Cape Town - Deputy president David Mabuza was glib about older District Six claimants who are in wheelchairs complaining about the stairs of their newly built houses in District Six, suggesting they should walk more.
In his capacity as the chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Land Reform and Agriculture, Mabuza conducted an oversight visit to the Phase 3 development site for the 108 claimants on New Hanover and Russel streets.
“I am told that as you age, you must try to walk more. This is going to be a good place to walk because it makes you fit.
“So let’s not complain about what is here; this is fit for us. I am quite impressed about the progress. Yes, there are delays along the way that can be accounted for.
“Let’s accept those delays, but let’s look at a way forward and improve the way we do our business and move a bit faster,” he said.
Mabuza committed to returning at the end of June to check on progress. He affirmed that all 954 units would be built within three years.
Addressing the deputy president and ministers present, an emotional claimant, Juleiga Cooper, said: “My son had to carry me up the road now because I cannot walk up the hill. But the thing is, I have been waiting for 25 years now, waiting to come home.
“Why must we wait so long? I have been sick for three months. I got out of my sick bed to be here. I would like to go back to where I was born.”
District Six Civic Association chairperson Asa Salie said some units were not conducive for the elderly as they were allocated units on the third floor.
“Ten years ago, 2012/2013, another group of us moved in, and now it’s 2022, and now 108. How long are we going to wait for the next lot of people,” he asked.
Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza said the department worked with the claimants at every step of the process.
“And even on the allocation, the government did not do it alone. We worked with the District Six Reference Group in terms of that allocation,” he said.
The visit came at the request of Al Jama-ah Party leader Ganief Hendricks, who was present.
He said he explained to Mabuza that the residents who were forcibly removed from District Six and whose houses were demolished, needed reparation.
“The reparations given to them is this 42 hectares of land. We didn’t have 42 hectares of land; we had 90 hectares of land, and some of the land, according to Anwah Nagia, was stolen, such as the Technikon,” Hendricks said.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis confirmed that delays caused by the non-issuance of occupation certificates due to safety concerns related to the hand railings and balustrades had been resolved.
He said the City was prevented by the court in terms of the Disaster Management Regulations from removing a group who had settled nearby on land meant for claimants.
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille said the delays were inexcusable.