Corruption in the allocation of houses in eThekwini Municipality has been blamed as one of the causes of political violence.
The president of Abahlali BaseMjondolo Sbu Zikode said some of the killings and violence directed at members of the shackdwellers’ movement were as a result of the deserving being overlooked in favour of politically connected recipients.
Zikode was testifying on Thursday at the Moerane Commission of Inquiry which is probing political violence in KwaZulu-Natal.
At least five members of Abahlali have been killed since 2013, he said, adding that these murders were politically related.
In one instance, in September 2014, Thuli Ndlovu, an Abahlali activist in KwaNdengezi was killed in a hit ordered by ANC councillors Mduduzi Ngcobo and Velile Lutsheku. Both have been sentenced to life for murder.
Zikode said solving the problem would require government authorities to engage with the people living in informal settlements.
“The killing of Abahlali is not the solution… Buying Casspirs will not solve problems,” he said in reference to the four Casspirs recently bought by the eThekwini Municipality.
Moerane said Zikode was not the first person to raise the issue of Casspirs during the sittings. Zikode said eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede had made many unfulfilled promises.
“At one stage she said I should compile a list of 10 000 people who were to be given blankets but that never happened. Then she committed to improve working relations with Abahlali but that has never happened.”
Contacted for comment, Mthunzi Gumede, the mayor’s spokesperson, said the mayor was still committed to working with Abahlali.
“The mayor has not moved an inch from the commitments she made. In fact we are waiting for an opportunity to meet with Abahlali. The blankets were delivered and we have photos to prove that.”
Gumede refused to comment on information presented at the commission, saying the mayor welcomed the commission, and hoped that it would shed some light on some of the root causes of violence.
“We will only comment if we are called to testify, right now we want to respect the commission and allow it to do its work.”
Zikode told the commission he was living in fear having, in the past, been hounded by the police.
“I ask for protection because I know that today I will not sleep now that I have mentioned some people’s names.”
He said he believed that from time to time he has been put under “heavy surveillance”. “We now fear politicians,” he said.
Asked for comment on housing corruption, Cameron Brisbane of the Built Environment Support Group, a Pietermaritzburg NGO, said corruption was rife in housing because of the funds involved.
He said part of it happened in the procurement phase as companies try to get an advantage over competitors.
“When it comes to allocation of houses it is different because that is corruption of patronage as people decide who is put on the list and who isn’t.”
Brisbane said that while there was supposed to be a housing demand database managed by local municipalities, this was an impossible administrative task in cities like eThekwini, where housing demand was a constant moving target.