Shackdweller communities to march on the Housing Development Agency and Housing MEC Madikizela

Event: Shackdwellers to march in CBD
Date: 1st October
Time: 10am
Location: Keizergraght to the Provincial Legislature to HDA offices on Bree St

Tomorrow, a collection of shackdweller communities from Sweet Home informal settlement, from Samora Machel in Philippi, from Langa Temporary Relocation Area and from Abahlali baseMjondolo in Site B in Khayelitsha, will be assembling in Keizergraght where we will be marching to express our frustration at the ‘lip service delivery’ of government in our communities.

Not only does the government fail to provide us with services, but they also fail to meaningfully consult with us about how these services should be delivered to us. They do not treat us as human beings. They do not treat us with dignity.

We are tired of empty promises from politicians who we vote for as our leaders but who become unscrupulous leaders. We are fed up with the horrible conditions in which we live. As the poor, our human rights and democracy are still invisible to us. We feel that our rights to basic services, water, roads and sanitation are being undermined and we are being treated in such manner in which we don’t belong in the province and in this country.

We therefore march on our government and their representatives.

We are marching on the Mayor for her mistreatment of us. For instance in Sweet Home, her office makes promises and then does not keep them. Then when we protest, she says we are being manipulated by ‘third forces’.

We are marching on the provincial executive as they have promised us housing but don’t deliver. And when they do deliver, only the corrupt benefit.
We are marching on the Housing Development Agency which has been given the responsibility by the Human Settlements Department to provide us with dignified housing, not the government built shacks we have been ‘temporarily’ dumped in for eight years.

Attached are some of the memoranda our communities will be presenting to the above organs of government. We wish to be clear that we are marching as poor communities and we are not associated with any political party or NGOs. We represent ourselves.

For more information, please contact:

Siya @ 0730151454
Lulama @ 0844338461
Cindy @ 0760866690