikizela promised that in his next project in Mandela Park, the Backyarders will be accommodated.

Again in October last year the MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela sent a letter addressed to Mandela Park Backyarders via his developer, SEBRA, which said that in the next financial year (2011-12) Mandela Park Backyarders will be prioritized (we have the letter to prove this).

It must be made clear now, the above empty promises as well as other promises were never fulfilled by the MEC. He has refused time and time again to honor his words.

The MEC is misleading members of the public and those who don’t follow the whole story can easily find themselves on the wrong side.

Bond houses integrated with RDP houses

It seems to us that there is attempt by government to create what experts call ‘integrated communities’ with varying income levels living side-by-side. We see integration is a good thing because it counters segregation and separation of people.

However, what the Human Settlements Department is doing in Mandela Park is not really integration. The majority of those who live in bond houses in Mandela Park are only slightly better off than the poor Backyarders. They are still poor. Therefore, our government essentially has a policy of integrating the poor with the slightly less poor.

Yet, when we ask for houses to be built in rich communities such as Bishops Court or Camps Bay, this becomes impossible. The government is happy to lower the value of the cheapest bond houses by building RDP housing at its side. However, integration with rich white communities is off the table. Our government is clearly against meaningful integration and desegregation of our communities.

As a result, we have increased levels of corruption with a large number of unqualified people (such as bank managers, police officers, construction managers) occupying and renting out RDP houses in the hope that one day they will be able to sell this land for profit. You also have huge numbers of families who pay much more than the decreased value of their house to the banks who are not affected by these property prices. This is just another way to hand over profit to developers and banks.

Our position as a community-driven movement

We are social justice activists. This means our task is to hold those in power accountable for all injustices in our communities. If we see people excluded in a development happening in their community, we will to raise this issue that without any fear of being vilified by government officials.

The MEC is not only refusing to recognize the Mandela Park Backyarders, but the community in general has also been denied access to know what is going on. In refusing to consult the Backyarders, he is refusing to consult with the entire community.

We warn of such leadership style that focuses on selective memory. Madikizela is serving a system that had always benefited from the mystification of the way society works – this is of a serious matter. His attack of our leadership and attacks on our movement will only encourage us to work harder to protect our community from deceit.

Our leadership is the one our people have been waiting for. As Kwandiwe Kondlo has put it, we need the kind of leadership which cultivates bonds of solidarity and trust. This is the leadership that emerges from what we are building as the Mandela Park Backyarders. It is a leadership rooted among people and we shall continue to carry our mandate without fear of being labeled by those coming from above.

Call for resignation

We hear that MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela’s resignation or reappointment is imminent. We would welcome such a development and ask Helen Zille to consult with us on his replacement.

For all the reasons laid out above, we reiterate our call for Bonginkosi Madikizela to resign with immediate effect!

For more information, contact:

Slu @ 0714331101
Luzuko @ 0739662188
Khaya @ 0780241683