Vandals delay urgent Khayelitsha sewerage maintenance

Temporary housing units meant for relocated families were vandalised by Khayelitsha residents on Friday morning. Photo: Vincent Lali

• A main sewer line in Khayelitsha needs urgent maintenance, but dozens of families live in shacks built above the line, blocking access.
• The City of Cape Town is relocating families to temporary accommodation built in Green Point, Khayelitsha.
• But unhappy Green Point residents destroyed and vandalised about 40 temporary homes early on Friday morning before relocated families could move in.
• Remaining residents of the informal settlements above the sewer line complain that the accommodation offered by the City is too small to meet their needs.

Efforts to relocate Khayelitsha residents living in shacks on sewer pipes in need of urgent maintenance have been curbed.

Dozens of temporary structures erected by the City of Cape Town in Green Point, Khayelitsha, were destroyed or vandalised by residents last week before relocated families could move in on Saturday.

Families are being relocated from SST (in Town Two) and Lansdowne Road informal settlements, both of which are situated on top of a main sewer line that requires urgent maintenance.

Collapsed pipes in October, November, and December caused raw sewage to flood the streets in and around the settlements. Large sinkholes formed under some shacks, swallowing furniture and the shacks themselves. On Monday, sewage was still gushing from manholes in Lansdowne Road and Town Two.

Raw sewage dams up in the Lansdowne Road informal settlement. Sewage has been overflowing since the end of November. To solve the problem, the City needs access to the main sewer line, but dozens of shacks have been built above it, blocking access. Photo: Vincent Lali

Previous attempts two years ago to relocate families living above the sewage pipes were also blocked by residents.

40 families in the SST settlement have already been relocated, but 33 families remain on site, the City said in a statement on Monday. Eight families from the Lansdowne Road informal settlement were to be moved to the temporary structures on Saturday.

But in the early hours of Friday morning, 27 temporary units were “stolen”, and 13 were vandalised, according to the City’s statement. Additional security has since been deployed, and the City will rebuild the units.

Mzikazi Twani, who moved from SST informal settlement to one of the temporary units in Green Point two weeks ago, said the incident left her traumatised. “Fear kept us awake all night,” she said.

She says Green Point residents removed a fence on Thursday night and returned at 2am on Friday with crowbars and hammers to dismantle the temporary structures. Twani’s house was left alone, but residents told her they did not want her to stay there. “When I tried to video them, they threatened to shoot me,” she said.

GroundUp spoke to several Green Point residents who say they were not sufficiently consulted about the relocation. Resident Makhosandile Maqhashu said the land could rather be used for Green Point residents who stay in flood-prone areas.

Other residents are concerned that the temporary houses would block access for emergency services. Community leader Nosintu Nxokela said Green Point residents want a written document specifying how long the relocated residents would stay in the temporary houses.

Western Cape police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said a case of public violence is under investigation.

An example of a sinkhole that opened up under homes in SST informal settlement in October. Archive photo: Vincent Lali

Some residents of SST informal settlement are refusing to vacate their homes. Mlandeli Songelwa, who stays with three children and three adults in a four-roomed shack, said the temporary houses offered by the City are too small for his needs.

”I do want to relocate to the temporary house, but it is too small to accommodate a family of seven along with furniture,” he said. The temporary unit is a one-roomed corrugated iron structure. There will be no space to wash in private, said Songelwa.

The City said in a statement that engagement with the remaining families in the SST informal settlement is ongoing.

Several people living in the Lansdowne Road informal settlement complain that their belongings were taken when the City demolished shacks two weeks ago. Yandiswa Nokhangela said her gas stove is gone. She says the materials of the shack itself could have been reused.

Nosiviwe Matomela, another resident, said there was no prior warning before the shacks were demolished. Her home and furniture are all gone.

The City did not respond to questions about these complaints.

Mzikazi Twani used to live in this double-storey shack in SST informal settlement before being relocated to a one-bedroomed temporary housing unit in Green Point, Khayelitsha. Photo: Vincent Lali

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