Khayelitsha families relocated at last after weather delays and protests
The City of Cape Town says it moved about 1,000 families from a flood-prone area for their safety
Vosho residents protested, blocking Mew Way drive in Khayelitsha earlier this week to demand they be moved immediately. By Friday morning, all of the remaining families were relocated by the City of Cape Town. Photo: Vincent Lali
Inclement weather had been delaying the relocation of dozens of families from Vosho informal settlement in Khayelitsha to serviced sites in Enkanini, says the City of Cape Town.
Earlier this week, the left behind residents protested, blocking the busy Mew Way drive to demand they be moved immediately. Officials started moving the residents on 2 May but had to stop on 4 May due to bad weather to avoid damage to property and belongings, the City said.
About a dozen of the nearly 1,000 families were yet to be moved. By Friday morning, community leaders confirmed to GroundUp that all of the remaining families had been relocated.
The families were relocated from the flood-prone area as part of an upgrade project. The land opposite Baden Powell is also earmarked for a formal human settlement development.
On Wednesday, Mzwakhe Matshoba, a member of the project steering committee, told GroundUp that residents were eager to leave Vosho because of poor living conditions and crime.
“They have no access to basic services here, so they are eyeing access to water taps and toilets at the new site,” he said. “When they go to work in the mornings, thugs break into their shacks and steal their belongings.”
Matshoba said that some of the families who had dismantled their shacks in order to move were left sleeping outside in the cold. “They are cold and their building materials are scattered outside and exposed to the rain. They don’t have money to buy materials to rebuild their shacks,” he said.
Resident Sibongiseni Ntuli said he had dismantled his shack expecting to be part of the next group to be moved on Tuesday. “I took a day off work so I can relocate,” he said.
Ntuli, who works as a general worker in Killarney, said: “I want to leave because I have been a crime victim. Last Friday thugs broke into my shack and stole my cellphone, laptop and food.”
Mayco member for human settlements Carl Pophaim said, “The Vosho relocation residents were relocated for their safety and will form part of an upgrade project in the Khayelitsha area. Importantly, the site is not located on the beach but forms part of the broader Vosho relocation and upgrade project.”
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