Some good news – all charges against the 5 Siyanda accused (represented pro bono by Mark Serfontein) arrested during a road blockade on 4 December 2006 were dropped on Tuesday. The police violence used against the Siyanda protestors was extreme – a woman miscarried and a man died – and this issue will not be laid to rest with the dropping of the charges.
Important comment on the “Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Amendment Bill” by Stuart Wilson and COHRE is now online on the Abahlali website at http://abahlali.org//////node/655
At at time when the national government is stating that a a purely market based urban land development regime will exclude the poor, undermine ‘social cohesion’ and ‘increase crime’ etc, that urban land expropriations must be looked at and that the poor and the rich need to be housed together the eThekwini Municipality seems to be steaming ahead with its ‘public-private partnerships’ with the city’s largest land owner, Moreland, that seem to be all about public support for private interest. On 14 November 2005 residents of the Foreman Road settlement tried to stage a march on eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba. That march was illegally banned by fax by City Manager Mike Sutcliffe instigating a blanket illegal ban on all Abahlali marches that lasted until Sutcliffe was interdicted against his illegal ban by the High Court on 27 February 2006. When people tried to march from Foreman Road in defiance of Sutcliffe’s ban they were savagely attacked by the crudely racist Sydenham police and 45 people were arrested. There are some pictures, press releases, statements from the Freedom if Expression Institute etc online at http://abahlali.org//////node/20 and for a quicker sense of things people can check out the following:
ETV news clip – http://abahlali.org//////node/235
SABC TV news clip – http://abahlali.org//////node/234
New York Times article – http://abahlali.org//////node/2
The city responded to the the international media attention on their violent and illegal supression of basic rights by having mayor Obed Mlaba make a high profile televised annoucement of a ‘massive low cost housing’ project on Moreland land due to start early in 2006. Amongst other promises he said that people in the Kennedy Road settlement would ‘get first priority’ and that there would be ‘extensive discussions with shack dwellers’ about the project. Now it is early 2007 and Mlaba has just announced that that Moreland land will be used for something rather different….The phrase low cost housing is markedly abscent and the partners are big business, not shack dwellers.
It’s a not uninteresting fact that Mlaba used to work for Hullets – an ancestor of Moreland. In 1906 Huletts, a company that grew out of the colonial plantation economy with all that that entails, started arguing that as the largest land owner in the city they should determine the development agenda of the city. In the late 1980s the city started agreeing and had them draw up plans. One of their plans was for the massively expensive largely publically funded failed themepark on the beachfront. The city went with that, like other Moreland ideas. Mlaba chaired the committee that decided to appoint Moreland to manage the themepark on a no risk to Moreland and all risk to the public purse basis.
Below are three articles from the Mercury that track some of the changes in what is being promised from the Moreland Development. Because the IOL site won’t open today parts of today’s article have just been typed in. The url for the full articles will be on the Abahlali site when possible.
R10bn low-cost housing plan
http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3000079
Development close to Umhlanga Ridge and Mount Edgecombe
R10bn low-cost housing plan
November 18, 2005 Edition 1
Bonny Verwey
Proposed plans for Durban’s biggest development of low-cost housing in an affluent suburban area were unveiled yesterday at the intended site which borders Umhlanga Ridge, Mount Edgecombe and Phoenix. The project looks set to get under way as early as next year and will cost about R10 billion.
The announcement of the Phoenix East Integrated Housing Development Project follows last year’s controversial proposal by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu that low-cost houses be built on prime land. Sisulu’s proposal was aimed at boosting the economy, promoting integrated neighbourhoods and increasing the number of people living in inner cities.
The announcement was met with strong reaction from opposition parties who claimed the plan had not been discussed with the council. As the plan stands, in about four years the line between rich and poor will be blurred near the upmarket areas of Umhlanga and Mount Edgecombe, as low-cost and more expensive houses are mixed to create a truly integrated community. The project will see 15 000 to 20 000 families housed in homes ranging from R50 000 to R500 000 in value.
The land is owned by Moreland Developments, part of the Tongaat-Hulett Group. Moreland is in full support of the project and recognises the land is “uniquely positioned to make a key strategic contribution to the consolidation and integration” of the area. The 1 200ha tract borders the communities of Umhlanga Ridge, Mount Edgecombe, Phoenix, Ottawa, Waterloo and Prestondale.
Yesterday eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba, councillors and officials gathered at the site to unveil the plans for the development. Its proximity to the proposed King Shaka Airport would provide job opportunities and access to amenities. However, eThekwini Municipality Housing Department Head Couglan Pather said facilities and amenities would be developed on the site and the houses would range from low-cost and semi-detached houses to double-storey houses and simplexes.
Mixture
“The mix of housing styles will cater for poor people who are living in shacks to people who have bonded houses from R80 000 to R500 000.
“This neighbourhood will see not only houses, but commercial sites, light industrial parks, business parks, schools, clinics and other amenities.”
