Malusi Booi, Mayco Member for Human Settlements, listens to Fisantekraal residents outside the Civic Centre in Cape Town. Photo: Vincent Lali
16 May 2019
Angry Fisantekraal residents marched to Cape Town Civic Centre on Tuesday. They are unsatisfied with the quality of the RDP houses in their neighbourhood, and want the City to allow them to choose their RDP houses.
Sakhuluntu Housing Assembly organised the march. The protesters want the Public Protector to intervene in the dispute.
The current housing project in Fisantekraal has seen the development of several hundred semi-detached homes since 2015.
“The residents don’t want the semi-detached houses, but they moved in because they are tired of staying in shacks,” said Happy Molose of the Sakhuluntu Housing Assembly.
He said officials from the current project made presentations to the residents in 2015, and asked what kind of houses they wanted. The residents made it clear they wanted free-standing ones, said Molose, but the “City ignored our preference and imposed semi-detached houses on us”.
“The semi-detached houses allow rain water to seep in through the walls. Their roofs also let in water between the corrugated iron,” said Molose.
The residents also marched to the Public Protector’s office in Cape Town, demanding that order the City to allow them to choose the kind of houses they want and give them a serviced site.
Molose said they had a meeting at the Public Protector’s office in August. City official were there and commitments were made.
But protesters expressed unhappiness with progress from the Public Protector, and this is why they marched on her office.
Sune Griessel, a provincial representative for the Public Protector, received a memorandum from the marchers. Her office had arranged about five meetings with the residents and City officials, she said.
“We are trying to restore trust and communication between the City and the community. We will ask the Public Protector to continue with the process and get more involved,” said Griessel.
“They say we are too soft with the municipality, but I don’t think so,” she told GroundUp.
Mayco Member for Human Settlements Malusi Booi said he has received the memorandum and the City would respond to it in due course.