Worried flood victims say they were shocked when they learnt that the City of Cape Town is planning to evict them from a municipal hall.
Close to 100 parents and children occupied the Chris Hani community hall in Mfuleni after heavy rains at the beginning of June destroyed their homes in Burundi informal settlement.
Masixole Magwangqana has been living in Burundi since 2004 and says: “Those two days that it rained last month were the worst that we have had.
“Community members who were affected had a meeting and we decided to call the ward councillor and community leaders and we spoke to him that evening.
“And then we decided to come to the hall for our safety. The City never came to us, they only sent Law Enforcement officers to evict us from the land we tried to occupy near Bosasa.”
He adds: “It is very cold, we don’t have food and there is no privacy. The winter is not over, it will rain again and we are still stuck here. I am a traditional healer and the water damaged the consultation room and my herbs.
“There are many families who live here, we have 75 adults and many children, there is even a disabled child.”
He says they will not leave the hall if they are going to be moved back to flood-prone Burundi.
Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross, says the hall was illegally occupied.
“Following the occupation of the facility, a case was opened at SAPS. Various efforts to engage the community members by the Ward Councillor and Subcouncil Chairperson have been unsuccessful. The City has therefore instituted a formal eviction process.”