Mlaba said most townships were to the north of the city but most development and industry were in the south basin. The project will see the first residents of low-cost housing being moved in from informal settlements by the end of 2006 and is expected to take about four years to complete. Moreland Director PC Chetty said a planning team had been established and was busy with the initial strategic and land-use planning.
People who earned less than R1 500 a month would qualify for free housing valued at R50 000, whereas those who earned more than R1 500 would qualify for bonded housing valued at R80 000 and upward. The integration of mixed-cost housing would ensure there was no distinct line between rich and poor communities, and the more expensive houses would be similar to those already established in bordering areas. Although the plan is to build houses up to the value of R500 000, he said this figure could be exceeded if there was demand.
“Therefore people (in bordering upmarket communities) should not be concerned about their properties decreasing in value. The planning of this project has taken this into account,” he said.
However, the DA’s Lyn Ploos van Amstel said she was “outraged” at the plan because it had not been put to council. “The mayor has bypassed the council and he has to know that this plan is going to be controversial as it is going to affect property prices in bordering areas,” she said.
Durban North councillor John Steenhuisen said the project was a “skewed social engineering project”.
“This whole project is very mysterious and has not been approved by any council committee. It is going to evoke a lot of controversy, and serious questions also have to be asked of Moreland,” he said.
The council had “shot itself in the foot” because the project would reduce property values, resulting in less rates income for the city.
Ratepayer and resident associations in bordering areas declined to comment.
bonny@themercury.co.za
Questions posed to Mlaba by Abahlali after this announcement – http://abahlali.org//////node/181
Press Release from Abahlali after Mlaba’s failure to answer questions – http://abahlali.org//////node/180
Squatters want fulfillment of housing promise
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=vn20060828033833900C867291
August 28 2006 at 08:49AM
Almost a year since eThekwini Mayor Obed Mlaba announced an ambitious pre-election R10-billion low-cost housing plan for 20 000 families on prime land north of Durban, no work has started on the proposed site.
Opposition parties and shack dwellers – who were promised they would be first in line for the new houses on a site bordering Umhlanga Ridge, Mount Edgecombe and Phoenix – have heard nothing more about the development.
Just before the last municipal elections Mlaba said development of the four-year Phoenix East integrated housing development project would start early this year.
The site is owned by Moreland Developments which is part of the Tongaat-Hulett Group.
EThekwini Municipality executive committee member and DA Councillor John Steenhuisen said the situation with the low-cost housing project “remains the same”.
To date, there had been no consultation with any council committee and no formal approval given, he said.
When the announcement was made last year opposition parties were concerned that the decision had not been put to the council. They raised concerns that the plan would affect property prices in bordering areas and would affect the rights of people living in surrounding communities.
Steenhuisen said he was “highly suspicious” of the housing project announcement which had come at a “convenient time” ahead of registrations for the local government election.
Moreland Director T C Chetty confirmed that no development had begun. His organisation and the municipality were engaging in the necessary processes of consultation with all stakeholders.
S’bu Zikode, President of Abahlali baseMjondolo, an organisation looking after the interests of people living in informal settlements, said the shack dwellers had not been given time-frames on housing delivery.
The movement, which has more than 20 000 members from 30 informal settlements in Durban and Pinetown, is the largest organisation in the country known to be with working with shack dwellers for their rights.
After the announcement, Zikode said his organisation had sent Mlaba a document on November 27 last year, asking about the municipality’s planned housing developments that had not been accomplished. They had received no response.
Commenting on behalf of Mlaba, housing, cleansing, solid waste and human resources support committee Chairman S’bu Gumede said the city was working closely with land owners, Moreland, in “creating an integrated human settlement which provides housing and work opportunities for people from all walks of life”. The development was a large and complex one that required partnership with the owners and the government.
A joint planning team comprising the municipality and Moreland officials was investigating the planning options and potential land uses for the area.
Gumede said a joint “visioning workshop” by the team had been held in June and the outcome was to be presented to senior city officials.
“In short, the project is on and all necessary processes are in progress,” he said.
amelia.naidoo@inl.co.za
o This article was originally published on page 8 of The Mercury on August 28, 2006
R4.5bn Durban Development Will Simulate Economic growth
Plan for Prime Land Unveiled
Mercury, page 5, Friday 16 February 2007
A piece of land used to keep communities separate during the apartheid era will now be used to stimulate massive economic growth in Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMash townships and Phoenix, according to plans for the R4.5 billion bridge city revealed yesterday. Tipped to be one of the largest development issues within previously disadvantaged areas in SA, the 64 ha of prime real estate – used as a buffer between the city of Durban, Umhlanga Rocks and the townships between the apartheid era – has been vacant for 21 years as land owners and developers scratched their heads about what to do with it.
The more than 500 000 people living within 5 kms of the site will now have easy access to 700 000m of urban space, open air markets, gathering spaces, an ampitheatre and a petrol station. Space designed for small and medium businesses has also been factored into the plans.
Moreland Managing Director Gordon Hibbert said “…instead of underutilising the land, we now have a development that is unique in the world.” Moreland’s Peter Deighton said two sites had already been sold – one to accommodate a R400 million state hospital and the other a magistrate’s court….