Cape Argus: Protests to go on ‘until plans drawn up’

Once again destruction of property is being called ‘violence’….Funny that no one calls death and mutilation by shack fires ‘violence’….That is always a ‘natural disaster’….Structural violence is invisible. Protest that damages property is hyper visible

http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5679027

Protests to go on ‘until plans drawn up’
MEC baffled by protest as building of new housing scheme to start in two weeks

October 08, 2010 Edition 1

KOWTHAR SOLOMONS Staff Reporter

FORTY hectares of land and alleged political agendas are at the centre of the controversy that has led to running battles between police and Khayelitsha residents, who have staged service delivery protests for two weeks.

That is the view of Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela, who says residents’ claims that the provincial government is doing nothing to resolve the area’s housing crisis have left him baffled, considering the development of housing is imminent on the land in question.

He explained that the 40ha, on plot number 1892 between Eerste River and Blue Downs, had been set aside for the Nuwe Begin (New Beginnings) housing project.

Construction is set to begin in two weeks.

Over the past week, residents have burnt tyres, set up barricades and made a failed attempt to petrol bomb a fire station.

In the latest incident, a Golden Arrow bus was torched on Monday night.

The bus was the second to be destroyed by protesters. The first was set alight in Nyanga.

At least 10 other buses have been stoned and 27 windows smashed.

Madikizela said the new scheme was set to deliver 1 809 houses, 609 of which would be “affordable market” homes.

A date for the completion of the project was not given.

The MEC explained that the project was initiated in April last year, but had since hit problems.

When the development was announced by then-MEC for housing Whitey Jacobs, it had not been approved yet by the city, which meant the council would not contribute funds for the project.

Madikizela then approached the national Housing Department and was given R50 million, an excess from the budget of the N2 Gateway project.

After these funds were made available, the sewerage plant at Zandvlei became a problem because it could not accommodate so many new homes. An agreement was, however, reached recently to channel sewage from the housing project to Makhaza.

Madikizela said he had been in continual contact with community leaders throughout the process – the same leaders who now claimed to know nothing about it.

“To me this entire issue sounds like political interference. I scheduled a meeting this past Sunday to discuss the progress on the scheme, but fewer than 10 people showed up,” he said.

“I even heard rumours of intimidation by community leaders to stop residents from attending the meeting.”

Golden Arrow spokeswoman Bronwen Dyke says each of the two buses that were torched would cost about R1.3m to replace.

Also, R15 000 damage was done to the Lansdowne fire station when a group of protesters attacked it last Sunday night.

City spokeswoman Kylie Hatton said the fire station’s engine room doors were damaged and the front windscreen of one of the new Warrior fire engines was shattered.

Community leader Mzuko Poni, from Abahlani baseMjondolo, said while they did not condone the violence, it seemed “petty” compared with the daily suffering of residents “because of the idiots at provincial government”.

“Because of poor housing conditions we have diseases such as tuberculosis running rampant and fires.

“The damage may be a few million, but you cannot put a price on a human life and the hardships these people have to go through.”

Poni said residents would continue protesting until the city met their demand to see plans being drawn up, or implemented, to solve the housing shortage.

When questioned about the Nuwe Begin development, a surprised Poni said he had not heard of it.