Cape Town – Backyarders from Joe Slovo who were stopped in their tracks when they tried to erect shacks on vacant land in Phoenix this week, say they tried to do so because they had not been able to pay rent since the lockdown.
They say their landlords have continued to collect rent even though they have not worked for months.
Their plans to erect shacks on Monday were halted when law enforcement officials confiscated their building materials.
A resident, who did not want to be named for fear of being victimised, said they had no problem paying rent before lockdown because they had jobs.
But since the lockdown many of them had been unemployed.
The resident said things had been hard on them and they were struggling to even put food on the table.
“The most painful part of all of this is that we have children whom we can’t even feed. On the other hand the landlord comes knocking for rent money that we don’t have,” said the resident.
Ward councillor Wandisile Ngeyi said he was aware that land invasions had been planned.
“I have been trying to resolve this matter before it even got to this point. I tried making them aware that land invasions are illegal.
“The people must understand that such things need to be communicated through the correct channels, and must not be done in anger.
“That land doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to those above me and I can’t make decisions about it,” he said.
He said he understood their plight and would continue trying to engage them because he wanted to build the community and move it forward.
Mayco member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi said that under lockdown provisions, “tenants” could not be directly or tacitly evicted because this would be against the Covid-19 regulations.
“No evictions in terms of the law governing evictions by landlords are allowed under the regulations,” he said.
He added that the residents should lodge a complaint against those who had evicted them.
“The City condemns land invasions on both private and City-owned property because these actions are illegal and consequently affect service delivery to other residents.
“The City acts to prevent illegal land invasions. They are against the law and pose great fire, safety, health and flood risks.
“Having various new settlements forming in an unplanned manner poses a risk to the City’s informal settlements Covid-19 response.”