'We Need Houses Mlaba'
Above: Members of the shack dwellers movement, Abahlali baseMijondolo, marching along Randles Road to the Ward Councillors office.
Inset: Sydenham Station Commissioner Sen Supt Glen Nayager negotiating with marshals to disperse the protestors.Abahlali baseMijondolo held a mass march against eThekwini Mayor, Obed Mlaba, for formal land and housing for informal dwellers last week in Sydenham.
Protestors gathered from the early parts of the morning and at approximately 9:00 am proceeded from Kennedy Road to the Ward Councillor, Yakoob Baig's office at the intersection of Randles and Sparks Road.
The march follows the launch of the Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu's 'flagship' housing project in 2004, which has allegedly run into problems with delayed delivery, cost over-runs and lack of consultation.
Kennedy Road Development Committee Chairman, Sbu Zikode, said that the municipality gave them no choice but to march.
"If we just carry on with our ordinary lives, we will continue being burnt in fires, being raped when we try and find a place to go to the toilet in the night, having our homes demolished and either being left homeless or being forcibly removed to human dumping grounds like Park Gate far from where we work, school and shop," said Zikode.
Representatives of all the settlements and organisations met and drew up a collective memorandum. Some of the demands on the memorandum made to Mlaba where an immediate moratorium on all evictions, demolitions, forced removals and the harassment of street traders. Also on the list was an immediate commitment by the municipality to seriously explore the possibility of upgrading rather than relocating each settlement and to do this in partnership with each settlement.
Other issues included the prevention of government-owned land being sold to private developers, the exclusion of the poor from educational institutes, the building and maintenance of toilets in all settlements and the provision of electricity, water and refuse removal in all settlements.
Chants for Mlaba to step up and collect the memorandum echoed and intensified when he did not pitch up despite the Abahlali baseMijondolo allegedly giving him 30 days notice. In turn, they have labelled him as a lazy liar who abused his power. The group was informed that the mayor was not coming and that instead an official from the eThekwini Municipality was on hand to collect their memorandum of demands.
In recent newspaper reports, Mlaba was quoted saying he was not aware of a legal march taking place and that he did not see anything wrong with someone else receiving the memorandum. Mlaba said that it was not a court order where they could demand his presence and said they should have handed the memorandum to the person who had come to receive it.
The peaceful housing protest turned ugly as police dispersed the large crowd using water cannons, rubber bullets and baton charges. Fifteen people including academics were arrested and charged with public violence and failing to comply with the Public Gathering Act.
"The biggest curse is that while praying we were flooded with heavy forces of water but the strong church leaders stood very firm to form a shield. The heavy armed members of the SAPS started assaulting the church leaders, throwing teargas, beating helpless women and shooting old women and men," said Zikode.
After the dispersal Zikode said that he received a call from the Municipality saying that a representative was on his way to receive the memorandum.
Zikode said that he had no choice but to face the remaining police and he read the memorandum to Mzi Magubane, who described himself as a Senior Manager from the Department of Housing.
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