THE HIGHEST court in South Africa has ruled that the government can evict about 20,000 shack dwellers living in one of Cape Town’s oldest shanty towns to make way for the construction of a housing development.
The judgment brings to an end a four-year battle between the government’s housing ministry and the residents of the Joe Slovo settlement, who were unwilling to move because they believed the newly constructed homes would not be given to them.
The housing ministry had wanted shack dwellers, who occupy some 4,500 makeshift homes made from corrugated iron and wood, to temporarily move 25km outside of Cape Town to a new housing project in Delft.
But the Joe Slovo residents argued that the move would become permanent, and would lower their standard of living, as there were few work opportunities and public amenities in Delft.
In September 2007 residents clashed with police during anti-eviction protests in Joe Slovo, and some of the first formal houses to be constructed were damaged.
However, the unanimous ruling by the five judges of the constitutional court has been hailed as a victory for both sides because it states the residents must be consulted before the eviction takes place, and they must be given proper alternative housing.
The court also ruled that 70 per cent of the houses being built on site as part of “gateway project” must be allocated to former residents who apply for and qualify to live in the new homes.
Human settlements director general Itumeleng Kotsoane called the ruling “ground-breaking”, saying it allowed government to better plan and fast-track the building of integrated settlements across the country.
Government officials would work closely with evicted communities to ensure their new temporary homes had all the basic amenities, he added.
“As a government we must ensure that clinics and creches are there, children must go to school, and disruptions to people’s lives are minimised.”
It is estimated that more than four million people in South Africa live in squalid conditions in informal settlements across the country.
The N2 Gateway Project was launched in 2005 in response to the housing crisis by then housing minister Lindiwe Sisulu as a combined national, provincial and local government effort to reduce Cape Town’s housing backlog.
It was hoped that the project would act as a blueprint for slum eradication that could be rolled out across the country.