Housing

Elderly should get houses first, Mfuleni residents tell government

Residents of Garden City in Mfuleni braved chilly weather on Tuesday evening to voice their demands about housing to provincial government representatives.

Siyavuya Khaya

News | 11 November 2015

Mother and child die in fire, and government has no answers

About three hundred people from in and around QQ community, Khayelitsha, gathered at Matthew Goniwe Memorial High School for the memorial service of Zuziwe Ngcibi and her grade 12 daughter, Zikhona, who died in the early hours of 19 October in a fire that hit six homes in the informal settlement. The family could not escape as the blaze came through the only door.

Bernard Chiguvare

News | 6 November 2015

No more segregation say District Six’s oldest evictees

Lead by two of District Six’s oldest surviving evictees, communities from across the Cape Flats marched on the mayor’s offices on Wednesday. They demanded a dignified return to the city for families forcibly removed during apartheid.

Daneel Knoetze

News | 5 November 2015

“If I move out, where will I go?,

Residents of houses on a state farm in Stellenbosch will hear next year whether the Western Cape High Court will grant the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works an order to evict them.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 3 November 2015

Land conference hears stories of hope and despair

Communities struggling for adequate housing should do their own surveys of what they need, members of various communities told the land justice conference in Cape Town on 13 October.

Barbara Maregele and Ashleigh Furlong

News | 14 October 2015

Use the law, not violence, say activists at land conference

People facing eviction needed knowledge of the laws and their rights, a member of the South Road community told the urban land justice colloquium on 13 October.

Barbara Maregele and Ashleigh Furlong

News | 14 October 2015

“A struggling old lady who sleeps like a bird,

Grace Mkhize, 78, lives with three orphaned granddaughters and their three children in a mud house in Willowfontein, Pietermaritzburg. For seven years she has been waiting for a new house.

Ntombi Mbomvu

News | 13 October 2015

Bonteheuwel backyarder eager for City services

Bonteheuwel resident Qasin Khan and his family have been living in a small informal home in his mother's backyard for nearly 10 years.

Barbara Maregele

News | 12 October 2015

Fire victim’s never-ending wait for a home

Bulelwa Vianne lost her parents, her sister and her brother-in-law in a fire in 2008. She was 18. Local officials promised to rebuild her home. They haven’t kept that promise.

Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik

News | 12 October 2015

Aerial photos disputed in Hangberg case

In the case against Hangberg resident, Santonio Jonkers, state witness David Nortje told the court on Tuesday that he personally issued Jonkers with a notice of eviction in September 2011.

Barbara Maregele

News | 7 October 2015

Bonteheuwel residents and Mayor De Lille trade accusations

Some Bonteheuwel residents who attended a public meeting addressed by Cape Town Mayor Patricia De Lille last night allege she told them to "voetsek" and other insults. The meeting descended into chaos at one point, and the versions of what happened that have been published by the mayor and a residents' group contradict each other.

GroundUp Staff and Bernard Chiguvare

News | 2 October 2015

Sewage-covered field causes huge stink for Witsand residents

Witsand residents who live near an open field situated behind the township woke up to the “unbearable smell” of stagnant sewage water on Friday 25 September.

Barbara Maregele

News | 1 October 2015

Wolwerivier gets its first taste of violence

It was a weekend of flaring emotions and violence at Wolwerivier relocation area. On Friday, residents protested against the City’s relocation of strangers into empty units sought by the community to alleviate the overcrowding at the settlement. Rubber bullets were fired into crowds containing mostly women and children. People were arrested and beaten when they refused to disperse.

Daneel Knoetze

Feature | 21 September 2015

We’re all scared, say Blikkiesdorp residents

Blikkiesdorp residents are calling for better policing after a spike in crime in the area. Seven families have already been moved to Wolwerivier at their request by the City of Cape Town.

Barbara Maregele

News | 21 September 2015

Battle over Mfuleni housing sites

The drawn out struggle for serviced sites in Ward 108 in Bardale, Mfuleni, has led to allegations of mismanagement and corruption. These allegations emerged following the removal of 45 illegally erected structures in the area on Monday by the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU). Stones were thrown and rubber bullets fired. About 16 people were arrested.

Ashleigh Furlong

News | 17 September 2015

We’ll keep fighting, say Port Elizabeth protesters

Angry residents of an informal settlement in Port Elizabeth who took to the streets on Monday have vowed to continue with their protests until they are moved to better housing nearby.

Joseph Chirume

News | 16 September 2015