Category Archives: Brenda Nkuna

Cape Argus: Anti-land invasion unit gets R10m budget

http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=5026337

Anti-land invasion unit gets R10m budget

June 08, 2009 Edition 1

Brenda Nkuna

THE City of Cape Town is spending R10 million in the current financial year to fund its Anti-Land Invasion Unit.

This is to safeguard housing projects it says “are being threatened by systematically planned and executed land invasions”.

But anti-eviction organisations have slammed the unit, saying the money could be better spent elsewhere.

They have warned that the unit’s existence will lead to “war” between communities and the city.

The unit, established to monitor, stop and evict those who attempt to erect shacks illegally, addressed 29 land invasions during the 2008/09 financial year, according to its head, Steve Hayward.

These included 17 in Helderberg, six in Tygerberg, two in the South/Central region and four in Blaauwberg.

Hayward said that in all 29 land invasions the unit had succeeded in removing people from city-owned land. It had obtained eight court interdicts to prevent people from further occupying land.

In the latest high-profile incident, Macassar backyarders invaded city-owned land on May 19. The invasion saw rubber bullets being fired by police and the backyarders being evicted.

Hayward said that in the Macassar case structures had been taken down and building material confiscated, but that the material had been returned to the backyarders last week.

Macassar backyarders argue that their eviction was illegal, but Hayward denied this, arguing that the backyarders had attempted to take land “in an unlawful manner”.

Anti-Eviction Campaign spokesman Mncedisi Twalo said he was “upset” by the way the unit had treated backyarders, and warned of mobilisation in the Western Cape because of what he described as people being “unfairly” treated.

He said while expensive infrastructure such as malls were being built, there were thousands in need of houses.

Cape Town’s housing backlog is estimated at 400 000.

Twalo was critical of the money allocated to the unit, arguing that “so much money could have been used to build houses, instead of going to a unit that has formed war between communities and the city”. – West Cape News

West Cape News: “Why do we deserve the worst?” ask protesting Cape residents

http://westcapenews.com/?p=767

“Why do we deserve the worst?” ask protesting Cape residents

Brenda Nkuna

Working under a hot sun, single mother Nolukhanyo Mgovuka, 35, plunges her spade into the hard gravel of a community-dug trench that scythes across Lansdowne Road in Cape Town. “We are willing to take rubber bullets from the police, if the City of Cape Town pretends we don’t exist. This is nothing, the N2 we are coming,” said Mgovuka, referring to the nearby national road that runs into central Cape Town.

Angry residents of BT Section informal settlement in Khayelitsha took to the streets last Monday in a protest they say is about a lack of electricity in their area.

The protests, which were the first in the City since April elections which saw power shift from the ANC to the DA, lasted the whole of last week and continued this week.

Rubbish has been burnt in the streets and there have been reports of buses being stoned.

In the last few days, residents have dug a trench across busy Lansdowne Road, neatly removing the tar and gravel beneath it to prevent traffic from using the road.

Digging trenches across roads is fast becoming the protest weapon of choice in Cape Town, with the Khayelitsha residents following the example of Du Noon and Masiphumele townships, where residents have also dug trenches in previous protests.

In between her shoveling on Wednesday, Mgovuka said she had not eaten the whole day, but that residents had “had enough of empty promises” and would continue to fight for better services.

Mgovuka said her shack had burnt to the ground twice last year because she did not have electricity and had to use candles for lighting and paraffin for cooking.

She said if people had electricity the area would be “safe to be alive”.

With electricity, she said she would be able to buy a fridge and start selling meats to make a living.

She said the community was angry with the City of Cape Town because of the lack of services. But residents also blamed ANC ward councilor Nontsomi Billie for the lack of services.

Billie, they point out, who lives in DT Section, which is next to BT Section, has had electricity installed in her area.

Dumisani Mbele, 44, said residents who made use of illegal electricity connections were subject to harassment from authorities.

