Residents of Village Heights informal settlement, in Lavender Hill, want answers from the City of Cape Town about services and the promise of serviced plots.
In April, the same residents protested by setting tyres alight to show their discontent with the City, saying their pleas for better housing have been blatantly ignored by the City (“Protests after request for housing denied”, Southern Mail, April 25).
The community previously proposed that they be allowed to build brick houses at the settlement but this was denied.
Aysha Davids, chairperson of the Village Heights steering committee, said the community became irate when the Village Heights centre was built near the informal settlement four years ago, contradicting the City’s claim that brick structures could not be built at the location.
Ward councillor Gerry Gordon held a meeting with residents about possible reblocking at the settlement but residents refused this, opting for serviced plots instead.
Reblocking refers to the reconfiguration and repositioning of shacks in very dense informal settlements in line with a community-drafted spatial framework. The aim is to better use the spaces in informal settlements to allow for better installation of services and accessibility to service delivery.
When a plot is referred to as being “serviced”, it means the City has allocated space where water, electricity and ablution facilities are installed and residents build their own structures on the plots, with their own erf numbers.
This means residents will eventually be able to buy the title deeds from the City and own their homes.
Ms Davids said serviced plots will be a better option for the community because it will mean they will eventually be homeowners.
Ms Davids said there had been no further interaction with the City since the initial discussion about the serviced plots for the 296 structures.
“There has been no response from the City. The ward councillor has been promising a meeting with us with regards to the serviced plots, but nothing is being done to prove that they are in the process of making things happen for the community of Village Heights,” she said.
We have been fighting for serviced plots since Shaun August was the ward councillor. It has been years and we have still not gotten anywhere with our request,” she said.
Carol Hendricks has been living at the settlement since it was started 13 years ago.
“Promises have been made to us about these serviced plots and this created an expectation. The City leaves us distraught when they don’t deliver. We need clarity and a timeline. It’s only fair to let us know if the serviced plots are going to happen or not because now it feels like we are being ignored,” said Ms Hendricks.
She said residents were not able to upgrade their structures because they would eventually have to be redone if the plots were going to be serviced.
Farenaaz Naidu, who has also been living in the area for 13 years, said they are tired of their current living conditions.
“It’s not fair for the City to get our hopes up then not do what they said they were going to. We are human beings, we have to share toilets and taps that are outside and we are tired of living like this. We have been living here for 13 years and we need better services and the only way to do that would be to give us serviced plots,” said Ms Naidu.
When Southern Mail contacted the City of Cape Town’s media office, we were told that they they would respond when sub-council substructures had been engaged.
So, we asked Ms Gordon who assured us the City was serious about servicing plots for Village Heights residents. “As with many housing projects, there are many things that need to be done before spades touch the ground. We have had meetings with the community of Village Heights and explained that it is a process,” she said. Ms Gordon said all three spheres of government – national, provincial and local – had to be engaged before the project started.
“We have to apply and receive licences. We are still waiting on those. This makes it difficult for us to get a timeframe because it depends on external factors from the other spheres of government,” she said.
Ms Gordon said this week a meeting would be held with Village Heights residents and Xanthea Limberg, the City’s mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy, to discuss progress with the proposed serviced plots project.