16 October 2024
Ally Al-Habsy was one of 38 people whose homes on the Cape Town Foreshore were demolished by PRASA in August. Archive photo: Steve Kretzmann
The Passenger Rail Agency of South (PRASA) has finally complied with an order by the High Court, compelling it to return building materials belonging to people sleeping on Transnet-owned land on Cape Town’s Foreshore.
In a joint operation in August, PRASA attempted to evict about 38 people from the land off Marine Drive. The group remained at the site, but their shelters were dismantled and confiscated. The group has been fighting this in court, assisted by housing activists Ndifuna Ukwazi.
During a court hearing in September, Judge Tandazwa Ndita gave PRASA 24 hours to return the group’s belongings and build “temporary habitable dwellings that afford shelter, privacy and amenities at least equivalent to those that were destroyed”.
PRASA did not immediately comply and instead filed papers opposing Ndita’s order, but eventually abandoned its bid.
The group’s belongings were eventually returned but some of the items were badly damaged and unusable.
One of the people living at the site, Juma Msomali, said, “They came here with a truck and offloaded broken planks and torn plastic bags. We cannot reuse them,”
Jonty Cogger, an attorney at Ndifuna Ukwazi, said the court order was clear. “PRASA was instructed to return the evictees’ materials and reconstruct their temporary shelters within 24 hours.”
“While PRASA did partially comply by returning some of the materials, they have yet to fulfil the critical part of the order—to reconstruct the shelters,” he said.
Cogger added that PRASA’s response was “in bad faith” and showed a blatant contempt for the courts. “Failing to act while people are left without shelter is a violation of their dignity and a disregard for the law,” said Cogger. He said PRASA’s conduct was “a failure of both accountability and basic humanity”.
Zithobile Fusa, of PRASA’s Western Cape Protection Services, said that PRASA had returned the group’s belongings, including building materials, on 17 September. “It was the wish of the residents to rebuild their structures,” Fusa said.
No complaints about the group’s belongings had been received by PRASA, Fusa said. The families were urged to register any concern with PRASA.