Residents of Endlovini burn a shack that was used to store portable toilets. Photo by Siyavuya Khaya.
17 November 2015
Tempers flared last night in Endlovini in Khayelitsha, with angry residents burning portable toilets and blockading the road in a protest over housing.
Residents say they are fed up with Ward 98 councillor Anele Gabuza and the City of Cape Town for empty promises. They claim that three years ago the councillor had promised they would be moved to vacant land nearby False Bay college campus, to make way for contractors to build streets and install toilets in Endlovini, but nothing had happened.
Resident Thembile Ntshangelo 54, said he had been living in the area for 20 years. The councillor had promised that houses and a resource centre would be built, but this had not been done and he had not explained why.
“The councillor has failed dismally to develop this area, even though each ward has a budget allocation. He must account to the residents for what he has done with this year’s budget,” he said.
Ntshangelo said the ward councillor had said the building of houses would take place next year January. “Is it because there are going to be elections?”
Another resident, Hassel Nelo, said the councillor had neglected the area. He said most of the communal toilets no longer worked and residents were forced to make use of a bush behind the houses. The safety of elderly people and women was at risk, he said.
“ What the councillor does is hand out blankets to residents in winter. He also does some annual farewell functions for senior citizens, whereas he is supposed to use that money towards developing this area,” said Nelo.
Nelo said some newly established communities like Izwezwe had made progress developing their areas and each household had a flush toilet. But Endlovini seemed to have been forgotten, he said. He urged residents not to take part in next year’s local elections if their demands had not been addressed properly.
Councillor Gabuza said Endlovini was in line for development. A public participation process had been held in August where residents had said what sort of houses they wanted built and he had taken the recommendations to the City Council, he said. He had been told to wait a period of three months for feedback. He said he would be at the Council tomorrow to receive feedback.
“Yes, people were supposed to be moved onto vacant land nearby False College campus making way for the contractors to build streets and toilets.
“But people of Litha Park community living opposite the land refused to allow people to move there, hence they have not been moved,” he said.
Gabuza said the promised resource centre was also in the pipeline.
He condemned the protests. If some residents were not satisfied with the speed of development they should engage in talks instead of burning things and barricading the road, he said.