Landless demand expropriation of land for housing
On Human Rights Day, communities from informal settlements in Cape Town marched for land for housing.
Informal settlement
Court rules in favour of residents in RDP housing allocation case
The Pietermaritzburg High Court ruled in favour of residents of Endumeni in Northern KwaZulu-Natal who have been waiting for nearly two decades to receive RDP houses. The court found the conduct of the municipality was unconstitutional.
Blame game between levels of government leave the poor without services
Colchester in the Eastern Cape is a true reflection of South Africa. You have the rich living in townhouses and not so far you have Endlovini Informal Settlement that has poor services because political parties are busy politicking.
Mdantsane councillor allegedly sold RDP houses
Four years on, after the project to build houses started at Unit P township in Mdantsane, residents still label the RDP housing development as a “project of corruption”.
Disabled woman lives in a flooded house
“Now we like animals because we do not know where we belong. How can we live like foreigners in our country? We do not have a councillor here because of this situation. Service delivery is very bad here”
Unfinished RDP houses leave a woman homeless
Residents of Ducats near East London in the Eastern Cape spent many years living in the shacks. In 2003, they were very happy when they were told that a construction company had been hired to build RDP houses for them. 625 Houses were supposed to be built in this township. But the houses for 64 families did not materialise. 42 houses were left unfinished and 22 houses have never been built at all.
Toilet cleaners work under poor working conditions
Toilet cleaners in East London are complaining about bad working conditions. Working under the Expanded Public Works Programme, the cleaners, the majority of them women, say they do not get protective gear and sometimes have to buy cleaning materials themselves. Some work without an uniform.
Three years without electricity for Duncan Village residents
It might be 23 years after the dawn of democracy in South Africa, but there are some communities that still do not have basic services like electricity and sanitation provided by the government. C-Section in Duncan Village in East London, is just one of many cases.
Buffalo City residents not all happy with mayor’s report
Residents of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality use the Mayor’s report back to lash out at the City for lack of service delivery, especially in informal settlements.
Residents march over policing in Marikana Informal settlement
Following the senseless murder of 11 people last weekend, the residents of Marikana informal settlement with the Social Justice Coalition marched in Cape Town and handed memorandums to the City of Cape Town, SAPS, IPID, the Department of Community Safety and the Police Ombudsman, demanding better policing and services to the area.
Mbalula promises action from new Station Commander in Phillipi East
After the mass killings in Marikana informal settlement, Cape Town, on the weekend that took 11 lives, the full force of ministerial bluster descended on the area to try reassure a community in shock. Police Minister, Fikile Mbalula, continued with his tough talk as he presented a new Station Commander for the Philippi East Police Station.
Informal settlements only use 4% of municipal water
Throughout the water restrictions in Cape Town there has been a narrative that accusses the black working class in townships of wasting municipal water. The accusations have gotten worse after the City of Cape Town introduced level 5 water restrictions which entail a ban on all uses of municipal drinking-quality water for outside and non-essential purposes. Out on fact-finding mission, Elitsha found out that people in informal settlements only use up to 4% of total of municipal water.
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