By Nomangesi Mbiza
Squatters who have erected shacks on the pavement of a Delft street have vowed not to move, despite threats of a court order by the City of Cape Town.
This follows reports that the city was seeking a court order to remove them from the pavement along Symphony Way.
The 141 families were among hundreds of people who in December invaded N2 Gateway houses from which they were later evicted under a court order.
The residents said the housing department had lied to them in February when they were forced to move out of the N2 Gateway houses.
"They even told us to keep house numbers because they promised we would go back, but other people are in those houses now," said Hilda Witbooi. If anyone came along to destroy their shacks, she said, they would be "starting a war".
Another pavement resident, Mark Andrews, said the temporary houses provided by the city, also in Symphony Way, were cold because they had no ceilings. However, he would have no alterative, should the city go ahead with its plans to move them by force.
Rodney Fester, another resident, said his concern was that "temporary accommodation" had the tendency to become a "permanent arrangement".
The Anti-Eviction Campaign's Jane Roberts said the city was using the temporary accommodation to "dump people". At the time of going to press, the city had not replied to questions from Cape Argus.