Cape Town - Women from various communities took their plight of being on the housing waiting list for too long to the streets of Cape Town on Monday, demanding both the province and national government fast-track the supply of housing to women.
On Monday, women from the West Coast, Central Karoo, Ceres, Stellenbosch, Blikkiesdorp, Kampies, Delft, Gugulethu, Kraaifontein, Franschhoek and the old Woodstock Hospital occupation held a demonstration at Parliament and the Provincial Legislature.
Wendy Pekeur, a member of the Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement, said: “We have been on the housing waiting list for many years and live in backyards and temporary relocation sites, often without proper sanitation.
“In many areas people are being evicted and displaced due to tariff hikes and are forced out of the homes they have lived in for many generations. People from farms are evicted without adequate alternative accommodation.”
Pekeur said women were often forgotten and landless.
Reclaim the City Woodstock Chapter leader Karen Hendricks said for years women had been fighting for land and housing,
“We know there are many plans but we know many of these housing plans are never implemented.”
#Womenshousingmarch they are here highlight the plight of women who are landless, dwellers on state land, who face evictions, backyard dwellers who are on waiting lists for ages and those who live at temporary relocation sites like Blikkiesdorp and Kampies. @IOL @TheCapeArgus pic.twitter.com/qWRU1zr56t
— Marvin Charles (@MarvinCharles_) November 30, 2020
#Womenshousingmarch Jo-Ann Cupido says they are broken hearted. @IOL @TheCapeArgus pic.twitter.com/hkIb2E9OQe
— Marvin Charles (@MarvinCharles_) November 30, 2020
Human Settlements Department spokesperson Muneera Allie said: “All allocations for housing assistance are done in accordance with the housing demand database, where qualifying beneficiaries are allocated either a serviced site or a housing unit.
“With over 600 000 citizens on the housing demand database, and with a less than R2 billion budget per annum, the department is only able to provide housing opportunities for approximately 18 000 people per year, and less when factoring in recent budget cuts.”
Cape Argus