Cape Town – Nearly 200 people have been left destitute and with no solution on where to go after an eviction order for the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged (CPOA) was upheld.
The group of backyard dwellers and homeless people evicted from Arcadia Place in Observatory had turned to the Western Cape High Court on October 3 for an interdict to stop the evictions.
One of the evictees, speaking on condition of anonymity, said their bid to stop the eviction had failed last week.
“We have since been sleeping on the street every night since Wednesday. All our stuff has been on the sidewalk and we have had to rely on the goodwill of Good Samaritans who help with food while we have to wash at nearby toilets in the shopping centre,” she said.
The residents were ordered to vacate the building of the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged earlier this year to make way for a new old-age home to be built.
The organisation’s spokesperson, Sandi Gelderbloem, said the land was subdivided between a private developer and the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged.
“Half the site has been sold to a developer for an extension of the existing Pick n Pay; above this extension, the apartments will be built that are also intended for social housing.
“On the remaining part of the land, CPOA will rebuild Arcadia in order to accommodate the previous residents and to provide welfare retirement to additional needy aged persons,” said Gelderbloem.