Cape Town - The development of land along the R27 near Blouberg on the West Coast has raised the ire of Table View residents and that of informal dwellers illegally occupying the site.
News of a public meeting being held on Monday, organised by the City of Cape Town’s human settlements directorate, to discuss the “status” of Erf 1117, has fuelled speculation that a housing development referred to in a 2013 presentation by the Western Cape department of Human Settlements, could be on the city’s housing agenda.
Des Palm, of the Table View Residents’ Association, said: “The concerns of the residents are quite clear – the area can’t cope with any additional infrastructural demands and, as law enforcement is seriously lacking in the area, the City of Cape Town is in no position to guarantee the ability to cope with the added security and social burden.
The erf, known as “Happy Valley”, is currently occupied by a “handful” of informal dwellers and has long been a sore point for residents in the area.
The informal dwellers have threatened protest action if they are not relocated to brick houses with proper sanitation and electricity.
The 34 corrugated iron structures making up the settlement are surrounded by sand dunes and hectares of vegetation which are said to be used as a dumping ground for human waste generated by the Happy Valley residents.
Residents said health risks arise when people like themselves are treated like animals and neglected by the city, which has made “endless promises”.
They said they put in multiple requests for intervention by the city, some dating back more than six years.
Community leader Michael Bodkin indicated that Ward 23 councillor Nora Grose had not invited the Happy Valley residents to any public meetings. This, he said, only emphasises the “point that the community is being treated like outcasts”.
“Here are toilet structures, they are not finished. Yet, we have to use a toilet. Last week it was raining, and we had to go out with sheets of plastic and umbrellas to cover ourselves with when we did our business in the bushes. We are not animals, why are we still being treated as such?”
He insisted that the city must only relocate residents if “real brick houses” could be provided with proper sanitation, electricity and running water.
“This causes health issues in the community and especially with the kids. In the summer, when it’s hot and we do our business in the field, what then?
“That smell comes over here. We can’t get rid of it. There are no toilets. We have been asking for services for years now.”
In light of the residents’ possible relocation, they have indicated they will protest on July 24 if their requests for proper housing are not met. A resident said: “We will protest if they don’t give us real houses that offer real services. I have four kids; I want to raise them in a proper home, not in the bush like animals.”
The residents and ratepayers of the greater Table View area, including Blouberg and Parklands, had petitioned city manager Achmat Ebrahim last year to remove the squatters.
They complained that the lack of sanitation and refuse-removal services for the erf posed a health risk.
But now residents are concerned that a massive, high-density RDP residential development – of about 14 000 units – will place a strain on the West Coast’s services, especially transport and utility services.
As one resident commented on the Table View Facebook page: “That’s crazy... We definitely do not want that.
“One could only imagine the impact to traffic, crime and property values. What is current Blouberg standard for units per hectare?”
According to the notice posted on the Facebook pages of affected residents’ associations, Erf 1117 belonged to the Department of Public Works and was earmarked for human settlement in 2011.
In an “informal settlements status” presentation, dated 2013, the Western Cape Human Settlements department said the property had been valuated and a development plan had been forwarded to the Department of Public Works.
The “submission relating to the release of this property awaited ministerial approval”, the document noted.
Palm said he was told by councillors that this proposal had been scrapped and that this was an outdated document.
However, there are rumours that the city has bought the land with the intention of using it for housing.
Benedicta Van Minnen, mayoral committee member for Human Settlements, said: “The land in question belongs to the national Department of Public Works. All questions pertaining to this land must be directed to the landowner.”
Byron la Hoe, spokesman for the provincial Department of Public Works, said Erf 1117 was an unregistered subdivision of Erf 268. “The whole of 268, including Erf 117, is managed by Cape Nature as a proclaimed nature reserve.”
However, the land is owned by the national Department of Public Works, he said.
Repeated attempts to obtain comment from the national department proved unsuccessful.
Western Cape Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela told CapeTalk last week that the land had been identified by the city as suitable for “broader development”.
He said there would be an engagement with the community before any development took place.
The public meeting on Monday would provide background about the ownership of the land and the city and province’s plans to use it for mixed-income housing.
Palm said the city had subsequently indicated that Monday’s meeting was about the relocation of the Happy Valley residents living illegally on the site, as well as the status of the land between West Beach and Atlantic Beach which is owned by the national government.
Cape Argus