Cape Town - After issuing eviction notices to residents illegally occupying its rental units last month, the City is now in the process of identifying the illegal occupiers.
Following a meeting between human settlements Mayco member Malusi Booi and residents of Bishop Lavis and Manenberg, who were served with eviction notices, the City said 1 113 cases are being reviewed, with an estimated 222 identified for regularisation.
The City issued 285 notices to residents allegedly illegally occupying its rental units in Manenberg, Macassar, Bishop Lavis, Valhalla Park, Uitsig and other areas.
Gatto (formerly Mario Wanza), the administrator of the group called Tjatjies Samekoms, said 43 of 58 cases in Manenberg have been regularised, while in Bishop Lavis, only 12 of 27 cases.
“While the City apologised for bad treatment by staff of the people, it however failed to apologise for the trauma it caused in the community through using law enforcement.
“The reason the City is using law enforcement, we are told, is to protect the staff issuing the notices, which the communities view as unnecessary as it would be better to work with the communities.
“The City confirmed that it is not their intention to evict anyone, but doesn’t want to commit to withdrawing the notice. However, the communities reminded the City that the eviction notices are invalid and unlawful,” he said.
Bishop Lavis Action Community spokesperson Amanda Davids said the social movement would support residents in their struggle to resist the inhumane evictions orchestrated by the City.
“These remnants of an apartheid government continue to terrorise poor working-class communities, especially now in the middle of winter. They have conveniently forgotten that millions have lost their jobs even before the pandemic and many failed to recover after.
“Even more worrisome is the fact that our country is plagued by a crisis-ridden housing shortage. Instead of building more houses, the City of Cape Town chooses to evict the poor. They are worsening the problem,” she said.
Booi said every effort was made to consider those found in unlawful occupation of a City unit for regularisation, against the set criteria in terms of the City’s reviewed allocation policy. A notice to vacate a unit was a last resort and was only served once all options had been explored and applied.
He said the unlawful occupation of its rental units takes away opportunities from the rightful and registered applicants who patiently await their turn to be assisted with rental housing.
He said illegal occupation increased the risks of crime, gangsterism and drug peddling, as the unlawful occupants were not vetted by the City.