Category Archives: eMatinini

Ridge View Transit Camp

Pictures by Lenny Cohen

eMatinini – Place of Tin

The Provision of Public Housing in South Africa: The Impact and Effect of Transit Camps on Residents and its Place in the Provision of Housing

Click here to download this paper in pdf. Contact Lenny Cohen on +1 215 805 6908 or siphossibiya [at] gmail.com

Abstract

Development in South Africa encompasses many things, and housing is one of these aspects. Post-apartheid South Africa has set out to provide housing to all, it is even a constitutional right. However there have been many problems with housing development and delivery. Transit camps, which are meant to house informal shack-dwellers temporarily, are an example of housing innovation and development. Yet they simultaneously reflect the many problems within the process, and also represent the challenges South Africa is confronting as a whole, for comprehensive development and the progress of a new, more united nation.

To study transit camps and housing development, I looked into one transit camp specifically, in the municipality of eThekwini/Durban, nicknamed Ematinini, or ‘place of tin’. I spent a great deal of time at Ematinini, walking around the area and speaking with as many residents as I could. I conducted interviews (both formal and informal) with residents and municipal officials to collect information, which I added to my observations of the transit camp itself.

What I have found is that the transit camp of Ematinini is a place no one wants to live in because of the derelict conditions. The residents would rather be living in an informal shack than in this tin camp. Their stays have not turned out to be temporary, and they live with continual uncertainty as to when and where they will be moved, if at all. There is resentment amongst the residents toward

Ematinini – Ort aus Blech

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http://akkrise.wordpress.com/sudafrika/abahlali-basemjondolo/

Ematinini – Ort aus Blech

Die Bereitstellung von öffentlichem Wohnraum in Südafrika: Die Bedeutung und die Auswirkungen von Transitlagern auf die BewohnerInnen und deren Platz in der Bereitstellung von Wohnraum

Das post-Apartheid-Südafrika hat es darauf angelegt, allen Wohnraum zur Verfügung zu stellen, aber es gab viele Probleme bei der Entwicklung und dem zur Verfügung-Stellen von Wohnraum. Transitlager sind eine Neuerung beim öffentlichen Wohnraum, sie sollen informelle BarackenbauerInnen vorübergehend beherbergen. Sie zeigen die Herausforderungen, vor denen Südafrika steht, auf. Um die Transitlager und ihren Anteil an der Entwicklung von Wohnraum zu studieren, habe ich die Methoden der Beobachtung, der Interviews und des Aufsuchens verwendet. Was ich herausgefunden habe ist, dass niemand in diesen Transitlagern wohnen möchte: die Aufenthalte dauern länger als erwartet, und die Menschen sind sich unsicher darüber, wann, wohin und ob sie überhaupt wieder umgesiedelt werden werden. Es gibt Vorbehalte gegenüber der Gemeinde und den Glauben, dass innerhalb der Regierung Korruption herrscht. Die Gemeinde betrachtet sich selbst als die einzige Quelle seriösen Wissens, und behält daher die Planung der Entwicklung und deren Ausführung unter exklusiver Kontrolle. Diese Arroganz führt zur Vernachlässigung der BarackenbewohnerInnen und der BewohnerInnen von Transitlagern, die innerhalb der Demokratie ihre Stimme möchten.

Ridge View Transit Camp in Chesterville – February 2010

Pictures by Kalinca Copello, text by Zodwa Nsibande

These pictures were taken in the Ridge View Transit Camp in Chesterville which is the biggest in Durban. The people here were evicted from Cato Manor and New Dunbar with the promise of staying in these tins for only 3 months and they been staying there for 5-7 year. The worst thing is that some of them knew their houses and there are people who already staying in their RDP houses. The people who occupy their houses had bought their houses from the local Councillor and CLO (Community Liaison officer) of this development.

Click here to read an academic study on the River Side transit camp by Lenny Cohen.

eMatinini – Riverside Transit Camp

eMatinini – Place of Tin

The Provision of Public Housing in South Africa: The Impact and Effect of Transit Camps on Residents and its Place in the Provision of Housing

Click here to download this paper in pdf. Contact Lenny Cohen on +1 215 805 6908 or siphossibiya [at] gmail.com

Abstract

Development in South Africa encompasses many things, and housing is one of these aspects. Post-apartheid South Africa has set out to provide housing to all, it is even a constitutional right. However there have been many problems with housing development and delivery. Transit camps, which are meant to house informal shack-dwellers temporarily, are an example of housing innovation and development. Yet they simultaneously reflect the many problems within the process, and also represent the challenges South Africa is confronting as a whole, for comprehensive development and the progress of a new, more united nation.

To study transit camps and housing development, I looked into one transit camp specifically, in the municipality of eThekwini/Durban, nicknamed Ematinini, or ‘place of tin’. I spent a great deal of time at Ematinini, walking around the area and speaking with as many residents as I could. I conducted interviews (both formal and informal) with residents and municipal officials to collect information, which I added to my observations of the transit camp itself.

What I have found is that the transit camp of Ematinini is a place no one wants to live in because of the derelict conditions. The residents would rather be living in an informal shack than in this tin camp. Their stays have not turned out to be temporary, and they live with continual uncertainty as to when and where they will be moved, if at all. There is resentment amongst the residents towards the municipality and its officials because of the situation they find themselves in. They also believe that there is pervasive corruption in the government, which exacerbates tensions between the people and the municipality. I have found that the municipality largely sees itself as the source of legitimate knowledge and therefore developmental planning and action is fully controlled by them. This has caused the neglect of shack-dwellers and transit camp residents, who desperately want their voices heard and service delivery to occur fast and in a fair manner.

eMatinini – Place of Tin: A Study of a Transit Camp in Durban

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eMatinini – Place of Tin

The Provision of Public Housing in South Africa: The Impact and Effect of Transit Camps on Residents and its Place in the Provision of Housing

Click here to download this paper in pdf. Contact Lenny Cohen on +1 215 805 6908 or siphossibiya [at] gmail.com


The Riverside Transit Camp, Durban

Abstract

Development in South Africa encompasses many things, and housing is one of these aspects. Post-apartheid South Africa has set out to provide housing to all, it is even a constitutional right. However there have been many problems with housing development and delivery. Transit camps, which are meant to house informal shack-dwellers temporarily, are an example of housing innovation and development. Yet they simultaneously reflect the many problems within the process, and also represent the challenges South Africa is confronting as a whole, for comprehensive development and the progress of a new, more united nation.

To study transit camps and housing development, I looked into one transit camp specifically, in the municipality of eThekwini/Durban, nicknamed Ematinini, or ‘place of tin’. I spent a great deal of time at Ematinini, walking around the area and speaking with as many residents as I could. I conducted interviews (both formal and informal) with residents and municipal officials to collect information, which I added to my observations of the transit camp itself.

What I have found is that the transit camp of Ematinini is a place no one wants to live in because of the derelict conditions. The residents would rather be living in an informal shack than in this tin camp. Their stays have not turned out to be temporary, and they live with continual uncertainty as to when and where they will be moved, if at all. There is resentment amongst the residents towards the municipality and its officials because of the situation they find themselves in. They also believe that there is pervasive corruption in the government, which exacerbates tensions between the people and the municipality. I have found that the municipality largely sees itself as the source of legitimate knowledge and therefore developmental planning and action is fully controlled by them. This has caused the neglect of shack-dwellers and transit camp residents, who desperately want their voices heard and service delivery to occur fast and in a fair manner.