Statement issued by the Department of Housing

N2 GATEWAY: FURTHER DELAYS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED

The Department of Housing regrets the disruptive and violent actions of protesting residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Cape Town today.

The Joe Slovo settlement is one of the construction sites for the N2 Gateway Pilot Project, the national housing experiment set up to test the efficacy of government’s integrated housing policy.

The protestors today rejected the integration of fully subsidised homes with rental and bonded units, and demanded the construction of one-size-fits-all RDP housing.

In addition, they rejected their temporary relocation to Delft to allow the development of Joe Slovo to proceed, and demanded the in situ upgrade of Joe Slovo.

Their violent protest followed exhaustive consultations with the community by, among others, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Housing, MEC Richard Dyantyi, councilors and project developers, Thubelisha.

The purpose of the community consultation was precisely to explain to residents the processes that must be followed in order to qualify for

housing, and that they would have to relocate to temporary accommodation in Delft in order for Joe Slovo to be developed.

It was explained that an in situ upgrade of Joe Slovo was impossible because the land required extensive rehabilitation after being used for decades as a dump site.

Some residents of temporary accommodation in Delft would move back to Joe Slovo after its development, while others would be allocated completed homes in Delft.

The violence that erupted today was therefore unwarranted, intolerable and avoidable. Government cannot allow Cape Town’s housing crisis to be manipulated by opportunistic individuals and/or politicians.

The N2 Gateway Pilot Project cannot afford further delays.

In order to avoid a repetition of today's lawlessness the following measures are being put in place:

1.  The police and NPA have been encouraged to maintain law and order by bringing charges against the perpetrators.

2.  Government will use all legal instruments at its disposal to ensure the development of Joe Slovo proceeds without further hindrance.

3.  The names of identified perpetrators of violence will be removed from housing waiting lists.

For further information please contact Mr Monwabisi Maclean of the

Department of Housing on 082 8822 962.

Ends