Klapmuts shacks demolished
2009-05-21
Sieb Sieberhagen
SOME residents of the Mandela City informal settlement in Klapmuts were hard hit last Wednesday when the Stellenbosch Municipality demolished their newly erected shacks just before a heavy storm hit the Cape. The shacks were erected without having obtained approval from the municipality a spokesperson of Stellenbosch Municipality said. “There is a need to curb the number of occupants on the land due to limited space, sanitation and water facilities,” he said. There are currently 154 registered shacks and 20 unregistered shacks with about 695 residents in Mandela City, he said. Bystanders told Paarl Post that some of the huts had been erected the previous day and that the residents were from Khayelitsha. Fourteen huts in total were demolished. Councillor JC Anthony, municipal councillor for Klapmuts, said that committee members of Mandela City had informed the municipality about the erection of the new huts. “Stellenbosch then reacted by demolishing the shacks, as the owners did not have permission to erect them. The huts were illegal - we want order,” he said. “There is some corrolation between these new huts being erected and the fact that a new housing project of 600 low cost houses is planned for the area. “It can happen that people become residents of an informal settlement so that their names can be on the waiting list for a new housing project.” Upgrading of the roads and sports facilities is also planned.
More
News
|