He said because of a lack of toilets, residents who crossed Lansdowne Road to use bushes on the other side as a toilet had been hit by cars.

Mbele, an unemployed father of six children, the youngest of which is four, said he was concerned that his children were not getting the same treatment as other children.

Due to the lack of electricity, they could not watch TV, iron clothes or eat food kept fresh by a fridge.

The protests sparked accusations from now Western Cape premier Helen Zille that the ANC was behind the action, but this was hotly denied by the ANC.

Mbele, like other residents, denies any political element.
Rather, he said, the protest was a “weapon” so that poor people could be heard.

“Why do we deserve the worst? We will continue to fight,” he said.

Contacted for comment, Billie said there had been a meeting last week about the service delivery demands of the community. Further meetings had been held between the community and officials from the City of Cape Town.

Billie said people in BT section needed to be relocated to a safe area, because their informal settlement was situated on a flood plain, but “unfortunately” the City had said there was no land available.

City of Cape Town mayoral committee member Dan Plato said the City had “no problem” with installing electricity in BT section and had engaged with Eskom to ensure that services were provided.

Plato said at a meeting held with the community yesterday on Wednesday an agreement had been reached for the protests to be stopped.

A team had been sent out on Thursday to clean up the streets and take note of what services were needed for the area, he said. — West Cape News

West Cape News: Diarrhoea kills increasing number of under 5’s

We need toilets and taps – not NGOs that want to teach us how to wash our hands…

http://www.khayelitshastruggles.com/2009/03/diarrhea-kills-increasing-number-of.html

Diarrhoea kills increasing number of under 5’s

Brenda Nkuna

The number of children under five dying of or being admitted to Western Cape hospitals for diarrhea increased for the last period in which figures are available, says the Western Cape Health Department.

Diarrhoea claimed the lives of 149 children under five years old over the 2007/2008 period. This was out of 7,790 admissions to hospitals, said provincial health spokesperson Faiza Steyn.

This comes as this summer’s gastroenteritis season – which peaks in the hot months between October and March – draws to a close. Cases increase over this period because of an increase in flies and unsanitary conditions, especially in areas where there are a lack of services.

Although not providing figures for the current year, Steyn said in the year from April 2007 to March 2008 the number of cases were larger than in previous years and “many more children” required admission for re-hydration.

However, although figures had not yet been compiled, this increase did “not necessary” apply to the 2008/2009 year, she said.

Gastroenteritis, caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites, results in mild to severe diarrhea and can cause life-threatening dehydration in young children.
Steyn blamed the increase on a higher birth rate and an increase in migration.

She said hot spot areas included Delft, Gugulethu, Kraaifontein and Khayelitsha.

In the informal settlement of QQ section in Khayelitsha, parents complain that they battle to keep their children healthy due to a lack of services.

Veliswa Sidumo, 25, an unemployed mother of a two-year-old girl, said her child had developed a bad rash and she had no choice but to keep her in her shack until her condition improved.

She said she used a variety of household cleaning products to kill germs, but this did not help when her daughter played in sand outside where she was exposed to flies, human faeces and dirty water.

She said there were no toilets in her area. People used buckets as toilets and often spilt the contents outside her shack.

Another resident, Nosibabalo Dyasi, 25, said she was concerned about the number of children playing at a dump site near her shack, because they did not wash their hands.

She said due to a lack of clean water, people thought that washing hands was a waste of water.

Dyasi, an unemployed mother of a four-year-old girl, said parents were aware of existing diseases and how to prevent them, but due to unemployment they were unable to afford cleaning products.

“It’s hard to raise children here. Their lives are in danger, but where can they go?” she asked.

Steyn said sick children should be taken to a clinic “immediately” and parents should tell staff if a child had diarrhoea.

She said parents should continue feeding their child while sick. But they should make sure bottles and teats were clean.

They should wash hands after changing nappies, before preparing food and before feeding, she said. — West Cape News