Siyavuya Mzantsi
SEA POINT domestic workers say they have had enough of being “squashed” into the backyards of their employers, and living with rats and dogs.
On Thursday, which was the deadline for public submissions on the provincial government’s proposed sale of the Tafelberg site to the Phyllis Jowell Jewish Day School for R135 million, Reclaim the City led a protest march to the site.
The provincial government had agreed to open a public participation process and to await a decision by its executive on whether the land should be sold. This was in line with the settlement which was made a court order on May 5.
Reclaim the City, which wants affordable housing to be built on the site, collected more than 800 written submissions and 3 700 petition signatures from residents across the city objecting to the proposed sale.
Addressing a gathering outside Tafelberg, Sea Point domestic worker Elizabeth Gqoboka said some residents of the suburb thought nothing of the workers in the area.
“We want our own place with our families, and to live a happy life.”
Gqoboka said they had a right to affordable housing in Sea Point as they had been living in the area for many years.
“We are the people who have made Sea Point what it is today. But when you cannot work for them any more, they throw you out in the streets and then tell you that you’re a vagrant.
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Former Sea Point resident Lukhanyo Madyibi said he had lived in the area for more than 20 years before being evicted last year.
“My daughter was born here and attends Sea Point High School. But we were evicted from Sea Point, and all my belongings were put out in the road. We had to find an alternative place,” he said.
Other domestic workers were afraid to join the march because they feared being victimised by employers, said Madyibi. “We support what is happening here. It’s not only about Tafelberg. There is a lot more to come after Tafelberg.”
In a statement, Reclaim the City said black working-class members of the Sea Point community had spoken clearly and bravely about the pain of life under current conditions in their neighbourhood.
“They have described the traumatic lack of freedom while living under constant threat of victimisation by employers and landlords. Their voices and experiences are the foundation of the campaign,” said the organisation.