Activists welcome possible change of policy By Marecia Damons The City of Cape Town has identified parts of two golf courses as potential sites for housing. The move has been welcomed by housing activists. The public has until Sunday to comment on the City’s spatial development frameworks. Parts of the King David Mowbray Golf Course and Rondebosch Golf Course may be turned...

Counter campaign to City’s appeal launched by activists By Marecia Damons and James Stent Ndifuna Ukwazi has condemned the City of Cape Town for soliciting and encouraging the public to complain about homeless people. The City says it is entitled to request information from all of its citizens in order to assess the effect of “street people”. The call sent out suggested people...

Occupants agree to be surveyed by City and legal team By Liezl Human The Western Cape High Court has granted an order which will allow occupiers of the former Woodstock hospital to be surveyed about their identities and to determine how many occupants are living there. Housing activist group Reclaim the City has said that this application by the City of Cape Town...

Fire victims say they are likely to spend a second night outside because they don’t have material to rebuild their homes By Nokulunga Majola A woman died and a teenager sustained serious injuries during a fire that destroyed 49 shacks at Marikana informal settlement in Cato Manor on Sunday. The families say they are unable to rebuild their homes and will...

Demolition of structures and removal of land occupiers without a court order is unconstitutional, says advocate By Liezl Human The establishment and operation of the City of Cape Town’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit (ALIU) is unlawful, because it is mandated to demolish structures without needing a court order, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) argued in the Western Cape High Court last...

“All we ask is that they be moved to a permanent place where they will be able to work and feed their families” By Kimberly Mutandiro The Gauteng High Court ordered the eviction of the occupiers of the Lyttleton farm in Centurion — known as Mushroomville to the people living there — in June last year. The court also said that...

Judge Desai found that South African Human Rights Commission monitors trying to enter the site were acting lawfully By James Stent The Western Cape High Court has criticised the City of Cape Town for its treatment of human rights monitors at its camp for homeless people in Strandfontein. The court also dismissed interdicts granted to the City last year which prevented...

Residents have turned the former Woodstock Hospital into a home and want the City of Cape Town to engage directly with them to come up with a solution, rather than evict them through the courts. By Matthew Hirsch It has been almost four years since residents occupied the Woodstock Hospital in Cape Town, now known as Cissie Gool House. The only...

Many labourers in the Sundays River Valley have never seen a cent after suffering debilitating pain and even disability from accidents while at work. A non-profit trust wants to change this. By Anna Majavu and Bonile Bam Working outdoors in an orchard of orange trees or on a game farm in a beautiful valley is not as pleasant as it sounds....

Municipality must return land to 84-year-old pensioner because it didn’t obtain his consent, suggesting that parts of the Expropriation Act are unconstitutional By Tania Broughton Louis Nathan Langer was shocked to discover that the KwaDukuza Municipality had expropriated his land and source of income without his knowledge four years ago. In an order agreed to by the parties — and made...