Cape Town - Former mayor Patricia De Lille arrived at court on Monday to support Hout Bay residents who are in a dispute with the City of Cape Town.
She said she has been in frequent contact with the residents since the start of the dispute.“I am just here in support of the residents because I am curious to see how this will turn out,” she said. On Monday, the Western Cape High Court heard an application brought forward by the City to evict residents of Imizamo Yethu Settlement in Hout Bay in a bid to design and implement a super-blocking project.
Tensions in Hout Bay have simmered since a fire destroyed much of the informal settlement in March last year. Residents have been waiting for a year for their homes to be rebuilt.
In September, the City told the provincial standing committee on human settlements that the City had not spent its allocated budget for Imizamo Yethu informal settlement in Hout Bay.
As part of the super-blocking project it includes widening roads between rows of shacks to allow emergency vehicles to pass through. In court papers the legal representatives for the residents, who are on the verge of being evicted, said the alternative accommodation which the City proposes to provide does not comply with the guidelines on minimum product performance requirements and specifications for temporary shelters.
“After the fire there was a meeting with residents, but the City’s representatives did not have a plan. They said fire victims would be accommodated in the community hall and in tents in the interim. The residents' legal representatives want the City to provide alternative accommodation in the interim.
The case has been postponed until March next year.
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