CAPE TOWN - Woodstock residents living on land earmarked for social housing are refusing to move unless the City of Cape Town guarantees them houses in the area they have called home for more than 20 years.
Quinton Moos, who lives in Pine Road, said they had a meeting with officials from the City of Cape Town.
“They said they want to move us to the Buriel Hostel in Woodstock temporarily. Among the 27 families that are staying here, some have previously been removed from District Six. They said they will be building social housing on this piece of land. But what guarantee do we have that we will qualify for those houses? Most of the people who live here do not work. For 23 years we have been living here without electricity, making our food on fires and not been able to watch television. And no one bothered to install electricity and now they are promising us housing. We don’t trust them,” Moos said.
Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport and urban renewal, announced recently that the City is planning to build houses in Salt River and Woodstock.
Shane van der Mescht of Reclaim the City said they welcomed transitional housing, “but people who have been evicted need to be engaged.”