Cape Town - The 50 families who were evicted from the Klein Akker farm in Kraaifontein in August last year claim they have been forgotten and are dying without water, food or electricity.
The group of about 300 people were moved to the Mesco farm last year after the farm they had been living on was sold.
After the families had slept on the side of the road for a few days, Deputy Minister of Rural Development Mcebisi Skwatsha intervened and they were relocated to Mesco, an abandoned state-owned farm just off the Stellenbosch Arterial Road.
One of the members of the group, Dorothea Ferns, told Weekend Argus she and her family and many other families had lived on the Klein Akker farm for the past 20 years and rented a stable for R100 per month from the previous owner.
“We lived where horses lived. We were literally eaten alive by fleas. When they moved us, they said we would have all the facilities we needed, but this was a lie,” she said.
Ferns added that when the families were moved, they were provided with tanks filled with water, portable loos and even food. City of Cape Town and the Stellenbosch Municipality also provided services to the displaced families, but according to Ferns “everyone” has now forgotten about them.
Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
The 57-year-old mother of two sons, one of whom has cancer, lives with her sister, brother-in-law and two brothers in a tent.
“The water has long since run dry. The charities no longer come to bring food. We were hungry over Christmas and New Year. You should have seen what it was like for the families here over the festive season. When it rains we are soaked; when the wind blows, we are almost blown away ourselves,” she said.
Ferns, who is a recipient of a government grant, said many of the families were living “inhumanely”.
SA Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said he last visited the area in November and the government could not allow the families to live in “those conditions” for much longer.
Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
Nissen identified Fisantekraal as the best place to move the displaced families to and called for judges and courts to get involved.
“We also cannot move these families to Blikkiesdorp. Blikkiesdorp is a nightmare with the gangs and crime,” said Nissen.
He added that when displaced families were moved to an already overburdened area, it caused friction between the old residents and the new ones and that this needed to be considered when moving the Klein Akker families.
Meanwhile, mayoral committee member for human settlements Malusi Booi said the matter of the Klein Akker families was before court on December 12 and was postponed to March 25.
Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
“It was ordered that the intergovernmental relations and engagements, including the involvement of the applicants and occupiers, will continue until February 14, 2020. The parties are to file further affidavits on the outcome of the engagements should the matter not be resolved. As the accommodation is in Stellenbosch, it is not part of the City of Cape Town’s borders. It falls within the ambit of the national government and the Stellenbosch municipality,” said Booi.
Attempts by Weekend Argus to get comment from the Stellenbosch Municipality were unsuccessful by the time of publication.