The last families that were occupying the land earmarked for the N2 Gateway housing upgrade have finally been evicted – bringing to an end the legal battle between the Joe Slovo residents and the Western Cape government.
On Wednesday morning the sheriff of the court evicted some of the 18 families who had been refusing to vacate a piece of land in Joe Slovo‚ Langa. The eviction is intended to allow the completion of the 15-year N2 Gateway upgrade being completed.
The struggle of the families started more than a decade ago‚ when the then-minister of human settlements‚ Lindiwe Sisulu‚ started evicting residents of Joe Slovo to make a way for the flagship project‚ which saw rental stock flats built in the area.
But after realising that they didn’t qualify as beneficiaries of the housing project‚ Joe Slovo residents started to resist and protested against further evictions.
In 2009 the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of their eviction‚ but a relatively small number of shack dwellers‚ about 22 families‚ have been refusing to move their shacks to make way for the next phase of the development.
The department of human settlements in the Western Cape went back to court and‚ at the end of October‚ the court ruled in favour of the eviction.
Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka‚ spokesperson for human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela‚ said the 18 families were moved to temporary relocation sites in Langa and Delft. Four of the 22 families voluntarily moved out of the area.
She said the eviction would finally make a way for 88 homes to be built on the site.
Last of families refusing to vacate land earmarked for N2 Gateway project evicted
Image: Esa Alexander
The last families that were occupying the land earmarked for the N2 Gateway housing upgrade have finally been evicted – bringing to an end the legal battle between the Joe Slovo residents and the Western Cape government.
On Wednesday morning the sheriff of the court evicted some of the 18 families who had been refusing to vacate a piece of land in Joe Slovo‚ Langa. The eviction is intended to allow the completion of the 15-year N2 Gateway upgrade being completed.
The struggle of the families started more than a decade ago‚ when the then-minister of human settlements‚ Lindiwe Sisulu‚ started evicting residents of Joe Slovo to make a way for the flagship project‚ which saw rental stock flats built in the area.
But after realising that they didn’t qualify as beneficiaries of the housing project‚ Joe Slovo residents started to resist and protested against further evictions.
In 2009 the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of their eviction‚ but a relatively small number of shack dwellers‚ about 22 families‚ have been refusing to move their shacks to make way for the next phase of the development.
The department of human settlements in the Western Cape went back to court and‚ at the end of October‚ the court ruled in favour of the eviction.
Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka‚ spokesperson for human settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela‚ said the 18 families were moved to temporary relocation sites in Langa and Delft. Four of the 22 families voluntarily moved out of the area.
She said the eviction would finally make a way for 88 homes to be built on the site.
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